Imagine you’re in a store and you see somebody shoplifting. You’re embarrassed to say anything or to make a scene, but inside you’re pissed-off. You pay for your merchandise, so why should that guy get it for free? And if he’s ripping off the store, doesn’t the merchant actually make you pay more to make up for that loss? It’s morally wrong and it’s just not fair. Yet this is what happens every single day on Metro-North when conductors don’t collect all riders’ tickets.
Talking Transportation
Talking Transportation is a weekly opinion column written by Jim Cameron, a longtime CT Viewpoints contributor and rail advocate based in southwestern Connecticut.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Staying safe on the train
“I’m afraid to get back on the train,” said the trembling woman, obviously shaken and possibly injured in the Hoboken terminal train crash of a NJ Transit train in September. The shock of what she had seen was slowly sinking in and she was wondering how she was going to resume her life and its daily train commute after this horrific experience.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
The billion dollar bridge — really?
Could it really cost $1 billion to replace the 562-foot Walk railroad bridge in South Norwalk? Or is there a cheaper alternative that the Connecticut Department of Transportation is hiding from us?
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
You can’t blame the truck for Connecticut’s traffic
When it comes to our horrendous traffic, especially on I-95, everybody wants to find blame with someone other than themselves. “Who are these people and why are they driving now, on “my road?” they ask.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
So many transportation questions, so few easy answers
Every week I bump into someone on the train or at a store who says… “Hey… You’re that train guy!” Who knew that this job would come with such notoriety? But while nobody seems to want my autograph, they all want to talk about their favorite transportation problem, usually in the form of a question. Here are a few of my favorites, by category:
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
It’s the CT transportation system’s turn to feel the pain
“If our trains and buses rely on the Special Transportation Fund as it exists and is funded today, we will be back for more hearings like this for years to come. What we need is systemic change in how we fund transit. Yet I know of nobody in Hartford with the guts to be honest with commuters and taxpayers about what is coming.”
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Bikes now allowed on Metro-North… sometimes
Days before the Connecticut Department of Transportation opens public hearings on a proposed 5 percent fare increase on Metro-North, Gov. Dannel Malloy held a media event to promote good news about “improved service” on our highest-fares-in-the-nation railroad. What? A return of the bar cars? More seats on crowded trains? No, nothing that monumental: just a new e-ticketing app and word that bike racks have been installed on our trains.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Connecticut’s rail history offers summer day-trip fun
If you’re looking for family fun this summer, consider visiting one of Connecticut’s many living museums celebrating our rail heritage… All of these museums are run by volunteers who will appreciate your patronage and support. They love working on the railroad and will tell you why if you express even the slightest interest in their passion.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Don’t blame Malloy for transit fare hikes
Sure, it was sleazy of Gov. Dannel Malloy and the Connecticut Department of Transportation to release news of a proposed 5 percent fare hike on Metro-North on a Friday afternoon in July, hoping nobody would notice. But the more I dig into the proposal, the more I realize the governor and CDOT are not to blame. It’s the Connecticut legislature that’s really responsible for this fare hike.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Our interstate system is an engineering marvel — and in need of repairs
As anyone who drives on I-95 in Connecticut knows, the interstates have far surpassed their expected traffic load and are in need of billions of repairs. Little did we know 60 years ago what our automotive future might bring.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Ferries are not the answer for Connecticut commuters
Recently, New York City Mayor DeBlasio announced a $325 million plan to re-introduce ferry boat service to the five boroughs, charging the same fare as subways. The mayor says these boats could carry 4.5 million passengers a year.
So why don’t we have ferries in Connecticut? There are several reasons:
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Enjoy your car, but remember Big Brother is watching
You may feel that your car is your last private refuge in this busy world. But there’s someone along for the ride: Big Brother. And you’d be surprised what he knows about you, thanks to modern technology.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Connecticut’s infrastructure dangling by a thread
The recent fire under the Park Avenue viaduct in Harlem, which disrupted commutes of a quarter million Metro-North riders, got me thinking: our aging, crumbling and vulnerable transportation infrastructure is close to collapse, and the effects of such failure could be catastrophic. Consider this track-record:
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Connecticut’s ‘lockbox’ is log jammed at the Capitol
I hope you’ve been following CT-N to watch our dysfunctional legislature in recent weeks as they struggle to fill a $900 million budget gap. Not only could they not get a new budget together before adjourning (only to be summoned back this week for a special session), but the legislative logjam left several important measures in limbo. Among them, the long debated “lock box” for special transportation funding.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
No Wi-Fi on Metro North, and here’s why
Discount bus lines like Megabus have free Wi-Fi. Even Connecticut’s new CTfastrak commuter bus system to Hartford gives its passengers free Wi-Fi.
But there is no Wi-Fi on Metro-North. And the railroad says none is planned, even though the new M8 railcars are ready for the needed gear. And therein lies a story.