Greater Greater Washington: Comments

Michael Perkins on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 22:30 EDT

I just got back a PARP request response from WMATA. I'll be writing up an article soon, but it looks like 80+% of people are just PARPing their Smartrip card records. Most of the rest are requesting reports from bus and train incidents. There are a few interested in contracts and spending, and a couple of requests interested in Marion Barry's suspicious bus accident.

By the way, under the WMATA compact, everyone's salary at WMATA is public knowledge, as long as they make more than $10,000. There were at least four requesters seeking and obtaining that information.

The one request that I have had denied was time-based ridership information (e.g., how many people are entering and leaving the system at various times of day). WMATA considered that a security threat and refused to release it. I eventually got the information through a staff contact who agreed to give it to me on condition that I divide the actual numbers by the daily average.

Jason on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 22:13 EDT

Ken F. has an idea we talked about a couple weeks ago. How if CSX's rights were bought out on the Met. Branch (they have alternative railroad track options between DC and Baltimore and Baltimore and Frederick) then we could take all four tracks on the Met Branch, and add subway trains to two of them.

That may be cheaper than building a new heavy rail line. But it only increases capacity from Montgomery county to Union Station. There is very little TOD and economic development opportunities for the District to running more trains along to same isolated rail bed. A goal of the original poster was expanding metro's reach within the district.

Michael Perkins on Testing the "Invisible Tunnel"

Mon, 5 Jan 09 22:08 EDT

Payton: That's a good point, but I think what's going on is that WMATA does not control its own destiny when it comes to Smartrip software. Implementing such a feature may be easy, in fact it may even be trivial, but in WMATA's case it still would require asking their Smartrip programming contractor, Cubic Transportation Systems, to change the software and perform testing, something that can't be done for free because it's not covered under the existing contract. My guess is that such a change to the contract would cost somewhere on the order of $10,000 based on my experience with similar government technical support contracts (about 100 hours of time billed at $100 per hour?).

It's different if WMATA has a "level of effort" contract with Cubic, though I don't know if they do. That way, as long as the level of effort contract still had some time left on it, WMATA could ask Cubic to do this software change and bill it against the hours in the LOE contract. Special projects like the upgrades anticipated next year could be done under a separate fixed-price (or cost plus fixed fee) contract like they are now.

WMATA's fare system is incompatible with entrance only billing. Unless we all went to flat fares, which would kill the central city short riders at the expense of the longer suburban commuters. It's a delicate balance now and would be terrible policy to try to change it now. My guess is that such a flat fare would be something like $3.00 per ride, might even be that high during non-peak too.

Payton on Testing the "Invisible Tunnel"

Mon, 5 Jan 09 21:22 EDT

The Chicago Transit Authority uses Cubic for its farecard services and has had "invisible" transfers since 1999, when paper transfers at State/Lake between subway and elevated trains were phased out. Our farecard equipment doesn't require that you "exit" the system, either -- it only deducts fares upon entering the system.

You'd think it would be even easier to program a routine that says "anyone who exits at Farragut West can, within 20 minutes, enter at Farragut North for $0." Farragut Square shopowners should be pushing for this, too.

move on ICC Junior: Montrose Parkway

Mon, 5 Jan 09 21:08 EDT

i think you just heard it straight from the horse's mouth. no chance the Montrose Parkway will be plowed through Henson Park.

Chuck Coleman on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 20:32 EDT

The only answer is to change the PARP. WMATA is not DoD or the CIA, or any other agency sitting on truly confidential data. WMATA should make everything public except for things that infringe on personal privacy rights, like individuals' payroll information (except for highest-level managers' pay and perks).

Michael Perkins on What do SmarTrip cards cost?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 20:31 EDT

Bill, it looks like the answer is for you to request Smartbenefits vouchers in the amount of the pass you want to purchase, and then purchase that pass with the vouchers, putting the rest of the value on your Smartrip card? The information I've been able to find doesn't say where you can exchange your vouchers for passes, I'm going to assume at the Metro Sales Office at Metro Center, not the most convenient option, for sure.

See this page for more information.

Also, you could try calling 202-962-1326 and selecting option 3 during working hours (before 4pm!). If you don't get a good answer on the first try, I've heard that calling back can get you different results.

Hopefully all this will become easier when the promised Smartrip upgrades happen by the end of 2009.

Good luck!

kenf on Dinner links: Many voices for transit over roads

Mon, 5 Jan 09 20:29 EDT

In order to eliminate the overpasses you would have to eliminate the Baltimore Washington Parkway and the Beltway. As desirable as that might be it probably won't happen any time soon. So, to connect the three parts of Greenbelt for pedestrians and bikes you need the best overpasses that can be designed.

Douglas Willinger on Dinner links: Many voices for transit over roads

Mon, 5 Jan 09 20:06 EDT

That's some 'urbanism', favor grade separation for about everything except vehicular roads which are all to be oin the same level.

Michael Perkins on What do SmarTrip cards cost?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 17:54 EDT

Bill, This question has come up before at my work since my company is also switching to Smartbenefits (which requires you to download your transit benefit onto Smartrip unless you're taking a limited number of transit providers that don't accept Smartrip). I'll have to ask WMATA on this one, but my guess is you're screwed.

You want to email me at michaelp@ggwash.org and I can email you directly with any answer I get?

Froggie on Dinner links: Many voices for transit over roads

Mon, 5 Jan 09 17:45 EDT

I take that as meaning David would prefer the overpasses not exist at all.

Froggie on Back to the future in commercial real estate

Mon, 5 Jan 09 17:41 EDT

Cavan: neither. I'm guessing you don't know much about the Hampton Roads communities, but IMO Hampton doesn't exactly have what one could consider a "core". Nor is it out in the boondocks.

Bill in Bethesda on What do SmarTrip cards cost?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 17:29 EDT

Well, can I at least use my Smartrip card to buy the short trip pass? The machines don't seem to want to let me do that--if I'm stuck paying full fare all year (because my company removed the option of getting paper metro fare cards) it's going to cost me hundreds of dollars!

kenf on Dinner links: Many voices for transit over roads

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:56 EDT

"The citizens of Greenbelt: ... Well, two out of three ain't bad."

David, what do you mean by "two out of three"?

Wayne Phyillaier on Urban bike trails aren't just for recreation

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:38 EDT

Recreational cycling is impeded as well by the incomplete state of the Capital Crescent Trail. The photo with this article shows a family group on a weekend, more likely out for recreation than for practical riding. The photo is at the on-road Georgetown Branch Trail crossing of 16th street, and illustrates why cycling on the trail in Silver Spring of any kind, recreational or practical, is only a small fraction of that seen in Bethesda where the trail is complete.

Paul S on Fenty nominates Gabe Klein for DDOT

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:32 EDT

JW, how is developing the South Dakota Ave at Riggs Road intersection (of which there is an embedded Google Map in my previous comment) destroying the neighborhood? Are you that attached to the unused public space, strip mall shopping center and the KFC at those cross streets? I can certainly understand some discomfort with the Janney School in Tenleytown. However broadly characterizing all new TOD and DMPED projects as bad for the communities and not offering any solutions on how to smartly grow the city isn't helping your credibility.

Daniel M. Laenker on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:30 EDT

I also with David here. Understanding supply and demand may be Econ 101, but understanding barriers to entry is Econ 102. (I'd also say understanding the tendency of the rate of profit to fall is Econ 203, but that's a different thread....)

Daniel M. Laenker on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:27 EDT

Haha, Gavin, this. IAWTC so bad.

Vik on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:26 EDT

Also, if there are a lot of cabs, which would be the result of a less regulated taxi system w/ more providers and cabs, drivers would know that the rider could just wait a sec. and find another cab if the fare was too high. So I doubt we'd have a situation where you'd be waiting long for a cab, unless you're like some of my relatives.

But yeah, we need hybrid cabs stat, it's ridiculous a city like DC doesn't have any yet.

Rickshaws are fine for certain distances and purposes. Again, the option of having a rickshaw if there is demand is something we ought to have and we do, fortunately.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:24 EDT

Kosmo Kramer and Newman seen holding tryouts among the cities homeless for an experimental new version of carbon-neutral public transit...

A on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:18 EDT

Um, Federal FOIA doesn't apply. WMATA is not a federal agency, it's a regional transit agency. While PARP may draw from FOIA, they are not bound by it.

By the way, federal FOIA was created in 1966....not the '1840s'. The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 (E-FOIA) is a followup that addresses the changing nature of storage mediums.

DC FOIA has one that relates to city agencies, as do VA and MD.

Shirlington on 2009 wish list for transit

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:16 EDT

How about a rail station in GROWING Shirlington??!! Having the nearby W&OD rail right-of-way converted to a heavy (or light) rail line instead of a bike trail (mostly used on weekends) would have been a much better idea!

Bianchi on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 16:16 EDT

Yes the discussion was about hybrid cabs - here's a mode of transportation available for hire in DC that's even less polluting than a hybrid
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/03/AR2009010300057.html

This was on the front page of yesterday's WashPost Bussiness section! Did someone say rickshaws would never be found in DC??? ;-)

Gavin on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:54 EDT

Huh -- wasn't there a discussion about hybrid cabs at some point?

BeyondDC on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:54 EDT

>as someone's time-frame of purchase decreases, their willingness to pay a higher price to ensure they receive that good or service increases.

But their willingness to spend time haggling over the price goes down, which explains why consumers favor restricting the market in order to ensure quick/easy service on a mode of travel generally used by people who need quick/easy service.

The point of taxis is not to get around at whatever cost I want. If I want to do things more cheaply, I can take transit. If I want to do things more expensively, I can buy a car. The point of street taxis is to make quick/easy transportation available on an as-needed basis. It defeats the entire purpose of the mode if you have to go to a lot of trouble to use it.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:51 EDT

@Daniel

lolwut?

The only way we'll see rickshaws in the streets is if that's what people want to get around on. Somehow I think the tastes of the average DC area resident involves cars that function.

Of course regulation is so much better and never fails the consumer, just look at Metrolink's impeccable safety record in Southern California. I was so silly to assume otherwise.

Bianchi on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:49 EDT

EG, I see. My arms are sure going to be tired next time I fly in.

David Alpert on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:49 EDT

EG: This is getting comic. So if National Airport's taxis are too much of a rip-off, then someone will just start up their own airport to compete with National? We should have a thousand airports so everyone can choose whichever one they want?

Economics starts with the equation of supply and demand, but doesn't end there. Real economists know that when there are big barriers to entry, markets don't function freely.

The more genuine libertarian argument would be that National shouldn't have just one taxi stand, but taxi companies and operators can run their own kiosks in the airport and compete for customers where customers can compare choices. That still probably wouldn't work, but it's at least not as patently ridiculous as "National Airport [a public entity] is free to [use their monopoly power to] implement whatever system they want [because] no one is forced to use National Airport."

BeyondDC on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:49 EDT

The National Airport situation also happens at several of the suburban Metro stations.

economic geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:48 EDT

@Beyond DC

I'm talking about the concept of price discrimination. I should have picked an example outside of the transportation industry. But the truth of the matter is that as someone's time-frame of purchase decreases, their willingness to pay a higher price to ensure they receive that good or service increases.

Daniel M. Laenker on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:45 EDT

For cab fares, the Third World (paragon of deregulation) has plenty of people willing to bring you to your destination, demand $100, and then sic the police on you when you fail to pay. Or forget your destination. Or write a long contract in a foreign language and then serve tourists. You are in the cabbie's power for the duration of the ride, and most people don't expect "taxi service" to screw them over (they prefer it to function as a transit mode rather than a private bad-faith negotiation), so we regulate it to mean a certain thing.

Squalish: you're arguing with a "libertarian" on the Internet. Not only does EG encourage these things to happen, he considers it ideal for minors to be paid slave wages to drive taxicabs, thus enabling him to have both full employment and the lowest fare possible. Furthermore, it is more important that things are negotiable than functional, and Haiti and the Philippines are seen as ideal providers of transportation services on this level.

BeyondDC on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:45 EDT

You cannot seriously compare airlines to cabs. The nature of the service they provide and the trips customers use them for is too different.

For the transaction cost of waiting for the right cab to be worth it to me (and I suspect for most riders who hail cabs), there would have to be a drastic oversupply of them. If I'm going to watch 3 or 4 empty cabs go by before picking one I want, then there had better be an empty cab going by every 10 seconds. Unfortunately, we don't have the cab-riding population density in DC to support that level of cab service. Very few places do.

Now, dispatch services, different story. I'd totally be willing to comparison shop for a dispatch. Indeed, comparison shopping is already available for *some* such services. If I need a ride to the airport (and for some reason aren't using transit), I can pay less for a SuperShuttle that will make a handful of other stops and therefore be less convenient.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:43 EDT

@Bianchi- That's an issue with National Airport. They're free to implement whatever kind of system for distributing passengers they want. No one is forced to use National Airport.

Squalish on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:42 EDT

I am in legal favor, by the way, of regulation via definition - so we slap certain words (like "cab" & "taxi") with these restrictions, but allow other words (like "vanshare" or "jitney" or "limo") to have their own service levels.

Vik on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:40 EDT

If the system was a bit less regulated, we'd have more cabs and prices would come down. Cab drivers would need to make a living and therefore would operate more efficiently. Overall, it would work out a lot better for the passenger. Perhaps an audit and adjust system could work, but again, it wouldn't make me more comfortable compared to what we have now since the cartel of cab businesses would be colluding with the gov't to set prices. If there's one thing I'm sure about, cabs would be cheaper. Maybe the quality would be lower in some, not all cases, but I'm almost positive that the prices would be cheaper, service more efficient, and hopefully safer, and also we'd have more cabs. Again, w/ something like cabs that shouldn't require a lot of meddling from the gov't, as much as utilities or infrastructure for example, the prices will be set at the most appropriate level.

We'd need lots of oversight to make sure that companies aren't cutting corners to increase their margins if the competition was high, though. Perhaps the gov't and a private company w/ some external review or something.

Bianchi on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:38 EDT

silly dialogue but I can't help myself-
So EG, what happens at the taxi stand at National? (The other time i often take a cab). Currently departing travellers stand in line and take the next cab available while there is an airport employee organizing the process. What chaos to you propose in the name of "market forces" in that situation? Won't that be fun after a 12 hr flight.

Squalish on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:37 EDT

For cab fares, the Third World (paragon of deregulation) has plenty of people willing to bring you to your destination, demand $100, and then sic the police on you when you fail to pay. Or forget your destination. Or write a long contract in a foreign language and then serve tourists. You are in the cabbie's power for the duration of the ride, and most people don't expect "taxi service" to screw them over (they prefer it to function as a transit mode rather than a private bad-faith negotiation), so we regulate it to mean a certain thing.

At some point, our consumer protection laws (which allow us to dictate the definitions of advertised words, like "taxi service") have to cut in and prevent either unscrupulous after-the-fact demands, or before-the-fact haggling which stops a lane of a busy street for five minutes.

A clear, concise, non-exploitative cab fare which is generally agreed upon is of major utility to a city, whether it's moderately overpriced or not. It can be adjusted by fiat if complaints are loud enough.

For a cab fleet, I see no reason to go to NYC's restrictive tactics unless we're actually restricting downtown traffic (and implicitly cutting out most normal cars).

Yes, a safety-inspection medallion & standardized fare collection should be used, but they shouldn't be limited to a set number of cars every year. If they want to distribute authorization along corporate lines (so they can appoint an overseer to one location, say), then as long as they keep the barrier to entry low, the service & fleet size should remain responsive to demand.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:30 EDT

So you're saying that the consumer will likely take the first cab that comes to him and not compare the price of that cab to other cabs, we are guessing due to the preference to save time and get where he wants to go quicker.

They are certainly transaction costs, but in most other cases, transaction costs are certainly borne by the conusmer anyways. I go back to the price discrimination example with airlines: The business traveler who books the day before a flight will be charged more than a family who booked 3 months ago.

If price discrimination is legal in other industries, why ban it in the taxicab industry? Besides, I see two scenarios where someone would take a cab: A- where he calls a cab to come and pick up him, whereby he can shop around before making the appointment, or B- the rush-hour patron who is trying to save time (as I mentioned above), but since it tends to be a large market at that time of day (rush hour), we would expect a larger supply of taxis to meet demand, thus giving the customer a chance to compare prices of the cabs.

Bianchi on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:29 EDT

Vik, I concur generally with the notion of incentivizing(sp?) in some way fleets of automobiles (and trucks and busses) to be less polluting. I was responding to the notion of being forced to haggle for a fare each time I hail a cab. The predictablitiy and convenience of set fares is far more important to me than saving a few bucks on a ride every now and then. More likely I'd be paying a higher fee every time compared to now because i only take cabs when I'm in a big hurry. I'm not going to pass one by in that situation. If I had time to "shop around" for the best cab fare I'd walk or take metro!
EG, I have not noticed a shortage or surplus of cabs where I generally catch them. Like i said I don't have any complaints about cabs in DC generally. Well, maybe now I have one: I want to be able to choose a hybrid...

David C on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:29 EDT

should read "So while the price might go down... the cost MAY go up." That again depends on many factors. But you must subtract the transactional costs from the price gain and that may be a negative number.

Additionally, for the price to go down for buyers there must be a surplus of taxis due to the artificially high price. If the price went down some taxis would leave the market and we'd all be waiting longer for a taxi. There's a cost to that too.

Jasper on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:27 EDT

@ Squalish: The FOIA seems to be written in a time when everything was still on paper. Press, reports, everything. To protect institutions from being hammered with requests for paper copies of all kinds of information (and the related cost of an old guy going into an dusty archive, making photocopies of single sided and double spaced documents, and sending the documents), only journalists got free access. At the time (say the 1840s), this was not a bad idea.

However, in a time when virtually every document is digital, and can be found and (digitally) sent within minutes, these arguments don't hold up anymore. Especially, since every document *could be posted online for free anyway*. Hence, the dismay here on WMATA's stand. However, the law is the law. And why would WMATA break the law. After all, they reserve the right to peek into every users' bags which is not at all a trampling of the constitution.

Ok, down boy, down! Enough sarcasm.

Michael Perkins on What do SmarTrip cards cost?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:21 EDT

Bill in Bethesda: Not currently, though WMATA is working on such a function to be delivered in the fall. Your options are as you said, either pay full fare with a Smartrip Card and get the transfers, or buy a paper pass and pay full bus fare.

David C on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:21 EDT

EG, You're oversimplifying a very complex economics position - "that price controls result in shortages and surpluses." That's true. But that's only half the story. The lack of price controls results in transactional costs as the buyer shops for the best price. Those are real costs. So while the price might go down, (if there is a surplus of taxis instead of a shortage) the cost will go up. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at CafeEconomics writes "The economic rationale for price control is as follows. The taxi market has information asymmetries�which means that the seller knows more than the buyer. A consumer tends to sit in the first taxi that comes his way and has little idea whether the fare quoted by the cabbie is worth accepting or whether he should wait for another taxi, or yet another. He cannot compare prices without high transaction costs. So, a government body fixes taxi fares."

Here's a paper on the subject which argues that "the use of a centralised intermediary in deregulated taxi markets can overcome these problems so that the benefits of competition are maximised, without the need for government fare regulation."

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118587807/abstract
So even here an intermediary, other than the government is needed. And this appears to be only a theory.

It's pretty common economics thinking. I am resisting the urge to be snarky here so instead let me ask that you be more cautious with your snideness. Perhaps the statement

"That is an interesting theory that differs with everything I've been taught. Do you know of any literature that backs it up?"

Would be less offputting.

BeyondDC on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:20 EDT

Also, it's worth noting that catching a cab isn't necessarily an activity that for which people in the city want to be bothered to comparison shop.

If I'm calling a cab to be dispatched or picking one up from a busy cab stand, then sure, I'm willing to comparison shop. But if I'm standing on a streetcorner trying to hail the first cab that comes along, then I don't want to have to watch 3 or 4 go by because they're too cheap or too expensive for my tastes.

So, from the perspective of the city serving its citizens, I can understand why uniform service is a desirable trait.

What would happen, I wonder, if regulations were written to make all street cabs uniform, but to allow call-a-cabs to set their own fares.

Paul S on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:20 EDT

@Steve - My comment was directed more towards the applicableness of fitting a similar LRT into the existing main street fabric of Georgia Ave. I was not trying to diminish the accomplishment or TOD potential of the Hiawatha Line.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:19 EDT

Is that a good thing? :shrug:

Price floors lead to overproduction (surpluses). We refer to surplus labor as unemployment.

Alex B. on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:19 EDT

Steve, it's not odd at all. That's the fabric of most of Minneapolis - single family homes on relatively small lots. There are no real rowhouses in that city, or density akin to Chicago's three flats. There are a few areas that have walk up apt. buildings, but that's about it.

The Hiawatha line was chosen as Minneapolis' first because it serves downtown, the airport, the Mall of America, and the VA hospital. It also runs on ROW that was long ago acquired to widen Hiawatha Ave into a freeway, but that plan was stopped due to neighborhood opposition. In short, it hit a lot of good spots and the land was already assembled.

For a better idea of how LRT would work on Georgia Ave, take a look at the Downtown segments on the Hiawatha line. Keep in mind that those are also the slowest segments...

Omari on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:18 EDT

I often think people are too hard on this agency, but then I see crap like this and for a long time I lose all will to defend this agency against any vitriol. WMATA often does things like this that are stupid beyond belief and it makes me understand why people are wary of absolutely anything that comes out of this agency.

Squalish on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:17 EDT

Why exactly does the FOIA have a special exception for "Journalists" that it doesn't have for anyone else? It seems that a workable system which doesn't discriminate based on some arbitrary judgment should charge everybody a fee.

BeyondDC on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:15 EDT

When you pay for a taxi most of the fare isn't going to the car or the gas, it's going to pay the driver. That's why you can rent a sedan at Enterprise for $20 a day or a ZipCar for $9 an hour but could never get a cab for those rates.

So to add the discussion, regulated cab fares also constitute a kind of minimum wage. They guarantee a homeless person who lives in his car doesn't drastically undercut the price of a cab.

Is that a good thing? :shrug:

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:14 EDT

Meanwhile, people are choosing a taxicab service for reasons that you apparently don't like or understand: the quality of the service, rather than the price.

And you're more than welcome to patronize taxi services which offer 'better' service for higher prices. As long as I have the choice myself to take 'worse' service for a lower price, that's fine by me.

Steve on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:11 EDT

When I ride the Hiawatha Line, I've commented that it's odd there are so many single-family detached houses near it, even right next to the stations. That has more to do with the LRT line being only a few years old, and in a city that's long had no rail infrastructure. As the intersecting LRT line in Minneapolis gets built, along with the commuter line to Saint Cloud, I expect TOD will start to emerge. FYI: it already goes from downtown Minneapolis past the two airport terminals (both of which have stations) to the Mall of America.

Steve on Fenty nominates Gabe Klein for DDOT

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:06 EDT

Um, yeah, so Gabe Klein. That's cool. (Or am I on the wrong post?)

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:02 EDT

"...to confirm the monopolistic-competition thesis arise..."

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 15:01 EDT

@Daniel. You tell me. People like money, so there must be something going on in their heads if they're that willing to turn down a fare.

And again, is the taxicab driver a ward of the state? Must he be required to drive someone to Trinidad at 2 AM if he doesn't want to?

@whoever wanted academic support-

"It is found that many of the characteristics of taxi markets that would appear to confirm the monopolistic-competition arise because of the nature of regulation of these markets"

"Capacity Utilization under Alternative Regulatory Restraints: An Analysis of Taxi Markets", 1975
Arthur S De Vany, Texas A&M Univeristy, available on JSTOR

Ben on Urban bike trails aren't just for recreation

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:58 EDT

This is a bit aside from this posting but there will be a session on bike-sharing programs at the Transportation Research Board annual meeting this Sunday, Jan. 11. Here is the information on the session.

------------------------------------------
Public Bicycle Systems: A New Approach to Urban Mobility
Sunday, January 11, 2009, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM, Hilton
David Brook, Carsharing Consultant, presiding

Sponsored by:
Emerging and Innovative Public Transport and Technologies Committee (AP020)

Note: With the launch of the Paris Velib system, interest in public bicycle systems has skyrocketed in the past few years. Washington, DC and Montreal have launched their systems, and other cities are planning major programs. This workshop provides a detailed look at the role of public bicycles in urban mobility and discusses implementation considerations for planners. A round table discussion with speakers and guests will follow. At the end of the session, we will visit a nearby smart bike station.

New Mobility - How Public Bicycle Sharing Can Play an Important Role (P09-1331)
Sue Zielinski, University of Michigan

Status of Public Bike Systems in North America and Implementation Issues (P09-1333)
Paul DeMaio, MetroBike LLC

Findings from EasyConnect: A Public Shared Bike System (P09-1335)
Susan A. Shaheen, University of California, Berkeley

Bixi - Montreal Public Bicycle System (P09-1764)
Alain Ayotte, Stationnement de Montr�al

Roundtable Discussion on Public Bike System Implementation and Policy (P09-1342)
Clayton Lane, Consultant

I. Introduction, David Brook

II. New Mobility - How Public Bicycle Sharing Can Play an Important Role, Sue Zielinski

III. Status of Public Bike Systems in North America and Implementatin Issues, Paul DeMaio

IV. Findings from EasyConnect: A Public Shared Bike System, Susan Shaheen

V. Bixi - Montreal Public Bicycle System, Alain Ayotte, Stationnement de Montreal

VI. Roundtable Discussion on Public Bike System Implementation and Policy, Clayton Lane

Paul on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:57 EDT

Steve - Thanks for posting that link. Not only is the scale of those tracks very wide, I'm not seeing any businesses or homes fronting the streets the rail is on. That's a very different reality than Georgia Ave. This application seems more apropos to a Route 50 in Arlington than Georgia Ave.

Daniel M. Laenker on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:55 EDT

but omg they'll discriminate against the blacks!!11!.

Wow, EG, it sounds like you're incredibly unconcerned about that, or what happens to black people generally. Are they one of your myriad "risks" that "astute", "rational" business people have to "manage"?

Meanwhile, people are choosing a taxicab service for reasons that you apparently don't like or understand: the quality of the service, rather than the price. I'm sure that if you wanted to start up a "market-oriented" tap-tap jitney service like one expects in developing countries, nothing is preventing you but the law.

Benjamin Kabak on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:54 EDT

That's absurd. The WMATA just shows how out of touch it is by proclaiming that GGW and similar sites "do not serve to provide information to the general public." Someone bring these folks into the 21st Century. As flawed as NYC's MTA is, they've been more willing to deal with bloggers. WMATA should take a lesson.

Time to FOIA them.

tom veil on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:52 EDT

rumpole: I bet there's a court somewhere that has juriisdiction.

GGW has two options: the DC Superior Court (at 5th & Indiana NW) or the DC District Court (at 4th & Indiana NW)

Paul on Back to the future in commercial real estate

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:49 EDT

In response to the final issue you've raised, the local businesses being displaced in neighborhoods like Georgetown by the chains are the ones that need to be willing to relocate to the neighborhoods like Shaw. No, we can't expect Apple to open a store in an up and coming neighborhood, because they don't know what's up and coming. But local businesses with less influence and money have to accept that they are the ones who have to invest in those neighborhoods.

Steve on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:46 EDT

View Larger Map

If you view the larger map, you can roughly align the Hiawatha Line LRT tracks with the scale indicator of Google Maps. As the rail bed is roughly half of the 50 foot scale, I'm guessing it's about 25 feet.

rumpole on Urban bike trails aren't just for recreation

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:46 EDT

A paved road also makes the trail more usable both in bad weather and after it. With skinny tires (and by that I mean less than 32cm) and any kind of rain, you can't use that portion of the trail--it gets pretty hairy, especially when it puddles up over gravel. Wet pavement, however, doesn't pose the same kind of challenge.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:46 EDT

First of all, why should a taxi driver be forced to drive someone to a bad neighborhood if he doesn't want to? Is he somehow a ward of the state or a government employee, unable to determine his own safety? Whatever happened to the right to refuse service?

but omg they'll discriminate against the blacks!!11!.

Possibly, and my guess is there are enough taxi drivers out there would be more than happy to pick up that segment of the demand for taxi customers.

So it'll screw tourists.
And amusement parks, restaurants near attractions and hotels don't?

They know what fares will be, they can efficiently hail and get in cabs without clogging traffic as they negotiate rates, etc.

Would you shop at a place if it didn't post how much it's stuff cost? It's generally bad business to not post your prices.

Can you name me one North American city that has cab rates floating as you propose?
I can't off the top of my head. But it's pretty easy to emprically show that price controls result in shortages and surpluses.

Alex B. on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:45 EDT

For taxicabs, EG? I'm looking for some applied examples, not some academic, abstract notion of what would and wouldn't happen.

Again, do you have a case study of deregulated taxi cabs for us to examine?

rumpole on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:42 EDT

If you've exhausted your administrative appeal, I bet there's a court somewhere that has juriisdiction. It would help a lot, though, if you gave the Court your traffic numbers or otherwise got them in the record. A lot of blogs have higher circulations than newspapers.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:37 EDT

If you remove pre-set prices I would expect prices to go up and quality of service to go down.

Find any economist that agrees with that statement and I'll take the rest of your post seriously. I don't mean to be snide, but there is essentially no economic literature out there whatsoever that supports that line of thought.

Alex B. on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:36 EDT

EG,

Right now, I know the rates of any cab I get in just off the top of my head.

If I had to go down to the street and hail cabs and then evaluate their fares, don't you think that would cause a bit of a mess?

If you don't like price controls, then implement some sort of periodic audit and readjustment of the rates. Still, the public benefits from having set rates. They know what fares will be, they can efficiently hail and get in cabs without clogging traffic as they negotiate rates, etc.

Raw economic efficiency is often impractical.

I'm not trying to defend DC's cabs here, I've had more than my share of bad experiences. But the idea that set rates are somehow bad for the public is odd, to say the least.

Can you name me one North American city that has cab rates floating as you propose?

Nancy Floreen on ICC Junior: Montrose Parkway

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:33 EDT

Thanks for forwarding me a link to this conversation. Just a few facts are in order. The Montrose Parkway is going to end at Veirs Mill Road. Period. Years ago the Matthew Henson Park was created to forestall it from going further. You should know that we have recently funded a bus rapid transit study for Veirs Mill Road - something that's been on our priority list for the state for years, but they've never gotten around to it. This will look at all the right of way and operational needs for committed bus lanes all the way along the road. There are of course various interchange improvements in the works in the area - most of which are dependent on state funding which has more or less dried up for the time being. Bottom line - improved bus services will be the next frontier.

Jason on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:32 EDT

Re: River Line in Camden NJ

There is only one track serving both directions in that picture. What kind of frequency can one track achieve? Yet more than one track and you overwhelm the avenue.

Jasper on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:32 EDT

@ Michael: WMATA is rightfully wary of drawing a line that says some blogs serve the public while others don't.

Correct. How 'bout they stop filing paper in cabinets, and just start publishing *all* internal reports publicly on a decently searchable online database. Saves space, trees and the entire public can look up whatever they want. Sounds like a triple whammy to me.

IMHO, this is the way any (semi-)government organization should work.

David C on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:27 EDT

EG,

If you remove pre-set prices I would expect prices to go up and quality of service to go down.

You will have an unbalanced market place where the seller is significantly more informed than the buyer. In such a system the first price offered by the seller is always well above market rate. Some buyers take it and some, more savvy buyers, don't. So it'll screw tourists. In addition you're talking about pulling a taxi over, asking him his price and then either paying it or rejecting it and sending him on his way. This means every time you need a taxi, you'll need to flag down several to get the right price or overpay. It is better in such a situation for buyers to negotiate one price beforehand.

In addition what happens to patrons who need to go to 'bad' neighborhoods? Now, they're protected by laws, but under a dynamic pricing system a drive need only demand $300 to avoid taking a fare they don't want.

I suppose it could work if taxis printed their prices on the outside of the taxi ($1.00 flag, $75/mile, $1 additional passenger, No trunk fee, etc... With simpler=better) but that would make it tough to modify prices quickly.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:27 EDT

but that of course assumes all consumers are making their decisions with perfect information

And where is this asymmerty of information you preceive? We require that their fares be advertised and you get to choose whether you want to use the cab or not.

How is that different from any other good or service out there?

And do you honestly expect that a regulatory board could ever possibly keep up with all the factors which go into price? I guess since there's no recorded case in history of price controls working, DC taxicabs are a great place to start using them.

Alex B. on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:21 EDT

I have to haggle enough just to get a cab at night from Dupont back to the Hill - I don't want to add haggling over the fare, too. The haggling over zones was bad enough.

The predictability is too important and of far more value to me than the actual cost. This is one of those things where a totally free market sounds good on paper, but that of course assumes all consumers are making their decisions with perfect information - and when people are hailing cabs on the street, that most certainly is not the case.

Instead, there should be a method of auditing and re-evaluating cab rates at regular intervals.

Richard Layman on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:15 EDT

Actually, it's part of the Fort Circle Park system of the National Park Service, a kind of greenbelt that connects a number of the Civil War forts.

2. Alex, I see your point. I don't imagine you ever were out on Wilson Boulevard in the late 1980s, at say Virginia Square? It was a lot different than it is today. Kinda like Deanwood... But, I think that kind of redevelopment along Georgia Avenue is unlikely. It would require rezoning of the corridor to downtown like densities. I just don't see it happening, despite the fact that there are a number of spots that justify and can handle intensification.

The only point I am making is that given that, LR or streetcar is justifiable, heavy rail is not, unless for some reason it was done to abandon the current red line routing from Silver Spring to Union Station.

2. Steve, I am not up on the technical requirements for LR. I do think it would be a stretch to accommodate it, but that it can be done.

However, all the nimbys think that GA Ave. _isn't_ even wide enough to accommodate streetcars, which is patently false. But it would likely require removal of some parking.

I base that on this image of the River Line in Camden, NJ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rllayman/3085357454/

JW on Fenty nominates Gabe Klein for DDOT

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:14 EDT

�who, quite frankly, won't be around the suffer the fate they are trying to foist on us.�

William, I am confused by this reference. Who, precisely, do you assume will not be around to suffer the fate they are trying to foist on us?

There are the developers, who would like to replace our open space and our vibrant, walkable development that evolved over time with high density, cookie-cutter apartments, putting into place precisely the type of urban renewal that Jane Jacobs would condemn, by claiming that this is TOD. We are left with narrow sidewalks (David thinks that 5 feet is appropriate) and streets lined with 10-story buildings where even ornamental trees will die. The developer takes the profits home to the suburbs.

Then there are the students, singles and young couples who rent or purchase the studio or one-bedroom apartments. Do they stick around after they graduate, or after they move on in their careers or private life and find that they need or want more space or that they do not want to live in a neighborhood where the city has sold off much of its public land, where the school has an apartment building on its former property and lacks outdoor place spaces and where the school, community center and library have no room to expand?

There are chain stores on the first floor, at least for the spaces that are occupied, replacing the local businesses that have been lost, since national chains are the leases that developers need in order to get financing.

There are the current staff of the office of the deputy mayor for planning and economic development, who are hell-bent on selling off our public land at fire-sale prices, frequently also providing the developer with future tax incentives or attractive financing, without any consideration as to whether that public land will be needed by future residents or the impact on our bond rating or future tax revenues.

Finally, you seem to imply that the people who won�t be around to �suffer the fate they are trying to foist on us� are precisely those residents who care about the future of their city, who invested decades in their city and their neighborhoods, and seem to be the only ones who are interested in making the city a desirable place to live, now and in the future. Perhaps, you assume that everyone who has an actual stake in the city�s neighborhoods also has one foot in the grave, but unless you totally destroy our neighborhoods by following a na�ve application of transit oriented development, those are precisely the residents who will no bail.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:08 EDT

I percieve current cab-ride rates to be reasonable so I'm satisfied with the fare regulation system.

You don't want cheaper fare? According the the OP, the hybrid taxis are more fuel efficicent and (not counting overhead) have lower average costs, thus lower fares.

You don't like lower fares?

I do not want to haggle over a fare every time I get in a taxi. I know what to expect and I like it that way.

Haggling isn't involved. They charge a price and if you don't like it you don't take the cab. When I say prices are set by buyers and sellers, it's meant to be taken in the abstract sense.

Vik on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:06 EDT

I'm not talking about de-regulating so anyone w/ a Crown Vic can go be a taxi-driver. I'm talking about making the process for introducing new cab services easier. Tax incentives and reducing certain fees are great too. Deregulating fares is another issue but I think it can be done. Given that you have paid the fees and obtained approval(meeting certain guidelines w/ respect to safety and equipment, which would have been an easier process than now, you would charge what you and the rider agree upon. I definitely think prices would go down in general, perhaps w/ the summer oil bubble, it would temporarily go up.

And I'm not saying there shouldn't be oversight either, just less regulation, in general. Seems like theres too much corruption and politicking between the gov't and cab companies.

And in general, I'm alright with a set fare system, but conceptually, I think something like deregulating fares would work, it doesn't seem too complex for it not too, it's just a taxi, not like a utility company.

Paul S on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:03 EDT

Thanks Bianchi, I figured at least one of the green areas was a school. But there are quite a few green tracts in the image.

Bianchi on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 14:01 EDT

I percieve current cab-ride rates to be reasonable so I'm satisfied with the fare regulation system. I do not want to haggle over a fare every time I get in a taxi. I know what to expect and I like it that way.

Economic Geography on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:56 EDT

How do you deregulate taxi fares? Do you mean the taxi driver can charge whatever he wants? Especially when it's raining or snowing? Or when I have a heavy package?

Absolutely. First of all, prices aren't really set by the cabbie, but by buyers and sellers in the market. That's econ 101.

Rain and snow is risk to the driver, and thus you pay a premium on the risk. Would you pay higher to a valet service to ensure your car wasn't parked in a ghetto? Same concept, a risk premium.

What difference does it make if you're carrying a large package or not. So your demand curve is less elastic, but if it's 'evil' for him to profit off of that, wouldn't your consumer profit off the transaction if he couldn't raise the price be just as evil? Airlines price discriminate all the time; it's just a matter of charging consumers what they're willing to pay.

Bianchi on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:54 EDT

Paul S, It's a school and park. Casey Tress planted about 50 trees on this parcel last year.

Mike S. on enviroCAB sets a green example in Arlington

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:40 EDT

Vik,

How do you deregulate taxi fares? Do you mean the taxi driver can charge whatever he wants? Especially when it's raining or snowing? Or when I have a heavy package?

Right now, the problem is that anybody with $500 can buy a used Marquis or Crown Victoria with 150,000 miles on it that's been jettisoned from the Virginia fleet and bring it into DC and hire some poor stiff from the Third World to drive it around town. Legally. And there have been scandals and convictions involving the sale of safety inspection stickers.

New York mandates what's in the city's taxi fleet. DC could, but considering the city's inefficiency and dishonest bureaucracy, I can't see it happening soon with any degree of integrity.

So if we want hybrid cabs, we might urge the city to give them a break on the taxes and fees. Put a clean air taxi on the street, no license fee and free inspections for three years. That kind of thing. It's not a huge expenditure we're talking about...but an incentive.

Paul S on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:40 EDT

For my own personal education, can anyone explain to me the nature of this open space at GA and Missouri?

View Larger Map

Chris S on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:38 EDT

Sounds like it is time for a petition! ;)

Alex B. on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:32 EDT

Richard,

I disagree with your notion that there's not that much to build on GA ave. Keeping in the mindframe that this is a 50 year + investment, there are plenty of sites that could see wholesale redevelopment without use of eminent domain or large scale razing.

Adding a subway line on Georgia totally changes the result of a buildout analysis. The only question becomes the timeframe. Again, with a long term vision, I think it makes sense from a conceptual level, especially when coupled with the benefits of un-doing the interlined portions of track.

Cavan on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:26 EDT

"The question is do we want to 'voluntarily' make the change towards something ultimatley better, or wait till we are forced to change with fewer options. Leadership anyone?"

Sounds like a metaphor for our entire national (auto)-mobility paradigm and its interactions with our economy and collective livelihood.

Michael on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:22 EDT

Back in 2003, I got a database from Metro showing trips between stations. It was a thrill to query. I published stats in the Dupont Circle Update; see 9th paragraph of http://www.dupontcircle.biz/dcu/dcu070.htm

My favorite revelation: Farragut West is the 4th-least-travelled-to destination from Dupont, which makes total sence, since you'd go two stops on the red line then two stops on the blue/orange, just to end up a few blocks from where you started. Still, for that year, 10,089 people rode that trip instead of walking!

Thayer-D on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:21 EDT

A Georgia Avenue trolley is the biggest no brainer of all TOD time. First of all, it was developed along a trolley line so it has nodes of density about every 15 minute walk. Secondly, there are plenty of developable sites along it's route, 60 foot depths or not. The length of its main street fabric is probably the longest of any main thoroughfares into town. There will be an incredible disruption of traffic if it where done in it's own right of way, which is the only real way to make it successful, but any transition in peoples habits is difficult. The question is do we want to "voluntarily" make the change towards something ultimatley better, or wait till we are forced to change with fewer options. Leadership anyone?

Michael on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:08 EDT

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) needs to be amended so that more information is simply available on the web without anyone having to file a request. At the very least, budgets and spending data should be immediately available - imagine all the frauds that would be avaoided if members of the public could keep a closer eye on our governments' activities.

Re WMATA, the issue boils down to one of cost. The rule seems designed to avoid spending public money without public gain. I agree the GGW serves the public, but WMATA is rightfully wary of drawing a line that says some blogs serve the public while others don't. What are the actual rates they charge for providing data? Are the rates reasonable? It should cost a $1 DVD and 10 minutes of time to dump an entire database.

Steve on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:06 EDT

Richard, Is Georgia Ave wide enough for a LRT right of way? The Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis seems to have a rail bed around 25' wide, could GA Avenue accommodate that in such a way that wouldn't cause residents to object to loss of parking and driving lanes?

Daniel on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:06 EDT

Hmm...
If they were smart they would set some threshhold on readership/page hits/something so that they could at least ignore the really small blogs/websites that really are not worth the effort.
That said, no one has ever accused the management/bureaucracy of being smart/efficient..

I think this reaction on their part is pretty ridiculious...

David Alpert on Breakfast links: new year, semi-new ideas

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:05 EDT

According to the Washingtonian article, it's Constitutional to make a new state out of part of a state if that state agrees. Of course, as they point out, Richmond would certainly not agree. West Virginia got away with it because Virginia had seceded then.

Statehood advocates also point out that Congress can simply declare the District, outside of a small federal core, to be a state without amending the Constitution to get rid of the District. Retrocession proposals usually do the same; they reserve the Mall, adjacent agency buildings, Capitol office buildings, and East and West Potomac Parks as the federal district.

mark on Breakfast links: new year, semi-new ideas

Mon, 5 Jan 09 13:00 EDT

They would have to amend the constitution to dispense with the District, but I'm pretty sure it is also unconstitutional to form a new state from a portion of an existing one; and it would be a little more troubling to do away with that prohibition.

Richard Layman on How about a North Capitol Red Line branch?

Mon, 5 Jan 09 12:57 EDT

Steve -- my point is based on the reality that the commercial frontage along Georgia Ave. is less than 60 feet deep for the most part, and all of the residential lots abutting georgia ave. (say 6 blocks in either direction), for the most part, are already developed.

Unless you were to do wholesale redevelopment (comparable to urban renewal) of already extant residential blocks (a mix of rowhouses, single family detached, and some small apartment buildings), you can't add substantive density.

It's not possible to redevelop all the small buildings into 10 story buildings without massive redev. And I know residents like myself would not favor our houses being taken by eminent domain to do such.

Hence my point.

Recognize that this is a slight overstatement. There are certain sites developed as automobile oriented (Rite Aid, CVS, Safeway at Piney Branch) that have significant redevelopment opportunity. + Curtis Chevrolet, etc. Sort of Walter Reed, but it's likely that the campus will remain a federal facility.

But in any case, it's nothing how like Wilson Blvd. has been redeveloped in Arlington.

Since the ability to generate "massive" land use oriented change doesn't exist as a result (i.e., do a "build out analysis" of the corridor and you'll see what I mean), heavy rail doesn't make sense.

http://www.ca-city.com/images/news/pdfs/BuildOutAnalysis.pdf

Remember the maximum capacity of the subway is roughly 38,000 people/hour in each direction. (That's for single line service with no switching between lines.) So to spend more than $400 million/mile for tunneling + more money for station infrastructure, you have to be able to generate high numbers of passengers during peak periods.

For this reason I think a separated blue line is justifiable. Other heavy rail investments are not likely to reap as much benefit, and therefore fall way down on the scale of importance from a cost-benefit standpoint.

However, there is no question that a light rail line makes sense--IF it is extended into Montgomery County. (I say LR as differentiated from streetcar.) Based on the same kind of analysis of ridership and development opportunity.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on every block of Georgia Ave., but I do live a few blocks from it, and I bicycle large segments of it a few times each month, both to Downtown as well as to Silver Spring.

And I do understand physical planning and build out analysis.

(Note regarding North Capitol too that it is my primary biking route between where I live--near Takoma Park--and multiple trips each week to Capitol Hill for work and advocacy related activities. Given that I am one of the rare people willing to ride kamikaze on N. Capitol, I do believe that I have a pretty good understanding of the density and opportunity issues for these corridors.)

David Alpert on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 12:55 EDT

monkey: He did file one. That's what PARP is (the WMATA FOIA). They denied his request to be treated as media, and said why; he appealed, and they rejected it, also saying why. But their reasons why ignore the new law, and were probably wrong under the old law too.

mark: This predated the Google thing. In fact, one of the original PARP requests that Michael made, where he requested media status, was about why they haven't done Google Transit.

monkeyrotica on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 12:53 EDT

Your next step is to file a formal FOIA request, right? Because invoking FOIA automatically sets the clock running. They don't have to give you the info for free, but they do have to tell you why they won't respond, which would be interesting in and of itself.

mark on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 12:52 EDT

They're probably still mad at you about the Google thing. Keep up the good work!

Steve on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 12:43 EDT

If WMATA is having a budget shortfall, it rather explains why they aren't inclined to do more work for free. (I'm not saying they're right.)

Richard Layman on You're not the public, says WMATA

Mon, 5 Jan 09 12:40 EDT

You should contact EPIC, and maybe they will help you challenge this case. I don't think they are the right outfit on this matter, but another org. that might be a resource is Ralph Nader's Center for the Study of Responsive Law. I could try to get you an audience with Ralph Nader (no guarantee). Let me know.