Disqus - Latest Comments for peterL

Re: SXSW PanelPicker®

peterL — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 16:22:11 -0000

We can't just pour more concrete and asphalt highways to solve transportation issues - we need more train service for passengers in more corridors, like Austin to San Antonio, Chicago to Milwaukee, Miami to Orlando-Tampa, Phoenix to Los Angeles and lots of others. But don't do it at the expense of canabalizing the existing national network. #OverlayDontTakeAway @amtrak @narprail

Re: Hotline #1,125 | Rail Passengers Association | Washington, DC

peterL — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 20:45:04 -0000

Duane, You may recall that after contemporary dining started on the Lake Shore and Capitol Ltd, RPA management met with Amtrak and convinced them to add hot entrees to the menu. They realized that cold food service by itself was a mistake. I rode the Capitol shortly after the dining room change and the service was pathetic but the actual quality of the food was decent. I had a hot entree and my wife had a chilled chicken salad and the quality was good. Sure, no white table cloth and no interaction with other passengers and that part is sad. Problems with food service on Amtrak is nothing new on the overnight trains. I have had plenty of mediocre meals for more than the last decade with service that ranged from great to abysmal.

You can't see it from Santa Fe but RPA continues to work with Amtrak, IF they will listen. If they won't listen then you do what RPA is doing and, for the first time ever, get bi-partisan support of the House and Senate for more funding than we've ever seen for passenger rail and direct Amtrak to run a national interconnected network.

If you want to throw the baby out with the bathwater think first. Remember that RPA management got 6 U.S. Senators together to battle Amtrak management and tell them to run the Southwest Chief, not a bus service through the heart of our country. You may also recall that last month in a U.S. Senate transportation hearing one Senator commended Rail Passengers Association for its economic study that showed the Southwest Chief brings $180 million in economic benefits to the cities and towns it serves. That's policy work from the professional DC staff. It's something Amtrak-issued statistics won't ever show. RPA is influencing passenger rail policy where it counts, on Capitol Hill with the elected officials that determine the future of train service.

Re: In Texas, Bad Transportation Policy Is Killing Us

peterL — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 12:27:25 -0000

Transportation dollars come from the legislature. Our State Representatives and Senators divvy out the funding to the Texas Transportation Commission and TxDOT and the Governor and Lt. Governor play a big part in the direction of transportation as well. It's all those folks that make it hard in a growing state like ours to plan for transit, intercity passenger rail and thinking outside the highway box. Don't lay all the blame at the feet of TxDOT. They have to do what comes down the pipeline from "under the dome".

Could the Transportation Commission be more pro-active in pursuing options other than highways? Yes, but they are on a short lease too, being appointed by the Governor. Losing Victor Vandergriff as one of the transpo commishs puts a big hole in thinking big and wide.

Direct your concerns to those that you elected. They are holding back transportation options for the future.

Re: Another Accident That Could Have Been Avoided on Government-subsidized Amtrak

peterL — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 18:18:31 -0000

I see the writer didn't waste any time turning a tragedy that killed and injured passengers into a personal rant against public transportation. Unfortunately R. Clabough fails to take into account the real underlying problem. Our infrastructure is deteriorating at a faster rate than can be brought back to a state of good repair on roadways, railways, in the air and on our waterways. Air traffic controllers use decades-old equipment, pay-at-the-pump gas taxes only cover half of the cost of building and maintaining roads and we live in a third-world passenger rail country that is embarrassing by international standards. Try writing about why we have been so miserly in maintaining and improving what has and could be been built.

BTW - the five to ten year old stats that were used about Amtrak are so 90's. Amtrak now nationally covers 95% of its operating costs and is aiming higher with the new CEO Richard Anderson (former Delta chief) at the helm. Instead of continually carping about how bad things used to be, why not do some honest to goodness research to learn how the only national passenger rail carrier we have is a main source of intercity public transportation for many smaller cities and towns in "flyover" country. Should we just tell these Americans, many in Red States, to take a hike, literally?

Re: NARP is now RPA | Rail Passengers Association | Washington, DC

peterL — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 16:57:38 -0000

Bob,

Rest assured we are still the NATIONAL Association of Railroad Passengers but with a new more modern logo and a new more easier brand to remember with a name that is shorter than 14 syllables.

We still support the development of the NATIONAL passenger rail network that consists of Amtrak, regional passenger rail operators, urban rail transit and future intercity interests to come that will provide rail passengers a good journey, like Brightline in Florida and Texas Central's bullet train project.

The "National Railroad Passenger Corporation", is Amtrak's legal name but we all call it Amtrak. Our legally registered name is the National Association of Railroad Passengers but it's much easier to roll off your tongue as Rail Passengers Association (RPA).

As you journey through our cool, new RPA (NARP) website you will see that we care about a national passenger rail network.

Re: WSJ opinion piece says transit subsidies are off track, uses Cleveland as a data point - Crain's Cleveland Business

peterL — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 17:23:38 -0000

Yes the cost would be lower to put more buses on the road but does that really solve the long term issue of congestion and moving people around our top 50 cities. Buses make stops and that backs traffic up. When traffic backs up it creates even more congestion. It's inevitable. But we need bus lines where rail lines do not reach, no argument there. I'm not advocating putting passenger rail transit everywhere. Only where it would make sense and move a significant number of people.

Re: WSJ opinion piece says transit subsidies are off track, uses Cleveland as a data point - Crain's Cleveland Business

peterL — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 20:57:50 -0000

Mr. O'Toole states that "low gas prices and ride-sharing" are main reasons for the decline in transit ridership.

1) Will gas prices stay low forever? No. What happens when they go up? Motorists become more price sensitive and switch to transit.

2) Ride-Sharing: Great. I use it at times. I also use transit. By putting more ride-share cars on our roads have we solved our traffic woes or just made them worse?

Don't write off rail and bus transit and think that asphalt and concrete are the only solutions. You may live to regret it in the future.

Re: I-35 Traffic Fix Now Calls For Two Toll Lanes Adjacent To Highway

peterL — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 13:41:48 -0000

So once again rail transit options are not to be addressed. More concrete, more asphalt, more tolls lanes. How long will it take until the "new and improved" I-35 induces more congestion?

Re: Hotline #1,035: NARP “Rally For Trains” Economic Report Demonstrates Disparities; USDOT Proposes Ease of Environmental Review; Adirondack Scenic Railroad Wins Court Ruling; Brightline to Receive Ne...

peterL — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 11:48:17 -0000

And yet this is another reason why I normally choose not to respond back to bitter people that couch behind an icon and made-up names to mask their public appearance through posts on social media. That leaves me at a disadvantage to carry on an intelligent conversation by phone or in-person with identifiable individuals.

You can easily figure out that I serve as Chairman of NARP, President of Texas Rail Advocates, am not retired, work full time and am far from being what you refer to as an "elitist". Most of our board members are also not retired, hold jobs and are real everyday people as well. We draw no salary, serve at the pleasure of the NARP council who can vote us out of office and are passionate about improving passenger rail in the U.S.

That being said I do need to clear up some issues from your previous post:

NARP founder Tony Haswell started NARP in Chicago hence the location for #RailNationChicago. Granted it's not a cheap city to hold a conference in but it's the right place for the 50 year celebration. We are sensitive to costs. In previous years our fall meeting occurred in cities with lower cost structures. This year's events are so popular we will break an attendance record.

You refer to us as "well off retired old white mean (men)". You are only partially correct. We are striving to place more Millennials and younger members into positions of responsibility on our Council and Board. The RailNation Chicago registration offers a reduced rate to those 30 and under to attract the next generation of passenger rail advocates who live on tighter budgets. The NARP staff in DC is young, lean and mean and the hardest working group I am proud to support.

I personally know NARP founder Tony Haswell. I have been in a meeting with Tony, I email him and I talk on the phone with him. I wish I knew him when I was a kid in Chicago way back when. He is a very honorable person, we owe him a great deal and I will talk about his contribution to NARP at our 50th anniversary dinner along with many others who have served in the last 50 years. Tony started a great organization and many more have continued the efforts.

NARP is strong. NARP staff played a major role in getting passenger rail a Title in the FAST Act passed with bipartisan support of Congress. Passenger rail now has a seat at the transportation table for the first time. A strong social media push this year with rallies in many cities made elected officials know that people want to travel by train and we're not going to go away quietly. It's a travel choice Americans want.

NARP derives a minuscule amount of revenue, offset by the larger expense of having a full-time person on staff, to administer a passenger advisory committee. The advisory members report the good, the bad and the ugly through their travels and experiences on national network trains. Those reports are relayed to Amtrak executives. We can't control what they do with the information and what changes they make to improve the passenger experience but it is a worthwhile effort. NARP is also reaching out to other rail providers and authorities to provide the same sort of advisory feedback that can be used to enhance the traveling public's experience at the regional and urban levels.

I don't intend to respond to any more of your posts unless you continue to post misleading, misguided or inflammatory remarks. If you are indeed a NARP member please look on the website for my email address and I look forward to opening a meaningful discussion with you by phone or in person.

Peter J LeCody

Re: Hotline #1,035: NARP “Rally For Trains” Economic Report Demonstrates Disparities; USDOT Proposes Ease of Environmental Review; Adirondack Scenic Railroad Wins Court Ruling; Brightline to Receive Ne...

peterL — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 11:27:45 -0000

Ross Capon, along with many others at NARP, devoted years and years to making sure that there are trains still running today and that the network is expanding. The celebratory dinner at RailNation Chcago honors ALL that carry the torch for passenger rail.

Re: Hotline #1,035: NARP “Rally For Trains” Economic Report Demonstrates Disparities; USDOT Proposes Ease of Environmental Review; Adirondack Scenic Railroad Wins Court Ruling; Brightline to Receive Ne...

peterL — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 22:21:39 -0000

The first two days are for NARP members and the public that want to learn how to be good passenger rail advocates. It's something that Tony Haswell would be proud of.

The second two days are offsite events including a celebration dinner Saturday night honoring past staff, directors and those that gave blood, sweat and tears to advocate for a national network.

Sorry you have an axe to grind but you are way off base.

Re: Hotline #1,035: NARP “Rally For Trains” Economic Report Demonstrates Disparities; USDOT Proposes Ease of Environmental Review; Adirondack Scenic Railroad Wins Court Ruling; Brightline to Receive Ne...

peterL — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 22:16:01 -0000

Ross is on the agenda giving the first annual Ross Capon Citizens Advocacy Award Saturday night.

Re: Trump’s rail funding cuts prove good for taxpayers

peterL — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 21:56:01 -0000

The article from the columnists in a cubicle state that Dallas Area Rapid Transit "according to an independent report, (it) has been an abysmal failure." That's right with fiscal year 2016 DART rail ridership at 29.8 million trips it's an abysmal failure. WTF?

So the solution of Ross Kecseg and Charles Blain of @EmpowerTexans is to put more buses on the road. Yes, lets add to traffic congestion and why not add more concrete and asphalt and widen those roads with special bus lanes to take more local property off the tax rolls. Yes, keep building behemoth interchanges that go four and five decks high in our cities like the High 5 in Dallas. Once built it created induced demand and traffic is as horrendous as ever. Take those 80,000+ riders a day off the trains and lets put them back on the roads. A great idea!

What Mr. Kecseg and Mr. Blain don't understand is that all forms of transportation are subsidized to a large degree. Your gas tax only pays for about 1/2 of road construction and upkeep while your pocket gets picked for the other half. You subsidize roads. Spoiler alert: airlines don't pay 100% of the air traffic control system or airport infrastructure. You subsidize air travel. Maritime traffic doesn't pay 100% of the cost of using navigable rivers, You subsidize waterways. Trucks and bus companies wear down our infrastructure and don't pay their full share of tearing up roads. You subsidize them.

Yes, rail ridership may be down in the past several years but gas prices have been low as well. There is a correlation. When gas prices go back up and they will... then ridership will pick up. Is Empower Texans willing to bet the next 30 years on roads alone to get our citizens from point A to point B in our cities. If so, they are making a big error in judgement.

Re: Can anything stop the TEX Rail train?

peterL — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 11:57:00 -0000

You still didn't answer the question posed. Where will you put all the additional drivers that will be on the road as the region and the economy grows?

Re: Can anything stop the TEX Rail train?

peterL — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 22:20:59 -0000

So what happens years from now with a growing population when we can't widen highways anymore or take more private land for new highways? We'll probably be thinking "gee, maybe we should have started that rail line and connected up the rest of the Metroplex to it". It will be way too late and even more expensive to build. Clogged roads will not win your way to economic prosperity in this region. What is the future cost of congestion?

Re: Texas Bullet Train Opponents Reach Out To Japanese Ambassador

peterL — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 22:24:39 -0000

Stop the presses. Not satisfied with sending a letter to the Japanese ambassador saying that the PRIVATE high speed rail project backed by Texans will "fail", the group known as "Rural Republican Elected Officials Against Private Enterprise" next plan to send a letter to the Pope asking for divine intervention to stop the bullet trains.

Re: TxDOT Spending On Jetpacks, Not State Highways

peterL — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 21:33:37 -0000

Just sent an email to Christopher Paxton, who was quoted in the article.

Please specify where TxDOT is spending hundreds of millions of dollars for passenger rail projects in the state. Your article in Breitbart Texas stated "Christopher Paxton, a policy analyst for Empower Texans, has found that TxDOT commissions have allocated hundreds of millions of dollars intended for road construction to passenger rail lines in Austin, Dallas and El Paso".

I am intrigued as to where you obtained those numbers because as the primary Passenger and Freight Rail Advocacy organization in Texas, we sure haven't seen any results from TxDOT so far. Are you thinking of a PRIVATE concern, Texas Central Railway, that plans to build high speed rail between Dallas and Houston? We know of two small grants from the Federal Railroad Administration for studies for future rail service but that's about it. By law, TxDOT can not use gas taxes for rail projects. Please explain.

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:23:10 -0000

I'm not going to say that any of the materials you have presented so far are the least bit biased that are pro-road and anti-rail in any shape or form, but way old statistics have little basis on current trends and future directions.

Just in the last 18-24 months billions of dollars in new developments are springing up around and near transit stations in Dallas and the suburbs. New apartments, patio homes, high rises, Fortune 500 campus buildings, retail establishments, service industries. This comes after the Obama recession ground developers plans almost to a halt in the late 00's and early 10's. The results of this burst of economic development, which shows no signs of slowing, are being realized. You can research all the stories posted by real estate editor Steve Brown in our favorite newspaper, the Dallas Morning News. This is a boom happening today and transit has played an important part in it. Economic development.

For argument's sake, say there was no DART light rail system built in Dallas. Instead all the funds that were spent to build out the system were poured into more asphalt and concrete roadways. How many lanes wider would we now have to make these roads to accommodate in creased traffic from a dynamic economy like ours where tens of thousands of new residents flock each year?

We already have 12 lane highways here, including the access roads. So do we go to 14-18-22 lane roads? Should we then double-deck these two football field wide roads and create ugly monstrosities that cut neighborhoods in half? Where does this insanity end and we look at all available modes of transportation, even if some are of higher cost?

One point you have failed to consider in any of your postings is that when you take private property off the tax rolls to build more roads and wider roads you lower the property tax base in that area. Fewer city services are provided from a decreasing tax base.

I enjoy driving my car. I get to where I want to go most of the time, traffic jams permitting. But when I need rail transportation that is dependable to the minute, clean, fast and seamless I am certainly glad I can access it.

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 09:37:24 -0000

Your comment: "And it is nonsense that the actual ridership on any Dallas light rail route is taking a lane or two of traffic off a route."

Editorial - March 11, 2014 in the prestigious Dallas Morning News, one of the few remaining fair and balanced newspapers in the U.S.: ww.dallasnews.com/opinion/e...

DMN seems to understand how rail transit works quite well and moves thousands of people off the roads. Our citizens voted for rail and apparently we like it just fine.

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:39:31 -0000

Headline in the Dallas Morning News today: Final Four organizers: Avoid Dallas traffic madness by taking DART.

So this useless, expensive, outdated and ineffective mode of transportation will be used to carry thousands and thousands of locals and tourists to venues that will result in tens of millions of dollars spent for just one sporting event.

Businesses (hotels, restaurants, etc) and the city treasury (sales tax) will benefit from having a fast, safe and convenient mode of transportation to move people around and those tourists will spend lots money in our city. Or should we just put thousands of Toyota Prius vehicles on the road at one time to get everyone to their destination as Mr. O'Toole suggests? Can you spell g-r-i-d-l-o-c-k?

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:38:18 -0000

Thanks for your response. That's why I live in Texas. We decide city by city if we want public transportation or not by our vote. Politicians don't make the decision for us. We decided we wanted it in Dallas and it works just fine here.

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 18:54:11 -0000

What is your solution when we reach a saturation point in our major cities and road traffic becomes unbearable, costing productivity, lost wages and quality of life time away from families?

Putting more cars, be it single driver or ride share, on a strained amount of concrete and asphalt in urban areas has finite limits.

While a lot of lower wage earners striving to better themselves use transit (the person who sold you your shirt, dry cleaned your suit, served your restaurant meal and answered your phone call) there are a lot of higher wage earners, seniors, students and handicapped people who depend on it as well. A lot of these people pay taxes and voted for public transit in their cities.

Simply saying buy them a car, as suggested by Mr. O'Toole, is a rather flippant attitude to have and smacks of elitism.

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:07:35 -0000

Every mode of transportation is "subsidized" directly or indirectly - air,. road, rail, water.

I'm not saying that transit is the answer to all transportation modes. But, if you read the other posts the American public is subsidizing roads to the tune of about 50%. That's a report from the Texas Department of Transportation. Your gas taxes now only pay for about half of building and upkeep of roadways and the rest comes from general funds. Cars are much more fuel efficient meaning less fuel tax collected and electric cars pay "zero" fuel taxes and use our highways for free. No one seems to be complaining about electric cars ripping off the public.

Are transit user fees too low in a lot of cities? Probably and should be raised. But that's something decided on a local level, in part, to move a certain percentage of citizens off the crowded roads. In Dallas light rail use is equivalent to two full lanes of expressway traffic during rush hour. That's moving a significant number of people out of the way and making more room for you on the road.

We just suffered through a 10 year project for rebuilding and expanding one expressway in Dallas. User fees from gas taxes, registration fees, etc. will not pay for the future upkeep on this one road alone.

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 16:01:23 -0000

So the same could be said for someone who builds and occupies property near an interstate interchange or road project? Or an airport? Or a waterway? All are public projects that in one way or another ultimately benefit the nearby property owners. Local entities will capture the increase in property values through taxes in all cases, will they not?

Re: O'TOOLE: The vanity of public transit

peterL — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:08:04 -0000

I guess fiscal conservatives like me also have a train fetish. I rode the DART light rail to work this morning in Dallas because one of our cars is being repaired. It's kinda nice to have transportation choices.