Cannot rejoice
This weekend was a big weekend for some. For the first time since the thing, the streetcar has started running with passengers, from Canal to Napoleon. I know a lot of people are happy about this. A piece of the city coming back. I am not among those people. And neither are the people who depend on the streetcar/busses as our only transportation. Don't get me wrong, I am estatic that the streetcar is back. I love the sound of it coming down the road, the pops and the hisses. The swaying back and forth. I just don't think they should have opened it back up until they were 100% ready. They weren't ready for yesterday. This is posted on the NOLA RTA website even this morning.
Advisories
Service on the St. Charles Streetcar Line to Napoleon Avenue Scheduled to Begin November 11The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is pleased to announce that beginning Sunday, November 11, 2007, before the sun rises, the historic Perley Thomas streetcars will once again proudly traverse St. Charles Avenue, from the Central Business District, through the picturesque Garden District to Napoleon Avenue.New Orleanians, as well as visitors, have waited over two years for the return of the St. Charles Streetcar to the uptown area. The renewed excitement and anticipation has been visible on the smiling faces of motorists and pedestrians as they glimpsed test runs of the streetcars along the Avenue during the weeks of October. An opening ceremony for the heralded route is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 10 at 2:00 p.m. Passengers will ride free from the end of the ceremony until 5:00 p.m. RTA has been providing bus service to the St. Charles route in its entirety since a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent floodwaters that devastated most of the City. Four surviving buses were assigned to the St. Charles route on Sunday, October 2, 2005 when RTA returned to the streets of New Orleans. Eight buses operated on the route on weekdays, until part of the St. Charles streetcar line reopened for service on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at noon. With the opening of the St. Charles/ Lee Circle Streetcar Loop to Howard Avenue, seven buses have provided service to residents and visitors alike. Four buses will remain on the line after the opening. Five streetcars are assigned to the route with additional ones available if needed.The first streetcar will leave St. Charles and Common at 5:27 a.m. After the Lee Circle/Howard Avenue stop, car stops along the line are located on the neutral ground and are all labeled.
The part that is highlighted up there, "Four buses will remain on the line after the opening" is misleading. Those busses will only pick up up at Napoleon. They do NOT run the full line (even though the schedule up still has them doing just that) There was only FOUR streetcars running yesterday. Let me explain a bit about my evening commute home. I left work early to finally go to the doctors. I left at 1:30. It is a 5 min walk to the bus/streetcar stop. The streetcar did not show until 2:15. I waited just over a half hour for the streetcar. It wasn't running on time, how do I know this for sure? Because a second car was right behind the first. Yeah, they don't run like that. The steetcar was PACKED with tourists and commuters alike. I mean PACKED. For someone not feeling well, it is not ideal. I finally make it to the doctors, am in her office for no more than 15 mins. Sent on my way with a prescription for antibotics. I wait another 40 mins at the streetcar stop on Louisiana. I finally give up and start walking to Napoleon so I can at least catch the bus the rest of the way home. When I am two blocks from Napoleon, the streetcar finally comes chugging by. I then end up waiting for the bus for over 10 more minutes. I finally got to my house after 4:30. Normally when I leave work? Waiting for the bus and the ride home? It is 40 minutes. I waited an hour and 10 minutes for the transportation to even SHOW up. I really feel that they should have waited until the entire streetcar line was ready to run before starting up. I think that they should now have MORE streetcars running than what they do, or in fact have that bus run all the way so the commuters can take that for awhile. Anything. A few people at the bus stop had miss the Kenner local because of all the waiting going on. That bus runs every 45 mins or so...so if you just miss it? You have a long wait ahead. It is just disorganized and a huge cluster. I will now be having to take the bus/streetcar to work as well for the next week or so. I will be having to leave on the first bus, around 5 or so, just so I can make sure I am at work by 6:30.
This weekend was a big weekend for some. For the first time since the thing, the streetcar has started running with passengers, from Canal to Napoleon. I know a lot of people are happy about this. A piece of the city coming back. I am not among those people. And neither are the people who depend on the streetcar/busses as our only transportation. Don't get me wrong, I am estatic that the streetcar is back. I love the sound of it coming down the road, the pops and the hisses. The swaying back and forth. I just don't think they should have opened it back up until they were 100% ready. They weren't ready for yesterday. This is posted on the NOLA RTA website even this morning.
Advisories
Service on the St. Charles Streetcar Line to Napoleon Avenue Scheduled to Begin November 11The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is pleased to announce that beginning Sunday, November 11, 2007, before the sun rises, the historic Perley Thomas streetcars will once again proudly traverse St. Charles Avenue, from the Central Business District, through the picturesque Garden District to Napoleon Avenue.New Orleanians, as well as visitors, have waited over two years for the return of the St. Charles Streetcar to the uptown area. The renewed excitement and anticipation has been visible on the smiling faces of motorists and pedestrians as they glimpsed test runs of the streetcars along the Avenue during the weeks of October. An opening ceremony for the heralded route is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 10 at 2:00 p.m. Passengers will ride free from the end of the ceremony until 5:00 p.m. RTA has been providing bus service to the St. Charles route in its entirety since a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent floodwaters that devastated most of the City. Four surviving buses were assigned to the St. Charles route on Sunday, October 2, 2005 when RTA returned to the streets of New Orleans. Eight buses operated on the route on weekdays, until part of the St. Charles streetcar line reopened for service on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at noon. With the opening of the St. Charles/ Lee Circle Streetcar Loop to Howard Avenue, seven buses have provided service to residents and visitors alike. Four buses will remain on the line after the opening. Five streetcars are assigned to the route with additional ones available if needed.The first streetcar will leave St. Charles and Common at 5:27 a.m. After the Lee Circle/Howard Avenue stop, car stops along the line are located on the neutral ground and are all labeled.
The part that is highlighted up there, "Four buses will remain on the line after the opening" is misleading. Those busses will only pick up up at Napoleon. They do NOT run the full line (even though the schedule up still has them doing just that) There was only FOUR streetcars running yesterday. Let me explain a bit about my evening commute home. I left work early to finally go to the doctors. I left at 1:30. It is a 5 min walk to the bus/streetcar stop. The streetcar did not show until 2:15. I waited just over a half hour for the streetcar. It wasn't running on time, how do I know this for sure? Because a second car was right behind the first. Yeah, they don't run like that. The steetcar was PACKED with tourists and commuters alike. I mean PACKED. For someone not feeling well, it is not ideal. I finally make it to the doctors, am in her office for no more than 15 mins. Sent on my way with a prescription for antibotics. I wait another 40 mins at the streetcar stop on Louisiana. I finally give up and start walking to Napoleon so I can at least catch the bus the rest of the way home. When I am two blocks from Napoleon, the streetcar finally comes chugging by. I then end up waiting for the bus for over 10 more minutes. I finally got to my house after 4:30. Normally when I leave work? Waiting for the bus and the ride home? It is 40 minutes. I waited an hour and 10 minutes for the transportation to even SHOW up. I really feel that they should have waited until the entire streetcar line was ready to run before starting up. I think that they should now have MORE streetcars running than what they do, or in fact have that bus run all the way so the commuters can take that for awhile. Anything. A few people at the bus stop had miss the Kenner local because of all the waiting going on. That bus runs every 45 mins or so...so if you just miss it? You have a long wait ahead. It is just disorganized and a huge cluster. I will now be having to take the bus/streetcar to work as well for the next week or so. I will be having to leave on the first bus, around 5 or so, just so I can make sure I am at work by 6:30.
2 Comments:
Aw man, that really sucks!
That is crazy! Talk about inefficiency!!!!
Everyone affected by this needs to let the powers that be know that the busses are still needed!
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