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Water taxi? I can't possibly see how that solves much. If I'm going to drive 30 mins to the water taxi, I'll just spend an extra 10 mins to get over the bridge and to work instead of parking; walking to the taxi; ride it; get on a trolley; ride across the peninsula; and walk to work.
I’m in Richmond and ride the Pulse several times a week (never took the bus in Richmond before, been here 25+ years). The stops are probably under 1 minute. It’s really efficient. I like to walk and I live downtown on the same block as the Arts District stop. It works for me (close and I don’t mind walking 5- 10 blocks from a station to get to where I want to go).
I love it. I’m a carpenter and my truck is always filled with tools, makes driving around town miserable. BRT busses are typically big, airy, bright with really nice views from the window. Listen to music and enjoy the ride!
I think you need to learn more about BRT systems - frequent buses, therefore short stops (long enough for people to get off/on), then on their way. The closest thing Charleston has to this today is the Express buses, and they don't wait 5 minutes per stop unless they are well ahead of schedule.
I know all about BRT. They’re typically found in much larger metros. A stop is a stop it doesn’t matter how long it stops. Add up 19 stops plus the commute to and from the bus station and you’ve blown any possible time savings you thought you were going to save by not sitting in traffic. People will then just take their cars ridership will collapse, the system will end up costing more than it makes and the bus lanes will turn into car lanes.
We pretend like we want this but in reality none of us are actually going to use it enough to be effective.
We need to get over the fact that we’re not actually a big city that needs public transportation. Sounds good in theory, but nobody is actually going to use this.
The planned bus route has at least 19 stops. That route currently takes about an hour by car during rush hour, 30 minutes without. Even with its own express lane and timed lights, 19 stops at 5 minutes a stop is 95 minutes in just stops alone.
Charleston and Charlotte better buckle up, because they’re on par to becoming the next Denver and Austin within the next 5-10 years. There are big migrations from high tax to low tax areas and the Deep South is a huge draw for Californians, Bostonians, and Texans. Their money goes a lot further in the Deep South where it’s cheap. Hell they can sell their property out here, buy damned near a mansion in the south, and still retire early. They’ve inflated the Denver housing market for years. A house barely gets posted and a real estate developer throws cash on the table. Off the market it goes. And the prices increase. I’ve heard it’s hapoeninh in Charlotte already. I’m sure it’s beginning in Charleston as well. Enjoy the city while it lasts. What’s unfortunate is that Denver, Austin, and Charlotte have the ability to expand. Charleston doesn’t. And the city refuses to think about these things rapidly and efficiently. It’s a shame, really.
Charleston and Charlotte better buckle up, because they’re on par to becoming the next Denver and Austin within the next 5-10 years. There are big migrations from high tax to low tax areas and the Deep South is a huge draw for Californians, Bostonians, and Texans. Their money goes a lot further in the Deep South where it’s cheap. Hell they can sell their property out here, buy damned near a mansion in the south, and still retire early. They’ve inflated the Denver housing market for years. A house barely gets posted and a real estate developer throws cash on the table. Off the market it goes. And the prices increase. I’ve heard it’s hapoeninh in Charlotte already. I’m sure it’s beginning in Charleston as well. Enjoy the city while it lasts. What’s unfortunate is that Denver, Austin, and Charlotte have the ability to expand. Charleston doesn’t. And the city refuses to think about these things rapidly and efficiently. It’s a shame, really.
You build for the population you have not the one you think you might have one day. Having half empty buses driving around waiting for some Californians and Bostonians to move in is a quick way to get a project canceled. The BRT line is linking up two places that are no longer growing.
I’ve ridden the express buses from MtP to downtown many times. Most mornings and afternoons they are full. If they moved them to a 20 min departure schedule while expediting the traffic lanes and lights it would be very popular. Even more so with modern buses and moving the Walmart stop closer to the bridge to Town Center
You build for the population you have not the one you think you might have one day. Having half empty buses driving around waiting for some Californians and Bostonians to move in is a quick way to get a project canceled. The BRT line is linking up two places that are no longer growing.
It soared in Berkley county which is an adjacent county... because prices there are still cheap and that's now becoming a suburb of Charleston.
"Population growth has slowed rather dramatically in Charleston and Dorchester counties — falling by more than 50 percent since 2015 — while Berkeley has become the second-fastest-growing county in the state. The three counties together represent the Charleston metro area.
In 2015, the Charleston metro area was gaining 50 new residents every day, and Charleston County accounted for more than half the growth. By, 2018 that slowed to an average gain of 34 people each day, with half of those tri-county population gains going to to Berkeley County.
“I have people that I take around Charleston County, Berkeley County and Dorchester County, and they see what (homes) they can get in each place,” said Kimberly Lease, a Realtor with Century 21 Properties Plus. “Some people really want to be near downtown Charleston or the beaches, but if that’s not an issue, they almost always go to Berkeley out by Cane Bay.”
I’ve ridden the express buses from MtP to downtown many times. Most mornings and afternoons they are full. If they moved them to a 20 min departure schedule while expediting the traffic lanes and lights it would be very popular. Even more so with modern buses and moving the Walmart stop closer to the bridge to Town Center
I've also ridden the Express 2 from MtP when I've scheduled a day of business downtown and have found the trip enjoyable. I really don't care about time savings, it's the wear & tear on the car/needing one less car in the household, the cost of parking, and my sanity trying to drive during rush hour demolition derby on 17 that are important to me. The longer range plan is to have others, including a MtP BRT Route, lets see if this 1st one gets the green light.
Just looked at Richmond stats (thanks Spencer114 for an eyewitness report!) - 220K people in the city, 1.2M in the metro area, so I'd consider that reasonably comparable to what the Charleston metro will be in the next decade. They are getting 7K riders per day on their line after less than 1 year of operation - comparable to the projections for the Summerville-Charleston line. Looks doable.
It soared in Berkley county which is an adjacent county... because prices there are still cheap and that's now becoming a suburb of Charleston.
"Population growth has slowed rather dramatically in Charleston and Dorchester counties — falling by more than 50 percent since 2015 — while Berkeley has become the second-fastest-growing county in the state. The three counties together represent the Charleston metro area.
In 2015, the Charleston metro area was gaining 50 new residents every day, and Charleston County accounted for more than half the growth. By, 2018 that slowed to an average gain of 34 people each day, with half of those tri-county population gains going to to Berkeley County.
“I have people that I take around Charleston County, Berkeley County and Dorchester County, and they see what (homes) they can get in each place,” said Kimberly Lease, a Realtor with Century 21 Properties Plus. “Some people really want to be near downtown Charleston or the beaches, but if that’s not an issue, they almost always go to Berkeley out by Cane Bay.”
“Some people really want to be near downtown Charleston or the beaches, but if that’s not an issue, they almost always go to Berkeley out by Cane Bay.”...in other words no need for rapid transit for people who by admission don’t need to be close to downtown.
You build for the population you have not the one you think you might have one day. Having half empty buses driving around waiting for some Californians and Bostonians to move in is a quick way to get a project canceled. The BRT line is linking up two places that are no longer growing.
Those half empty buses are going to require a tax hike, further making it a less attractive area to move to.
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