Wake up Buffalo! Why aren’t more of you riding Metro Rail? You’ve got a nice system there, clean, comfortable and attractive. This observation coming from a Torontonian who regularly rides the subway up here.
Wake up Buffalo! Why aren’t more of you riding Metro Rail? You’ve got a nice system there, clean, comfortable and attractive. This observation coming from a Torontonian who regularly rides the subway up here.
Sure, your train route is short. It doesn’t go to Amherst or the airport. But it does go through all the city neighborhoods that are being revitalized. And light rail is the perfect vehicle (no pun intended) to help spur development in reclaimed urban areas. Elmwood, Hertel, Allentown, are all close enough to rail stops to make train travel for intown needs a viable option. No? I think yes
You’ve got a pocket gem that I feel deserves more attention and patronage. Cities across America would kill for a light rail system these days. Just look how many have them on their planning tables; Austin, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Columbus to name a few (for a complete list go to: List of Light Rail Systems) And Buffalo, you’ve already got one!
I pen these thoughts after spending this past Thursday in your fair city, as I attended my first evening class of a graduate program at Medaille College. The bus from Toronto left me off a couple blocks from the Lafayette rail stop, where I boarded the train for the Humbodt/Hospital station.
I will admit, in all honesty, that as enthusiastic a supporter I am of urban rail transit, I was initially concerned that my Buffalo light rail experience would mimic those of my many travels on Atlanta’s subway – a system that is predominantly used by the city’s poor and underserved populations. Would I be welcomed by a rundown, almost empty, unsafe, graffiti pocked interior? I suspect these fears are similar to those of many Buffalonians who have never taken the train before.
Much to my pleasant surprise, however, the rail car was full of people from various cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds – just like Toronto’s subway – itself, a multicultural underground experience. Indeed I was impressed by the number of people on the Metro Rail car as well, and it wasn’t even rush hour. The platforms were spotlessly clean, the mezzanines impressive with their artwork. And kudos for making the system accessible to people with physical disabilities. My return trip to the bus station later that evening, coincided with the conclusion of the Thursday in the Square concert. As my train traveled inbound, a packed car of concert-goers were heading home on the outbound train. How inspiring it was to see so many people using the train at night….just like Toronto!
The one disappointment I did have lay with the exterior conditions of these stations. They looked forlorn, austere and uninviting. I must admit they don’t make a good first impression for anyone wanting to take the rail. I didn’t see bike racks, (at least at my station), I didn’t see benches, newspaper vending machines, or any hardy shrubbery that could spruce up the immediate surroundings. What I did see was concrete that looked in need of repair and barren exterior walls that looked foreboding and unattractive. How sad that these visual images belie the beauty of what lies an escalator/elevator ride below.
So what’s the solution? I know that many think the solution is expansion. And that is both true and obvious. But realistically, will this happen? There is no question that light rail would be more appealing and more frequently used if it went farther. But can it?
Federal funds for many mass transit projects are woefully scarce. And the number of cities requesting a piece of these shrinking funds is increasing, as municipalities realize the benefits of light rail transit. With Buffalo’s declined population, I personally don’t know how the city can favorably compete for government dollars against Southern and Sun Belt cities, with booming populations that are also vying for the same pot of money (LA, Houston, Norfolk to name but three).
One possible solution to the absence of federal funding is to raise the necessary cash locally. This is how Houston was able to fund its own initial starter line that opened in 2004 (the city was denied federal money). However, with Buffalo’s fiscal woes, I highly doubt this plan would be feasible.
So, barring expansion of the system, (or until that happens) how does Metro Rail attract more riders?