Reply to WMATA opens up 7 days a week til midnight on July 18

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Reply to "WMATA opens up 7 days a week til midnight on July 18"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Metro staying open until midnight doesn't benefit me. Not waiting 25 minutes for trains (transfers suck) when I can drive to work in 30 minutes would benefit me. I would return to a Metro with 3-5 minute headways on all lines. I will not regularly commute on a Metro that thinks 12-15 minute headways is acceptable rush hour service.[/quote]

But according to the PP, reductions in headways are not "needed" and are a waste of money, because you are not currently riding Metro. [/quote]
There is actually zero evidence that supports this idea. Prior to COVID, the annual song and dance was that WMATA would announce that it had a massive budget shortfall and would propose dramatically huge service cuts, including increased headways. The Fed and local governments would provide WMATA a bailout to cover the shortfall and prevent the service cuts. Then ridership would fall every year anyway.

Prior to COVID, the system basically operated at full capacity during rush hour based on demand. Cost saving measures were introduced to reduce service during low demand times. Every so often, local governments would convince WMATA to restore late night service in particular, but it never worked. As a result, there is a much stronger argument that Metrorail service should be responsive to demand. [b]Unfortunately it would be irresponsible to spend the resources just to satisfy this PPs desires. [/b] [/quote]

Oddly enough, this is exactly my opinion when it comes to road projects.

No, it's not irresponsible for a transit agency to provide transit.[/quote]

Seriously. Amazing how so many people don't understand the concept of induced demand. No one is driving on roads that don't exist, yet lack of drivers is never used as a reason not to build a road. The road gets built or expanded, the drivers flock to it, congestion increases all over again. The same concept works for transit. Using lack of ridership as an excuse not to make service usable is ridiculous. The ridership isn't there *because* the service doesn't go where and when people need it to. Build it and they will come. [/quote]

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