--- On Thu, 8/28/08, Jordan Hayes <jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com> wrote:
>
> As for the color of the faces on the bus, they have survey
> data that
> says that 73% of their local bus riders are black. 18%
> white.
[WS:] That proves my point, no? The 18% whites that ride Bmore buses are mostly low income or students. I can hardly see a white middle class face on a bus or Light rail in B'mre.
You also seem to have a point with your calculations of fare shares in MTA income. I have no idea how they cooked these figures. However, if memory serves, a certain level of fare box recovery was mandated by Annapolis, so it looks like MTA massaged the numbers quite a bit to meet the required quota.
>
> Another curiosity: the example route he gave was Baltimore
> to Silver
> Spring. These two stations are on different (commuter
> train, FWIW, the
> highest "white" mode) lines: Silver Spring is on
> the MARC "Brunswick"
> line which terminates in Washington, DC. Getting there
[WS:] Actually, taking MARC train all the way from Silver Spring to Baltimore (or back) is not feasible because of train schedule. The way to do it is to go to Union Station and then take Metrorail to Silver spring. Mterorail runs frequently, so layover is not a problem - fare is as it adds $2.65 one way to the cost of the trip. The main layover delays are in Baltimore - for example, to catch the 4:55 train I must leave my office no later than 4:20. Bus travels only about 10 minutes, but because buses are infrequent and irregular, it takes about 40 munites to travel this 1.6 mile distance. BTW, it walking takes about the same amount of time. Ride-On bus from Silver Spring metro station is more frequent, but still irregular - it adds about 20 minutes (7-10 minute actual travel time).
But here is the trick, MARC stops in New Carrolton abut 10 minutes before it arrives at the Union Station. Had there ben a rail connecton between New Carrolton and Silver Spring (and U of MD campus in between) e.g. the "purple line" now being studied to death, it waould take at least 30 minutes off that trip. So it boils down to inadequate transit system, especially for suburbia.
PS. MARC trains are indeed the whitest mode of public transit in the area.
Wojtek