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How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

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Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#21

Post by [deleted] »

xvedejas wrote: post #15
Tade0 wrote: post #11

I'm of the opinion that every 500k+ city should have a subway line. I grew up in a city with one (just one for the majority of my 20 years there) and if there's one thing I miss from that place it's the ability to move at an average speed of 35km/h at any time the trains were operating, especially at 2am on a Friday night after a couple of beers with the guys. The other thing I noticed when I was visiting my family t…

I'm of the opinion that it depends on density. You could build a subway line in some US cities of 1M and nobody would ride it; you could build a subway line in a city of 50k and everyone would ride it. It depends on whether there is density to support walking directly to many things (businesses, residences, and other transit lines) or not.

[deleted]

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#22

Post by ghaff »

HPsquared wrote: post #20
xvedejas wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm of the opinion that it depends on density. You could build a subway line in some US cities of 1M and nobody would ride it; you could build a subway line in a city of 50k and everyone would ride it. It depends on whether there is density to support walking directly to many things (businesses, residences, and other transit lines) or not.

The subway is the big expensive investment. In theory, businesses and housing etc would develop around the stations. Like how suburbs develop around train stations.

In theory. The commuter rail I sometimes take follows an old rail right of way. Some of the stations are in fairly developed areas. But some of those, like Concord, presumably predate even the original rail. And a lot of the towns are pretty spread out. You can't walk to much until you get to the last two stops in the city proper.

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#23

Post by chpatrick »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #18
amanda99 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it seems to assume changing trains is instantaneous and trains are waiting for you.

Which is why people prefer personal cars whenever possible. Mass transit has to operate at 5 minute intervals (so that you are waiting at most 10 to 15 minutes in the event of a missed connection). If it isn’t that frequent, then I am going to opt for a personal car every chance I can. Using only the subway in Manhattan/some parts of Brooklyn is convenient, but as you stray further, it starts getting tedious.

I live in Budapest and would definitely not prefer a personal car. Public transport is super convenient, cheap and fast here, and I don't need to worry about parking, fuel, congestion or maintenance.

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#24

Post by londons_explore »

Travel times would be much improved by a high speed line.

Ie. a route with 4 stops and a travel speed of 100 mph.

The finances of railways actually get better with faster trains - because the sooner you can get the person to their destination, the quicker you can get that train serving another passenger.

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#25

Post by cmiller1 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #18
amanda99 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it seems to assume changing trains is instantaneous and trains are waiting for you.

Which is why people prefer personal cars whenever possible. Mass transit has to operate at 5 minute intervals (so that you are waiting at most 10 to 15 minutes in the event of a missed connection). If it isn’t that frequent, then I am going to opt for a personal car every chance I can. Using only the subway in Manhattan/some parts of Brooklyn is convenient, but as you stray further, it starts getting tedious.

Mass transit and personal cars aren't necessarily mutually exclusive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_rapid_transit

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#26

Post by rst »

amelius wrote: post #14

I don't see any violations of locality here.

There are a few -- select the 79th street station on the #1 line (farthest west in Manhattan) and look at Brooklyn, due pretty much directly south. The 36th Street station on the D/N/R lines is reachable in 40 minutes because it gets express service, but the stations to the north and south are local stops, and for that reason, take longer to get to.

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#27

Post by rsynnott »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #18
amanda99 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it seems to assume changing trains is instantaneous and trains are waiting for you.

Which is why people prefer personal cars whenever possible. Mass transit has to operate at 5 minute intervals (so that you are waiting at most 10 to 15 minutes in the event of a missed connection). If it isn’t that frequent, then I am going to opt for a personal car every chance I can. Using only the subway in Manhattan/some parts of Brooklyn is convenient, but as you stray further, it starts getting tedious.

Plenty of metros run at 5 minute frequencies or less. Some _trams_ do, at peak times.

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#28

Post by llamaimperative »

HPsquared wrote: post #20
xvedejas wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm of the opinion that it depends on density. You could build a subway line in some US cities of 1M and nobody would ride it; you could build a subway line in a city of 50k and everyone would ride it. It depends on whether there is density to support walking directly to many things (businesses, residences, and other transit lines) or not.

The subway is the big expensive investment. In theory, businesses and housing etc would develop around the stations. Like how suburbs develop around train stations.

And then landowners who were “smart” enough to own land where this ends up going in get to reap all the financial upside, instead of the public which actually invested in that infrastructure.

Just imagine if the public could capture the (financial) upside it produces, then it could apply that money to do the same thing down the road, then do the same thing again down the road further.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_George_theorem?wprov=sft...

Re: How far can you get in 40 minutes from each subway station in NYC?

#30

Post by showerst »

llamaimperative wrote: post #28
HPsquared wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The subway is the big expensive investment. In theory, businesses and housing etc would develop around the stations. Like how suburbs develop around train stations.

And then landowners who were “smart” enough to own land where this ends up going in get to reap all the financial upside, instead of the public which actually invested in that infrastructure. Just imagine if the public could capture the (financial) upside it produces, then it could apply that money to do the same thing down the road, then do the same thing again down the road further. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He…

A version of this is common now in the US through Tax Increment Financing.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/value_capture/defined/tax_incre...

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