Speculation over HSR to Chicago (Peoria, Union: employment, taxi, move)

[aragx6]

463,000 people fly from St. Louis to Chicago each year

260,000 fly out of just Midway -- I couldn't find stats for O'Hare bc this site:RITA | BTS | Transtats only lists the top 10 destinations, but it could easily be another 100+ thousand.

So 800,000 or more people travel between the two cities each year -- and plane prices are way up right now (the days of the $49 fun fare are over it seems!)

Given that you easily save 2+ hours simply by not having to go through airport security and transportation to the airports outside the city core, it's hardly a stretch to see the two forms of transport competing with one another pretty directly.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by aragx6

463,000 people fly from St. Louis to Chicago each year

260,000 fly out of just Midway -- I couldn't find stats for O'Hare bc this site:RITA | BTS | Transtats only lists the top 10 destinations, but it could easily be another 100+ thousand.

So 800,000 or more people travel between the two cities each year -- and plane prices are way up right now (the days of the $49 fun fare are over it seems!)

Given that you easily save 2+ hours simply by not having to go through airport security and transportation to the airports outside the city core, it's hardly a stretch to see the two forms of transport competing with one another pretty directly.

... if a certain somebody hears about rail competing with HIS airport I would not be surprised to see bulldozers plow up the rail tracks as HIS last official act...

[chirack]

Originally Posted by chet everett

... if a certain somebody hears about rail competing with HIS airport I would not be surprised to see bulldozers plow up the rail tracks as HIS last official act...

Not really. Honestly nobody but the rich and a few corporate CEOs flew out of Migs. Maybe the few people that own their own airplanes.

Teardown O'hare or Midway and there would be political backlash from Joe six pack.

HSR is best for short flights not for long haul. It can even make O’Hare or Midway more attractive if it makes the commute from a competing airport short enough.There are people who drive to Milwakee rather than use O'hare in the far northwest burbs.

[SJaye]

Peoria's future is probably a lot more dependent on what Caterpillar does.

As far as the effect on Chicago, if HSR is done right, it could reduce traffic on the roads and in the airports, which is a good thing. That would make the city more attractive, but I doubt it would have much of an effect on the labor market. As it stands today, if someone from Saint Louis gets a job in Chicago, they move here... ditto for any town along the train line, or any other train line that could be built (Detroit). I wouldn't think that someone from Springfield or Peoria would get a job, and then not move to Chicago or the area because a train will get them here in a little under two hours. They would probably use it to visit family/friends though.

[Smedskjaer]

What if the commute time were reduced to 1 hour between Peoria and Chicago?

[RichMonk]

Well, yeah, 1 hour would make that doable and I think some, who are'nt terribly fond of Chicago or its suburbs might go that way. Though, that is like saying "What if I could teleport to your location, right now!? BOO!"

[jsk1983]

Originally Posted by Smedskjaer

What if the commute time were reduced to 1 hour between Peoria and Chicago?

But how much would it cost to commute? The Chicago to Milwaukee route is $22 one way, sort of kills the cost savings of living in a cheaper area.

[Smedskjaer]

Well, commuter rail in Illinois is an undifferentiated service. All customer groups get the same service. If a differentiated service was used, you could have a first class surcharge and a standard. A car carrier can bring in some money from people who need to bring their cars with them.
If enough people buy tickets, economy of scale will bring down the overhead for the rail operator.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by Smedskjaer

Well, commuter rail in Illinois is an undifferentiated service. All customer groups get the same service. If a differentiated service was used, you could have a first class surcharge and a standard. A car carrier can bring in some money from people who need to bring their cars with them.
If enough people buy tickets, economy of scale will bring down the overhead for the rail operator.

There are a number of problems with this idea.

On short trips say and one to two hours there just isn't much time to enjoy 1st class service vs. say 2nd or 3rd. It is the reason why Southwest with it's cheap 1 class service is able to do so well. People are more than willing to trade luxury for a cheap ticket if the trip is short enough. For trips of 3-4+ hours or overnight then it you can enjoy the difference.

No one in their right mind would bring a car to downtown Chicago (unless you are moving here). It would cost you $25 a day min (and more likely $30) to park it (no matter if it were electric or gas) or $200+ a month. The traffic and parking is bad. There are people who drive downtown but a very large percentage use public transit. Our public transit system is well set up to get people downtown. Downtown a car is more hindrance than help.

A car could be handy in other parts of the city or for a trip out to the burbs, but most of the business and touristy things to do are downtown and you can rent a car from Union Station if you needed to. What would really be handy in the burbs would be either igo cars at Metra Station or rental car companies in the burbs near the Metra or more public tranist out in the boonies but that is another story.

Another intresting problem with HSR in Chicago is where to terminate the line. Union or any terminal downtown, would be the prefered place, but that leaves you quite distant from the airports. Terminating at O'hare might be a better idea as it will allow people to get to flights without transfers but that will require lots of construction. Perhaps some sort of Baggage check system might work here where bags are check into the train and carried to the flight you booked.

[Smedskjaer]

Some people with BMW, Benzes, Porsches, will.