KC Light Rail

Not in KC, of course… just nationwide, according to the APTA. A couple of snippets worth noting:

• "Mass transit use increased by more than 2 percent in 2007 to the highest level in 50 years, with Americans taking more than 10 billion trips on public transport while the number of vehicle miles traveled was flat in the first 10 months of the year."
• "Cities with less than 100,000 people also saw a large increase — 6.4 percent — in public transportation use."

By contrast, KCATA ridership was a little over 15 million in 2007, compared to 46 million* in 1957 (the last year of the streetcar — coincidence? — after which ridership declined almost every year, hitting a low of 13 million in 2001).

* From Monroe Dodd's A Splendid Ride: The Streetcars of Kansas City, 1870-1957.

MARC will survey random commuters today through Nov. 15 to update the region's travel demand model. If you happen to get pulled over (see the map), please ask for light rail. The last "external survey" of this kind was conducted in 1971, so we're due for an update.

We've been added to a new, pro-transit blog aggregator hosted by the people behind The Overhead Wire. It's called City Transit Advocates… check it out!

We're taking a short summer break to enjoy rail in another part of the globe. Posts will resume on Aug. 9. In the interim, please be sure to apply for the Light Rail Citizens Task Force.

No commentary here, just providing the official list, based on various news sources:

1. Building relationships with the rest of the city council
2. Formalizing the city's finance and economic development policies
3. Ensuring the vibrancy of downtown
4. Neighborhood revitalization
5. Housing
6. Education
7. Crime
8. Waste water
9. Transit
10. Citizen satisfaction

There is simply no safer way to travel than by using public transportation. The probability that you will be injured or killed while riding a bus, subway, or light rail is far less than any other mode of local transit — especially the private automobile. If you're going out this evening, please consider staying overnight at or near your destination. You can also walk, take the bus, or — at minimum — ride with a designated driver or call a cab. Another creative option is take Amtrak into Union Station from any of the area towns that also have service (Independence, Lee's Summit, Lawrence, Topeka). Have a safe and happy new year!