The post below is reposted to these lists with the permission of the author of the post.
. . Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:10:22 -0400 From: "geoghb@xxxxxxxxx" <geoghb@xxxxxxxxx> Reply-To: LRPPro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: LRPPro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [LRPPro] Montgomery Cty. Transit Presentation for July 12, 2012 . . In my opinion and in all deference to your hard work and diligence the Montgomery County (MC) Bus plan is the most unconscionable, ignorant and dishonest brainless public transportation proposal ever conceived. . Except for the bus lobby and MC officials, by any transit definition buses are NOT rapid transit nor are they rapid transit vehicles. You can call an Egg McMuffin steak, but its still what it is. . Thus, the MC leadership is attempting to masquerade the lowly bus; no matter its shape, style or color, as rapid transit. That is as far from the transportation truth as one can get. It is pure fiction and an outright lie. You can call it abc or xyz, but a bus is a bus is a bus ... If you believe in the Tooth Fairy you can believe that buses are rapid transit. Only an ignorant and dishonest leadership would make such statements and try to convince MC residents that buses represent rapid transit and the gold standard of public transportation. . Rapid transit are the likes of DC Metrorail, NYC subways, San Francisco BART, Chicago El and subways, Atlanta MARTA, London's Tubes, Moscow Subway, etc. . MC has an extreme and deliberate anti-rail attitude, especially light rail (LRT) that most other cities want, plan and have built while MC has twiddled its thumbs for generations. Places like Norfolk, Baltimore, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Denver, Portland, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego and many more have built and extended their LRT systems while MC has slept. Apparently those places could find the funding and methods to build and extend their LRT systems while MC could not. . The glacial pace of the Purple Line LRT, that is only half in MC, is the only LRT plan now for MC. But, even that has found resistance in MC by large numbers of ignorant politicians and residents, more interested in a $50 million 12 foot wide hiker biker path in Bethesda and tree canopy then good transit. . MC has spent the better part of a million dollars on bus studies and virtually zero on LRT. MC and the State of Maryland deny residents the benefits of very excellent surface LRT while lying and insisting buses are just like LRT. The truth and facts are very different. The bus lobby and Rockefeller Foundation (BIG OIL) are so enthusiastic about the bus plan they provide large grants for bus only studies. Wonder why? . MC contracts with transportation consultants to do bus only studies. MC creates a Transit Task Force to principally study a mega bus system while ignoring LRT and all the real benefits that accrue to LRT. The Task Force website deliberately omits the word BUS from its title and scope of study. Why? They don't want the public to know they only study buses and not rail? How stupid do the county officials think the MC residents to be? . With all due respect to the chosen (how so?) task force in my opinion they are not equipped to evaluate public transportation needs and solutions, especially when given only the lopsided task of studying a bus system and not an equivalent study of LRT. At best, a seriously flawed study and at worst simply appalling and ludicrous. . While the MC Council tries to cope with the ill effects of a single planned gas station in Wheaton due to car idling exhaust, it simply ignores the effects of thousands of tons of additional greenhouse exhaust gases from a mega bus system spread county wide. A mega bus system that encompasses twice the length of the Washington Beltway. MC, one of the wealthiest counties in the world, cries poverty when it comes to constructing a 15 mile LRT for the Corridor Cities Transitway but finds 160 miles of separate lanes for buses and all that goes with it perfectly affordable. . MC and the State can easily afford an 8 lane mega highway (MD 200) and build it in the worst economic climate between 2007-2011 but can only delay and delay any rail while co-operating with the state for a mega bus plan and eliminate additional rail in one of the most congested corridors in the entire state. In a word - Criminal. . While multitudes of more buses will continually burn noxious fuel they will all produce seriously damaging green house gases causing ill effects within the county harmful to the environment and residents alike. . On the other hand light rail vehicles use electricity derived power from many renewable clean sources. LRT vehicles DO NOT emit deadly exhaust. LRT vehicles do not consume significant electrical energy while not moving to load / unload passengers or waiting for other traffic, or coasting. With regenerative braking LRT vehicles actually feeds power back into the system. Buses do NONE of that. LRT vehicles do not require massive refueling trucks and stations that buses need. . LRT vehicles provide smooth quiet comfortable riding and are significantly more appealing than any bouncing bus. LRT vehicles have great longevity - up to 50 or more years while buses generally range 10-15 years. LRT vehicles operationally cost half per passenger mile than do buses - see FTA data. . While MC sat on its rear end many new LRT systems have been built in Europe, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Asia, etc. All of the cities in countries within those continents and other US cities must know something MC has little knowledge of or interest. They aren't stupid and have figured out that LRT is a much better transportation and economic return on investment than any 3rd world bus system. And the few places that do install the so-called BRT (oxymoron) system is only a few miles in length, not a colossal 160 miles. . MC officials will travel great distances to visit one of those short bus systems but have, along with the bus TTF, virtually avoided visiting any LRT system or conferring with transit officials who know and have significant experience with LRT. . LRT can operate over grassy beautifully maintained separate right of ways with trees, shrubs and flowers. LRT can be 100% low floor meaning boarding is at curb level and they do not need high platforms. LRT vehicle capacity is easily 200 passengers or more. LRT can navigate steep grades and narrow streets. LRT is 100% street compatible with other vehicles and especially bikers. LRT vehicles generally have many doors on both sides of the vehicle allowing variations in station configurations. LRT vehicles can be operated from either end of the vehicle or coupled train. Buses have doors only on one side and are single ended. The lower capacity of buses requires more vehicles and requires more labor cost to operate them. . In summary, MC has treated LRT like the enemy and opened its arms to noxious, slow, heavy, pavement crushing buses. In truth, just the opposite should be the case with LRT being embraced with open arms. But MC officials will keep on spewing out their cockamamie nonsense about the bus plan, but they don't have a clue about all the benefits of LRT that are superior to any bus network. They will contract with consultants to study only buses and ignore LRT, such as the half million dollar Parsons Brinkerhoff contract. The bus plan is, if anything, fools gold and nothing more. It is a disgraceful and obscene display of local politics. . MC officials should be ashamed of themselves for being so outrageously one-sided and selecting the worst possible transportation plan. It's also too bad that most county residents are truly ignorant of the serious benefits of LRT and will follow the official propaganda thinking buses are so grand when they clearly are not. . Over time due to political pressure and added auto congestion bus lanes are easily converted to allow normal auto traffic use such as Shirley Highway in Virginia thus destroying the bus only concept travel lane. LRT does not have that problem and attracts motorists out of their cars while buses do not. . Lastly, did you ride the bus to work today? Have you traveled on alight rail? What real life experience do you bring to suggest the real gold standard is LRT and not the dismal distasteful bus. Most everything about LRT is far superior to any bus or bus network. Shame on MC for being the transit laggard and stooping to the lowest level of transit planning while continually building, widening, repaving and photo enforcing roads all over. No problem with roads, only rail transit. More roads are not a very good transportation solution. Build more for automobiles and guess what - you get more automotive congestion. That is plain as day but MC only builds roads and no rail. . Much more information can be found about LRT on the internet, including photos, videos, statistics and more. . George Barsky ---------------------------------------------------------- MC in this post stands for Montgomery County, Maryland. . .