Tag Archives: Houston Metro rail

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Houston METRO Opens New Rail Lines, New Possibilities

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It’s been a long time coming, but Houston METRO finally reached the big day.  Dug Begley of the Houston Chronicle has the scoop…

After years of construction and months of testing, riders began boarding Green Line trains headed from downtown east along Harrisburg and Purple Line trains toward the University of Houston and Palm Center Transit Center on Saturday morning.

The dual openings mark the end of a sometimes controversial six years for Metropolitan Transit Authority, which first approached voters and won approval for the lines in 2003, with the hopes of opening them in 2012. Numerous delays and setbacks pushed opening day farther away from those original plans, as anticipation grew in the neighborhoods.

With the lines open and shuttling thousands of people around, the communities turned out for various celebrations, where Metro and residents celebrated the end of construction and the beginning of what is predicted to be a major change in how people get around, especially those more dependent on transit for daily trips.

With new lines in service, Houston’s light rail transit system increases from 12.5 miles to 23 miles. Here’s the new rail system map, from the METRO website…

new system map

 

Its tough to assume how the community will ultimately adopt the new transit, but from yesterday’s opening, METRO’s Southeast and East End Lines seem off to a very good start.  I was able to ride the Purple Line on its inaugural, and took some pictures of the experience..

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A new Metro railcar as it passes by the construction site for Houston’s Marriott Marquis, a 1000 room hotel slated to open next year.  

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A packed group of patrons wait at the Central Station platform, as a train approaches.

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Houston METRO celebrated with a concert at the BBVA Compass soccer stadium.  With the opening of the Purple and Green Lines, every major sporting facility in Houston is connected by light rail to the City Center, and the Texas Medical Center.  

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A Purple Line train rides along it’s new route on the University of Houston campus.  The new lines now connect Houston’s four largest 4-year educational institutions– UH, Texas Southern University, Rice University and the University of Houston Downtown– as well as various campuses of Houston Community College.  Students have access to new career and internship opportunities.  

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Places most likely to see immediate benefit are the 50,000 students that attend the University of Houston and Texas Southern University.  For those that already commute via METRO, the new lines give them a direct route to downtown, and decrease travel time for their overall trip.  Once classes are back in session, it will be interesting to see how students utilize these lines.

 

 

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Metro North Line FAR Exceeds 1st Ridership Goals

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Some great news directly from the METRO website…

In its first month of operation, the Red/North Line extension exceeded ridership projections by 62 percent.

METRO launched its 5.3-mile extension of the Red/North Line last Dec. 21 – extending the line from HCC-Downtown Station eight more stops to Northline Transit Center/HCC.

In January, the first full month of operation, the Red/North Line averaged 4,200 weekday boardings. That’s 1,600 more than what we had forecasted for the average daily ridership by Sept. 30, the end of METRO’s fiscal year.

“This speaks volumes about the value of rail in the community, and how expanding the reach of one form of transit enhances others like our bus service,” said METRO Chairman Gilbert Garcia in a statement.

Added Tom Lambert, interim METRO president & CEO: “It’s providing better connectivity and improving the customer experience on many fronts.”

Consider these stats since the Red/North Line expanded:

•The amount of transit service has increased, adding 192 rail trips each weekday, replacing 149 weekday bus trips.

•The frequency of service has increased with peak and midday service running every 12 minutes compared to 15 minutes on previous bus route.

•On-time performance has improved. Route 79, which serves the Northline Transit Center, rose to the top ten routes for on-time performance from the bottom 10.

Ridership on the Red/North Line is expected to surge when two more light-rail lines open later this year, the Burnett Transit Center opens and a redesign of our bus system is implemented.

Once the Green/East End Line and the Purple/Southeast Line open later this year, METRO will have about 23 miles of rail.

Of course in order to properly open the Green and Purple Lines, METRO is going to need some rail cars if they expect those trains to run at full capacity. Even still, the news that North Line ridership has far surpassed initial goals is welcome, especially when considering that the line just opened and much of it’s support infrastructure isn’t completed yet.

I can’t say I’m surprised by this. Anyone who has been brave enough to ride the line immediately finds a charming and interesting way to traverse the Near Northside. The Burnett Transit Center is a striking new edition to Houston rail as the first elevated station in the system. And best yet, at the end of the line, they have access to shopping and dining options that weren’t previously available. Sure many Liberals may detest the thought of stepping into a WalMart, but for most non-politicals out there, the expanded shopping is sorely needed. Slowly but surely, Houstonians are starting to understand that public transit has a place in the city.

The venerable Off the Kuff has more.

Houston Politics

Is Ted Poe A Go for Light Rail?

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Unless mine eyes and ears deceived me… yes. Though unlike the Chronicle’s Dug Begley, I’m not exactly ready to call him a ‘new rail line champion’.

In a bit of a shocker on the House floor yesterday, Congressman Ted Poe spoke in support of federal funding for Houston METRO’s University Line, the “cornerstone” branch of Houston’s light rail expansion that would connect Downtown and the Medical Center to the Galleria.

It’s common knowledge that John Culberson, who represents the area in which the westernmost branch of the rail line will run, is Capitol Hill’s most vocal opponent of rail transit. He has tried time and time again to kill all urban rail projects in Houston. But in speaking with Ted Poe yesterday on the House Floor, he almost sounded supportive of the line as well. Perhaps he was just trying to sound cordial with Poe and his Republican colleagues, but it’s a greater positive step than he’s ever taken before. From the video, Here’s what Poe had to say about the rail…

“…I have never been a strong champion of light rail, but my Congressional district includes a significant portion of the proposed rail line… A majority of my constituents in the affected area that would be served support the light rail. I am concerned that Section 166 of the bill that would prohibit federal funds from going to a part of the University Line that falls in… Mr. Culberson’s district, number 7. This language, although affecting his district primarily, indirectly affects my constituents because it has the effect of killing the whole project. Federal funds are needed to build the University Line in Houston. To be clear, Section 166 really doesn’t save any federal money, it just sends those funds to somewhere else…

I’ve recently surveyed the constituents who live in the affected area in my Congressional district… Those in the affected area want light rail. On Facebook alone over the last few days, 604 people supported light rail and 340 opposed it.”

Just in case you’ve forgotten, this rare occurrence where a member of Congress is against a project, but is later swayed by the overwhelming support of his constituents? That’s actually how our government is supposed to work. Americans send Congress to Washington so that they will vote the interests of their constituents, not just hold to their personal, rigid beliefs. It was also quite surprising to see Poe concede this fact publicly.

Now the next question… will Ted Poe’s reasoning be enough to sway John Culberson to drop his bill killing federal funding? No one knows for sure, but after yesterday’s events in Congress, Houston is again closer than ever to completing a major piece of it’s planned transit infrastructure. It’s good to see that some in Washington are beginning to figure out that Houston doesn’t need to fall behind just to prove a talking point.

Many Republicans in Culberson’s district are in support of transit investment. I asked Republican activist and Houstonian Christopher Busby what he thought of Poe’s remarks, and here was his response…

“As a former University of Houston student who understands the need for a modern transportation system, I think Congressman Poe’s support for the University line is great. As we continue to grow and become a more dense urban population, projects like the University light rail will become more and more essential to the development of our city’s infrastructure. We have reached the time when development of new roads and maintenance of old ones is not enough to sustain our population growth.”

But having more Houstonians in support of rail transit is just the first step. Most of the University Line is still planned as an At-Grade system, and that’s going to lead to more accidents in the future. While renewed hopes for federal funding are great, it’s time for city leaders and METRO to consider grade separation for the University Line. Most expect that when completed, this line will have the highest ridership of the whole system. It will also be traveling through the most high-density area of the city… an area that is still growing very rapidly. More people and more cars make for a higher probability of accidents. But if Houston plans for a better system now, those future issues can be avoided.

For more on this, check out Off the Kuff.

Houston Politics

Houston’s Rail-Less Future?

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As we continue to disseminate the long arms of the 2012 election, one particular result has altered the immediate future for Houstonian… The METRO referendum passed by an impressive margin. What’s good about the result is that it shows Houstonians support their public transit.

But the “devil” of this decision was in the details. The 2012 referendum was specifically designed to improve Houston streets, busses and bus transit infrastructure (bus shelters, signage, etc). None of the money can be used to build rail, and it essentially “frees” METRO from the bounds of the 2003 referendum. Thankfully the North, Southeast and East End lines should be completed as scheduled, but the future of the Uptown and University Lines are more uncertain than ever.

And let’s cut to the chase here… The referendum really wasn’t about METRO. This referendum was a deal that the board basically had to cut with the multi-cities… The small municipalities with Metro’s tax base such as the Villages, West University, Bellaire and others. Under the current tax structure, which was set to expire had this referendum failed, the multi-cities get tons of extra tax revenue to use to build their sidewalks and maintain their roads. They get more money than they pay in… in some cases, WAY more… while Houston residents LOSE money paying for their street upgrades. So make no mistake… The most important thing that was passed on November 6th was the ability of the multi-city governments to keep ciphoning from Houston’s tax base. Less rail and less money? Sounds like a ‘win-win’ to me.

But here’s what some Houstonians don’t recognize… Transit is not, and never will be an “either or” proposition. It’s not even today. Our city is the fourth largest in the United States… well over 2.2 million people, and still growing everyday. Our economy, thankfully is one of the strongest in the nation, and it shows no signs of slowing down. After a 2012 that saw Houston lead the United States in job growth, all signs indicate that 2013 will be an even stronger year.

And you know what else all of those signs indicate? TRAFFIC.

If you live in or have been recently to Houston, no one has to tell you that this city’s infrastructure is under immense stress. Even though we’re currently third in the nation for number of freeway miles per capita, we still don’t have enough room for all of the cars and people yet to come. Though we already spend more money per capita for road maintenance than any of the other top 10 US cities, our streets are still on the verge of crumbling.

We wear out our roads more than any other major city for one simple reason… Because we are so tragically far behind on alternative modes of transportation (i.e. RAIL). Houston is nearing a crisis point of how to manage its infrastructure. We can no longer afford to be a one-trick pony and rely solely on freeways to get around. The roads can’t take it, and the drivers don’t have enough time to wait.

The improvements to Houston’s bus system are sorely needed and will be welcome. It’s past time that critical bus investment is achieved. But as a city, Houston can’t drop the ball on comprehensive solutions to our transit needs. On November 6th, the citizens of Houston made vast commitments to the future of our city, passing record improvements for the Houston Independent School District, Houston Community College and yes, Metro busses along with the General Mobility Program. But these are just some pieces of the puzzle, and we continue to drag our feet on a very crtical part. If the local funding for rail is no longer a possibility, the next step for transit supporters is to go to Washington. For those concerned, now is the time to contact Congress members like Sheila Jackon Lee, Al Green, Gene Green and John Culberson to put Houston transit back on the agenda. Once the Fiscal Cliff situation is solved, infrastructure improvements are sure to be a top-level priority of the new (and decidedly more Democratic) Congress. Hopefully our Congressional Representatives will continue to fight for the sustainable growth of Houston.

Our future depends on it.