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@ rural freight
Author: City Dude
Date: 05-11-2019 - 19:08
rural freight Wrote:
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> Growing up in a rural community with but one
> option for long distance travel, I saw Amtrak as
> an essential element to overcome isolation and
> remain sane. Many of times seniors and youth had
> no other option for family, medical or other long
> distance visits. And where Greyhound was an
> alternative, the resulting unsavory characters,
Although as a railfan, I will always prefer riding trains to buses, over the years, costs, schedules or logistics have made using Amtrak impossible and I had to ride Greyhound, Megabus or one of the Trailways affiliates. I've been doing so throughout most of my life from high school to well into my adult years. I will probably doing a Greyhound trip next month, too.
As for unsavory characters, yes, they ride buses. They also fly, ride trains and drive automobiles. As a pedestrian in a city, I feel far more threatened by drivers than anyone I encountered on a bus.
> uncomfortable seating, lack of sleepers, no senior
> friendly restrooms, no lounges and no on-board
> food service was unbearable at best.
>
> Small towns and rural communities provide
> essential services and products for urban
> sustainability.
Well that's a two-way street. Businesses and residents in metropolitan areas create the markets for those goods and services and provide the taxes to fund public services and infrastructure in rural communities.
Whether it be providing
> electricity, wood products, food items or leisure
> getaways, rural services is a critical component
> to a urban centers vitality. Given the traveling
> needs of "urban support staff", I hardly see where
> such a small % of the transportation budget should
> be a grave concern.
As an city dweller, among public policy issues, the money spent by the state and federal on rural transportation needs hardly rises to the level of "grave concern." If rural people want more intercity passenger train service, they should stop voting for anti-Amtrak Congressional representatives.
Things like rural bandwidth,
> postal service and transportation are all
> essential to rural communities so that they can
> continue to effectively service urban centers.
Speaking of the postal service, all of America's residents pay the same for a stamp to mail a letter. However, it costs a lot more per resident for that letter to get delivered to someone living in a rural community than for someone living in an apartment building.
>
> I think the real issue here is that intercity rail
> needs to be further upgraded so that long distance
> routes can better leverage these upgrades and help
> lower the subsequent cost. For example, Colorado
> has setup a commission to plan for the
> implementation of Front Range rail which will
> include stops in Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
> Once this rail is in service more riders will have
> the opportunity to transfer to the SouthWest
> Chief. In turn this will spur investment in
> places like Albuequerque which in-turn can better
> service its inter-city rail. This ripple effect
> is good for all rail.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Growing up in a rural community with but one
> option for long distance travel, I saw Amtrak as
> an essential element to overcome isolation and
> remain sane. Many of times seniors and youth had
> no other option for family, medical or other long
> distance visits. And where Greyhound was an
> alternative, the resulting unsavory characters,
Although as a railfan, I will always prefer riding trains to buses, over the years, costs, schedules or logistics have made using Amtrak impossible and I had to ride Greyhound, Megabus or one of the Trailways affiliates. I've been doing so throughout most of my life from high school to well into my adult years. I will probably doing a Greyhound trip next month, too.
As for unsavory characters, yes, they ride buses. They also fly, ride trains and drive automobiles. As a pedestrian in a city, I feel far more threatened by drivers than anyone I encountered on a bus.
> uncomfortable seating, lack of sleepers, no senior
> friendly restrooms, no lounges and no on-board
> food service was unbearable at best.
>
> Small towns and rural communities provide
> essential services and products for urban
> sustainability.
Well that's a two-way street. Businesses and residents in metropolitan areas create the markets for those goods and services and provide the taxes to fund public services and infrastructure in rural communities.
Whether it be providing
> electricity, wood products, food items or leisure
> getaways, rural services is a critical component
> to a urban centers vitality. Given the traveling
> needs of "urban support staff", I hardly see where
> such a small % of the transportation budget should
> be a grave concern.
As an city dweller, among public policy issues, the money spent by the state and federal on rural transportation needs hardly rises to the level of "grave concern." If rural people want more intercity passenger train service, they should stop voting for anti-Amtrak Congressional representatives.
Things like rural bandwidth,
> postal service and transportation are all
> essential to rural communities so that they can
> continue to effectively service urban centers.
Speaking of the postal service, all of America's residents pay the same for a stamp to mail a letter. However, it costs a lot more per resident for that letter to get delivered to someone living in a rural community than for someone living in an apartment building.
>
> I think the real issue here is that intercity rail
> needs to be further upgraded so that long distance
> routes can better leverage these upgrades and help
> lower the subsequent cost. For example, Colorado
> has setup a commission to plan for the
> implementation of Front Range rail which will
> include stops in Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
> Once this rail is in service more riders will have
> the opportunity to transfer to the SouthWest
> Chief. In turn this will spur investment in
> places like Albuequerque which in-turn can better
> service its inter-city rail. This ripple effect
> is good for all rail.
