[PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07

Fred Schneider fwschneider at comcast.net
Wed Feb 7 11:24:54 EST 2007 

Ain't a whole lot different in Eastern Pennsylvania Herb.   Keep Cool.

On Feb 7, 2007, at 11:15 AM, Herb Brannon wrote:

> Red Line trains here also enter the main airport terminal building.  
> Was first U.S. city to have direct rapid transit service from  
> airport to downtown in 1968.
>
> Herb Brannon
> Downtown Cleveland temperature is now a swealtering 10 degrees F.  
> Wind chill now minus 15 degrees F.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Sent: Monday, February 5, 2007 12:42:48 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>
>
> So do Amsterdam and Brussels. (trains in the airport terminal  
> basement).
> Gt. Brit just doubled their airport taxes, and Amsterdam may now be  
> the
> low-cost airport for U.S. travelers, according to internet article  
> last
> week.
>
>
>
>> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>> Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2007 12:03:38 -0500
>>
>> John and all:
>>
>> I love my car.   And I think Ken Josephson loves his car too ...
>> maybe as much as his wife and daughter.   But there are still places
>> I will not take it.   I may drive it through but I see no sense in
>> parking it in downtown San Francisco (hotels are a lot cheaper down
>> in San Mateo and Caltrain works just fine or BART works fine from the
>> hotels in the East Bay).   Most of my trips to Europe have been car
>> rental trips because I love the countryside BUT I SCHEDULE THE
>> BIGGEST CITIES FOR THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF THE TRIP BEFORE OR
>> AFTER I PICK UP OR TURN IN THE CAR.   You do not need a rental car in
>> London or Rome or Paris or Munich or Zurich or Basel or any other
>> large European city, so find a hotel near the airport.   Best of all
>> find an airport with a hotel and train service into town and when
>> you're done there, then pick up the car.
>>
>> Zurich, Switzerland, for example, is a fabulous place.   The Swiss
>> Federal Railways has a train station in the basement of the
>> airport.   What better place can you find to arrive in a foreign
>> country.   London Heathrow or London Gatwick are the same ... Gatwick
>> is probably best of all because you don't need the fancy airport
>> trains (the regular Brighton - London locals also stop at the
>> airport).   Frankfurt, Germany also has mainline train service from
>> their airport to all over Germany.   Stockholm has high speed train
>> service from the airport to the center of the city ... rocket
>> sleds ... I think it was something like 125 mph.   (I'm sure Derrick
>> will tell us because he goes there frequently.)   These are a lot
>> better than the bus in Lisbon.
>>
>> On Feb 5, 2007, at 11:28 AM, John Swindler wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Hi Fred
>>>
>>> Those on this list are not the average person.  The average person
>>> does not
>>> know what transit options are available.  And when it comes to  
>>> foreign
>>> travel, they take with them their US experiences - which often
>>> means renting
>>> a car.  But Fred knows that he can stay in a Newark hotel and that
>>> PATH
>>> exists to take him to NYC.  And the rest on this list have similar
>>> "unusual"
>>> knowledge.  That's one of the reasons I like Fred's travelogues -
>>> they touch
>>> on the transit options.
>>>
>>> A couple from church visited San Francisco and complained how much
>>> they paid
>>> for parking at Fisherman's Wharf.  I replied that Carol and I
>>> didn't have to
>>> pay for parking when we visited this tourist site.  We bought  
>>> Muni day
>>> passes and rode the streetcar.  At this, his eyes kind of glazed
>>> over - like
>>> I don't understand how you can visit and not have to use a car.
>>> Suspect
>>> most have had similar experiences
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>>>> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to  
>>>> 2/1/07
>>>> Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 19:13:30 -0500
>>>>
>>>> And once you got that truck, it's bloody hard to go back to the bus
>>>> isn't it....
>>>>
>>>> I used to use the bus too ... every where I went.   But when  
>>>> that car
>>>> is right outside the door, it's hard to ignore.   The exceptions  
>>>> have
>>>> been instance like staying in the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark and
>>>> wanting to go into New York City ... in that case you know it's a
>>>> whole lot easier to walk six blocks to the Lackawanna or
>>>> Pennslylvania stations and take the train into the big city and  
>>>> live
>>>> the damn car sit in the parking lot.   I react the same way if I'm
>>>> going from Lancaster to New York or Lancaster to Center City
>>>> Philadelphia, or Dawntawn Pittsburgh.   But aside from the largest
>>>> cities, it's pretty hard for me to leave my car at home anymore.
>>>>
>>>> On Feb 4, 2007, at 4:44 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> This past Christmas I broke down and bought myself a Christmas
>>>>> present.................a truck. I did not have a vehicle for
>>>>> nearly one year. So I used GCRTA to go everyplace..........the
>>>>> grocery store, the bank, the mall, work, etc. Bear in mind that I
>>>>> have always worked the "Extra Boad". Therefore, every day is a
>>>>> totally diffenent run assignment. I am happy to report that, at
>>>>> least in Cleveland, public transit still works well. I was always
>>>>> able to get to work at any hour of the day, any day of the week.
>>>>> Living downtown helped. Only on one occasion did I have to call a
>>>>> taxi. This was one morning when the 6-Euclid bus due at the  
>>>>> Euclid/
>>>>> 32nd stop at 3:57am never showed. Otherwise you can get around
>>>>> Cleveland pretty well. However, now that I have the truck I have
>>>>> not resorted to the bus, car (lrv), or train. I have learned two
>>>>> things from this: 1) I know what our customers go through in order
>>>>> to use our services and I want to give them a decent transit trip,
>>>>> and, 2) We need
>>>>>  to keep a very high level of service, safety, passenger  
>>>>> amenities,
>>>>> etc if we want customers to stay with public transit. The new  
>>>>> level
>>>>> of "freedom" they attain will keep them in the private vehicle if
>>>>> we (public transit providers) do not do all necessary to keep  
>>>>> them.
>>>>> Time to get off the soapbox. I made gumbo and the aroma is calling
>>>>> me to the kitchen. Later gang !
>>>>> Herb Brannon
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>>>> From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
>>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, February 4, 2007 12:50:41 PM
>>>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to  
>>>>> 2/1/07
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> It's the convenience of letting someone else deal with rush hour
>>>>> traffic.
>>>>> Most small towns don't have rush hour traffic.    But even
>>>>> Harrisburg has
>>>>> rush hour congestion and parking is limited.  So I am happy to let
>>>>> the bus
>>>>> driver deal with it.
>>>>>
>>>>> And transfers on small systems are horrible because of the
>>>>> headways.  So if
>>>>> the factory job is not located in the center city, a car becomes
>>>>> much more
>>>>> attractive.
>>>>>
>>>>> Another factor:  how many young people today experienced the  
>>>>> joy of
>>>>> being
>>>>> bused to school?  And getting access to a car eliminated being  
>>>>> tied
>>>>> to the
>>>>> school bus schedule.  Suspect many never want to go back to
>>>>> reminders of
>>>>> their school bus experiences.  It has become a tough sell.
>>>>>
>>>>> While the feds will assure you that there is no difference in  
>>>>> modal
>>>>> split
>>>>> between bus and rail for new start funding purposes, and that  
>>>>> bus is
>>>>> cheaper, don't believe them.  They lie.
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>>>>>> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to
>>>>>> 2/1/07
>>>>>> Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 08:10:36 -0500
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't think it is that Herb.   I remember the Chief  
>>>>>> Dispatcher at
>>>>>> Conestoga Transportation Co. telling me back in the 1970s about a
>>>>>> special bus service they established to serve the women who
>>>>>> worked at
>>>>>> Shick's razor factory and several other plants in the same
>>>>>> industrial
>>>>>> plant.   Their drivers noted that the passengers disappeared  
>>>>>> after
>>>>>> they received the second pay checks and when they inquired of the
>>>>>> other passengers where Suzy or Martha was the answer was  
>>>>>> universal,
>>>>>> "They now have enough money to buy a car."   Factory runs no  
>>>>>> longer
>>>>>> pay.   It's the services to dentists, doctors, lawyers and malls
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> the indigent and retired and under 16 that seem to have become  
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> mainstay of public transit, at least in the small towns and in  
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> suburbs of the larger cities.   Some management types will use
>>>>>> transit because it is easier than finding a place to park  
>>>>>> downtown.
>>>>>> But the factory worker doesn't, even if the factory still exists.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Feb 3, 2007, at 7:39 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Too bad. I guess since there are no factories remaining everyone
>>>>>>> works bankers hours? Or so the PAT management believes. We still
>>>>>>> have 14 routes w/ 24-hour service.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Herb Brannon
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>>>>>> From: Joshua Dunfield <joshuad at cs.cmu.edu>
>>>>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 3, 2007 5:29:30 PM
>>>>>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to
>>>>>>> 2/1/07
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Herb Brannon wrote:
>>>>>>>> Interesting to note that 24-hour service is beginning again.
>>>>>>>> When I
>>>>>>>> worked at PATransit 24-hour service was offered on both the  
>>>>>>>> 42/38
>>>>>>>> and 35
>>>>>>>> car lines as well as many bus lines.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Unfortunately, 24-hour service died in the first round of cuts,
>>>>>>> around 2003
>>>>>>> if memory serves.  When it started in '01, one of my friends  
>>>>>>> (who
>>>>>>> grew up in
>>>>>>> Stockholm) told me that "Pittsburgh is becoming a real city!"
>>>>>>> Well...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>> -j.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>>>> Check out all that glitters with the MSN Entertainment Guide to  
>>>>> the
>>>>> Academy
>>>>> Awards®   http://movies.msn.com/movies/oscars2007/?
>>>>> icid=ncoscartagline2
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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