Recently on Page 2: Transfer Bonuses, Electric Buses, West Seattle LRT
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Jason Schindler had a novel idea to essentially pay people to transfer:
The idea is to give people who transfer a small ($0.25 or $0.50) reduction on the cost of the overall fare. It should be significant enough that people notice the difference but not enough that it encourages people to transfer for no other reason than to save some money. Metro could make it almost revenue neutral (or even revenue positive) by hiking regular fares by a similar amount. This would not apply to cash transactions, because - Metro shouldn't still be doing paper transfers in the first place!
John Strick looked at Metro's new Proterra electric buses:
One thing that stuck out was that the bus body was made out of composite materials and not sheet metal. This significantly reduces the weight which helps increase the range of the bus. The interior of the bus has 40 seats and can accommodate 37 more standing passengers for a total capacity of 77 passengers. 28 seats are forward facing while the remaining 12 face inwards towards the center aisle. All interior lights are LED which also help efficiency.
Finally, Troy Serad took a critical look at West Seattle light rail:
Rail infrastructure best serves areas that look and feel quite like Alaska Junction, or are even more urban, and whose importance as a key neighborhood center is undeniable. These areas are dense and likely growing, featuring healthy development patterns. Rail infrastructure links such centers into a system that builds the foundation for a greater city. As an isolated case, Alaska Junction is precisely that: important, urban and growing properly. The context of Alaska Junction in the regional picture, however, upends the model that otherwise would support rail investments to the neighborhood.
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