Help with commuter train vote !
 

It looks like a vote to cut funding for tri-rail is coming up soon..

Please go to this website http://tri-rail.com/ and click on the "Save My Train" link to complete a (very short) form that will e-mail the reps involved in this vote.

This is relevant to cycling because the tri-rail IS bicycle friendly, I use it often and it would suck to see the train schedule cut in half...

You can also just click on the image below to go to the website...

http://tri-rail.com/promo/SaveMyTrain/TR_Banner.jpg

- Thanks

WHat is the reasoning for cutting the funding?

Not sure, don't care. I just want to make sure they don't do it !

I believe it stems from the fact that the state wishes to divert funds for revamping one of the main highways (forgot which...I-375?).

This said, TRCX has pretty much stuck their neck out already in terms of these funds - about 80% of it was already allocated towards the expenses of purchasing and rebuilding their six ex-Norfolk Southern GP49 units (which were bought at a price that was about double the value of each locomotive, times six, of course).

Who knows how much the disastrous DMU sets (two sets of three) cost them, including the original single-level unit (TRCX #2002) which was purchased and was subsequently destroyed in a fire when refueling during D.O.T. testing out in Pueblo.

Additionally, for better or worse, the four F40PHL-2 units the GP49H-3's were supposed to replace, #801-804, are still in service. As a railfan, I have little complaint about that - they're unique units - but #801 is particularly troublesome, while the rest are in need of rebuilding, as they did with #805.

Forgive the rant.

-Kurt

I love trains and ride them frequently, but they are expensive to operate. John Q. Taxpayer needs to be educated that private automobile travel is even more heavily subsidized than public transit -- roads are not free.

Well I would not support taking money from the train and putting it towards the freeway. So I'll vote. That being said, I think almost all publicly funded mass tranist is poorly run and not supervised closely enough. Seems sometimes they go nuts spending money. But the same can be said for the road fund.
I voted.

It wasn't alot of money and it's a drop in the bucket compare to what New York City spends for MetroNorth or the Long Island Railroad. Fires and accidents happen but the real issue is the state of Florida cares very little about rail transport.

The transit users better ask for a rail hike if they want to keep some of their service.

Because this is Florida where the SUV rules and mass transit is for "the help". The mindset of our legislators is just unbelievable. During the oil crisis of 1972(?) what did Miami's government do to save gasoline? They cut bus service to save gas! Can you believe it? So now the buses, that ran once an hour (hey, poor people have a lot of time on their hands, let 'em wait for the bus, don't want to spoil them), now ran once every two hours.

This is what we deal with here in Florida. If you couldn't ride year round, I'd be out of here.

^^^^I was just down in Miami, at the first of the month. Very nice riding, nice people, wonderful city. Almost like being in a foreign country.

At least they are not like the buses here, the roll around all day taking up space, empty most of the time, belching out smoke.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Where did you go? Miami, Ohio?

-Kurt