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Public Transportation: The 6 Possible Benefits for Houston

Public Transportation: The 6 Possible Benefits for Houston

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by: zazoo1995 Active Indicator LED Icon 2 OP 
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 12:09am  
As someone who used to live in the North, and have frequented the public system in Chicago (phenomenal, by the way), I've grown to really love and appreciate Public Transportation (Subways, Buses, Trains, Metro, etc.). Development of Public Transportation in cities, specifically Houston, would be beneficial because:Cuts Transportation Costs: This cuts out car insurance, gas, repairs, and other necessities. In Chicago, $30 a week was all I needed to catch buses and trains to any street in Chicago I wanted, including a couple taxi rides when it got too cold and windy! $30 a week barely covers gas for me and my 2001 Pontiac Grand Am.Transportation Becomes Efficient: Anyone who lives in Houston knows about the ridiculousness of I-40 and I-10 during rush hours, and 59 can get bad, as well. Hell, any of our highways are subjected to extreme traffic flow (despite the huge highways). By increasing the methods of downtown travel, commuting workers can skip a lot of this unnecessary traffic, and the roads would become clearer for travelers passing through the Houston area. With a well-planned public transportation system, it will generally be quicker to ride the metro and hop on a few buses. In Chicago, I could get anywhere in the city in 5-40 minutes, while driving to these places would have taken 20-90 minutes.Safer Roads: There are people out there who do not care whether they have to drive or not, some people want/need a drink and then get behind the wheel. With public transportation, it is easy to keep drunk drivers off the roads and find better, safer methods of arriving home- via trains, buses and metros. Rather than having expensive taxis or driving a vehicle, people can go enjoy their nightlife without risking others. Having a reliable method of transportation can significantly reduce the DUI problem, which would save countless lives, save tax money (medical bills/court & police), and help cushion insurance companies from paying unnecessary drunk accidents (which could mean LOWER INSURANCE COSTS! Yay!). Healthy Expansion: Expansion of urban populations can be unhealthy, creating toxic conditions environmentally, politically, socially, economically,  and otherwise. But public transportation allows an easier way to provide service that would benefit (and allow Houston to HANDLE) an expansion. REMEMBER, Woodlands is predicting exponential increase in populations as Exxon-Mobil opens a huge center up there. Not to mention the Amusement Park and the planning of new Medical Districts. Houston is already a huge urban setting, but it's transportation lacks the ability to ACCOMMODATE for this already-present population.Environmental Payoff: Less cars on the road = Less gas consumed  = Less pollution and contamination (let's be honest, Houston Air/Water is less than satisfactory, to say in the least). It's a pretty simple point to understand. There are a lot of people who commute to Urban Houston alone in a car. All of these cars (which waste tons of gas waiting in Traffic- see 2) can be reduced significantly with the opening of just a few metro lines.Low Class Transportation: There is a large Low Class population in Houston, and this class is mostly responsible for the maintenance and efficiency of day to day activities in this city. By allowing low class to retain more money, this will not only help low class, but could potentially allow a lesser dependency on governmental support, such as medical care, education, food, and housing.Obviously, anything that is public is built and constructed with tax money, and money is always tight. But if the construction of at least a couple connecting metro lines and developed bus routing, we could connect Houston more efficiently and it would overall raise the quality of life for almost every citizen. Be reminded that usage of public transportation is still charged, so it would be a very self-sufficient system.I believe at least the connection of the Woodlands, Galleria, IAH/Hobby airports, South Houston Refineries and Downtown area would be a great combination. Any ideas, comments? If Houston were to build public transportation, what areas would you like to see a metro line connect?  4951
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fcabanski Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 12:23am  
I love taking the bus to Minutemaid Park.  But I can rarely take it, because the bus doesn't run after 10PM or on weekends. 4951
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topcat Active Indicator LED Icon 12
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 3:42am  
I grew up in the north and used to ride the bus with my grandma all the time. She never even had a drivers license. Good memories! I thought Houston had public transportation already. 4951
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analogkid Active Indicator LED Icon 3
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 5:24am  
I grew up in the north and used to ride the bus with my grandma all the time. She never even had a drivers license. Good memories! I thought Houston had public transportation already.
 
@topcat: No, Houston has oil/gas, and that runs counter to having fewer cars on the road.
4951
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rundmv Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 7:39am  

- - - - - - - -
>> I grew up in the north and used to ride the bus with my grandma all the time. She never even had a drivers license. Good memories! I thought Houston had public transportation already.
 
@topcat: No, Houston has oil/gas, and that runs counter to having fewer cars on the road.
 
@analogkid: oil and gas? Hardly.
 
Plain and simple its population density. Mass transit cities, like Chicago are built upwards. Non mass transit cities like Houston are spread out.
 
Chicago: 234 square miles. Population 2.7 million
 
Houston: 637 square miles. Population 2.1 million.
 
4951
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cgm10sne1 Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 8:36am  
I have to say that I used the Marta train system in Atlanta to go to the airport. I also used it to go down to  Midtown or to the Braves/Falcons games downtown. The trains ran North South and East West. The North South line was about 35 miles from the north suburbs of Ga 400. I thought Houston had a train system.  4951
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FoFa Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 9:00am  
CHICAGO!If you took public transit when I lived there, you were taking your life into your hands.Except for rush hour (well hours) any other time it wasn't really safe.But that was quite a few years ago.I always hatred the EL also, noisy, dirty, was not a fan of the areas where it was above you.Now London's tube system was a dream as long as you stayed off during rush hour. 4951
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donnatella Active Indicator LED Icon 13 Forum Moderator
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 10:35am  
The great beneifts of public transportation, especially here in Houston, is not likely to win favor with many.   Here in Houston, public transportation, except for maybe some of the nicer Park and Rides, is a last resort and considered the least favorable form of mobility. We just love our cars and don't mind driving where we need to go.  You will also not find much favor pushing public transportation when it means bringing the unfavorable issues with Metro further out into the suburbs.  People purposely live further out, far away from Metro's access for a reason, again, with the exception of Park and Ride for some.
 
Yes, it takes cars off the roadways, good for the environment, and it saves fuel, but you aren't going to win the argument with #6, especially with this crowd, except with those who are supporters of wealth re-distribution or the "something for nothing" crowd.  The crowd in this area is sick to death of hearing about more handouts to those on the public dole.  They bust their humps everyday to work for what they have and just aren't interested in handing out anymore than they are forced to with welfare, etc.  I would consider #6  huge negative and you might want to consider removing it from your "benefits" list.
 
We like our big pricey cars and the independence it gives us during our day, and you will likely never change out minds on that one.  Good arguments, though (except for #6).
  4951
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donnatella Active Indicator LED Icon 13 Forum Moderator
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 10:56am  
Low Class Transportation: There is a large Low Class population in Houston, and this class is mostly responsible for the maintenance and efficiency of day to day activities in this city. By allowing low class to retain more money, this will not only help low class, but could potentially allow a lesser dependency on governmental support, such as medical care, education, food, and housing.
@zazoo1995: Nothing will reduce the dependency on government handouts except for reducing or eliminating them.  As long as there is free money to be had, there will be people content to do nothing but stand in line for it.  Face it, it's easier to sit back, take and let others support you.  That rose-colored glasses view is just no realistic.  We will not be "letting them retain more money" because it's our money to begin with.  They need to be forced to work for it just like we do.  If I stop working, I do without.  It will take a major change in administration and frame of mind of the entire country to change this handout mentality.  It took several generations to create it and it will likely take several more to return them to the frame of mind of self pride in a hard day's work and standing on your own two feet.  As soon as welfare becomes a TEMPORARY HELP UP instead of a way of life, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. I am not in favor of any ideal, additional program or support that will enable that way of life or mindset any further.  4951
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ET Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 8:07pm  
Lots of Low Class around and it has nothing to do with money. 4951
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Fallon Active Indicator LED Icon 18
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 8:11pm  
Removed By Request 4951
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ET Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 8:14pm  
I'd rather see a rail line rather than those stupid HOV lanes - those are a waste of money.  Not everybody can deal with the schedules or fixed locations, but a lot can. 4951
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WskyTngoFxtrt Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 9:15pm  
Houston had all of the steel ready to build a train/subway system very similar to Chicago's. But WWII broke out and all of the steel was donated to the war effort. A plan to revisit this was never implemented. 4951
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TexasOma Active Indicator LED Icon 14
~ 10 years ago   Mar 5, '14 9:40pm  
How would Houston do a subway when we are at or barely above sea level. And, with our gumbo soil, wouldn't that make it difficult. Also - remember the tunnels in downtown and in the Medical center - they flood every time we get a severe rain - wouldn't that be a problem with a subway system?  When my DH worked in the Galleria area, for him to get there using the bus he would have to leave at 5 in the morning, ride to downtown, transfer to a outbound to the Galleria.  Most likely he would have to walk several blocks to make the bus connections.  Same thing on the return trip.  Can you imagine doing this in our summer heat wearing a suit?  Or, a female wearing high heels?  The amount of time spent traveling on the bus to get to the destination would be worse than sitting in Hwy 59 traffic.  One of the job offerings he had was at BW8 North and Hwy 290.  How would rapid transit get someone from the Kingwood area to the NW area without hours of travel time? And, as Fallon says about her DH, mine also has meetings at various locations, needs to go inspect a job, look at plans, etc.  Makes bus travel kinda stupid. Also, why is it that people move here to Houston and start trying to change how we have done things for years? 4951
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rundmv Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 10 years ago   Mar 6, '14 8:13am  
Also, why is it that people move here to Houston and start trying to change how we have done things for years?
 
@TexasOma: isn't it funny how people move from their sucky part of the world then try to change where they moved back into the sucky place they just left?
 
4951
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TexasOma Active Indicator LED Icon 14
~ 10 years ago   Mar 6, '14 8:17am  
It does suck.  As much as New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California could benefit from the way Texans do things, I don't plan on moving to any of those places and try to change them. I don't like that area so I don't plan to go there....I'll stay right here. They move here to get away from high taxes and miserable conditions, enjoy how it is here instead of changing us. 4951
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