METRO (Formerly Metro Area Transit - MAT)
Moderators: Coyote, nebugeater, Brad, Omaha Cowboy, BRoss
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- City Council
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I'm excited to know what this transit center might entail. Between this and the new Downtown transit hub (in conjunction with the proposed work on 16th Street), Metro has an exciting opportunity to "reinvent" itself by offering riders and potential riders 1st World transit amenities; things like ample shelter, system maps, route information, trash and recycling receptacles, bike racks, lighting, etc.
I look forward to seeing designs.
I look forward to seeing designs.
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
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- City Council
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- Seth
- Parks & Recreation
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- Location: Ford Birthsite Neighborhood
Wow, that's awesome! Â They're own trip planner is pretty kludgey.
I'm still skeptical, but they do seem to be slowly improving. Â I've also noticed they're adding route numbers to some of the bus stop signs. Â If they help start a late-night weekend circulator route, I might consider them as a serious transportation option.
I'm still skeptical, but they do seem to be slowly improving. Â I've also noticed they're adding route numbers to some of the bus stop signs. Â If they help start a late-night weekend circulator route, I might consider them as a serious transportation option.
- skinzfan23
- City Council
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- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 11:26 am
- Location: Omaha/Bellevue
Chicago does much the same with the "L" being free to ride on New Years as wellthe1wags wrote:I found out tonight while riding the bus to my first Avs game of the season that ALL of RTD's services are free on New Years after 6 PM. Bus and light rail. I had never even thought of this in Omaha. What would it take for MAT to do this?
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- New to the Neighborhood
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It would take a third party sponsoring the night ($$$) like MillerCoors does in many cities across the US. Won't happen in Omaha because MAT won't allow alcohol ads on the buses.the1wags wrote:I found out tonight while riding the bus to my first Avs game of the season that ALL of RTD's services are free on New Years after 6 PM. Bus and light rail. I had never even thought of this in Omaha. What would it take for MAT to do this?
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- City Council
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That is a really good idea.
I wonder why Hauptman, O'Brien, Wolf, & Lathrop doesn't add this to their free cab-ride home program. If a percentage of the people who would take the cab ride took the bus instead, they would save a lot of money, and/or get a lot less people to drive drunk.
Anyway, seems like any number of local businesses could sponsor this.
I wonder why Hauptman, O'Brien, Wolf, & Lathrop doesn't add this to their free cab-ride home program. If a percentage of the people who would take the cab ride took the bus instead, they would save a lot of money, and/or get a lot less people to drive drunk.
Anyway, seems like any number of local businesses could sponsor this.
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
Knowing how people behave, if the free taxi is available, nobody's gonna take the bus!StreetsOfOmaha wrote:If a percentage of the people who would take the cab ride took the bus instead, they would save a lot of money, and/or get a lot less people to drive drunk.
Besides, would the bus go where people drink and where people live?
Would it still be running at or after closing time?
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- City Council
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All valid points.
I think that a 1 to 2 hour wait for a free cab ride is excellent incentive to take the bus.
I think that a 1 to 2 hour wait for a free cab ride is excellent incentive to take the bus.
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
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- Parks & Recreation
- Posts: 1897
- Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:45 pm
- Location: Omaha Metro Area
Say some drunk got a free bus ride and then got dropped off at 118th and Miracle Hills or 132nd and Center, but lived at 120th and Candlewood. Â He staggers down a slippery road and trips and hits his head. Â The alcohol makes him bleed faster than normal, and he gets a serious intracranial hemorrhage. Â This causes him to stagger into traffic and get run over.
Now the lawyers get sued because they set this up. Â Metro gets sued, but gets dropped because of sovereign immunity and because the bus driver did what they were supposed to do. Â
The lawyers have a big tort risk because they could have used the cabs they have used in the past. Â
The cabs would have had one person looking at the guy the whole time and the driver could have called for help after the first injury, or avoided it all together by taking him to his apartment building directly. Â
They can't hide behind the argument that the drunk should have known better, because its assumed that in his condition, he was doing the best he could by calling for the bus. Â It would be the expectation that they would act in the best interest of the people they were serving (drunks everywhere), and use the wisdom gained from previous years to act as a good steward for the drunk.
Now the lawyers get sued because they set this up. Â Metro gets sued, but gets dropped because of sovereign immunity and because the bus driver did what they were supposed to do. Â
The lawyers have a big tort risk because they could have used the cabs they have used in the past. Â
The cabs would have had one person looking at the guy the whole time and the driver could have called for help after the first injury, or avoided it all together by taking him to his apartment building directly. Â
They can't hide behind the argument that the drunk should have known better, because its assumed that in his condition, he was doing the best he could by calling for the bus. Â It would be the expectation that they would act in the best interest of the people they were serving (drunks everywhere), and use the wisdom gained from previous years to act as a good steward for the drunk.
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- City Council
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You're right; a person would have to be smart enough not to live in the suburbs to avoid such a scenario. Â :;):bigredmed wrote:Say some drunk got a free bus ride and then got dropped off at 118th and Miracle Hills or 132nd and Center, but lived at 120th and Candlewood.
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
Lewis Mumford, The Highway and the City, 1963
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- Parks & Recreation
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- Location: Omaha Metro Area
Back under your bridge, troll.StreetsOfOmaha wrote:You're right; a person would have to be smart enough not to live in the suburbs to avoid such a scenario. :;):bigredmed wrote:Say some drunk got a free bus ride and then got dropped off at 118th and Miracle Hills or 132nd and Center, but lived at 120th and Candlewood.
Zilla wrote:Why does EVERY thread have to gravitate towards Urban vs. Suburban?? Good lord....
Zilla's signature, without the slightest [i]hint[/i] of irony, wrote:Proudly oppressing the rest of Omaha with my suburbia lifestyle since 1999.
Last edited by Big E on Fri Jan 06, 2012 3:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Stable genius.
- TitosBuritoBarn
- Planning Board
- Posts: 3046
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- Location: St. Louis
It's not a new idea. We had this in Ames where I went to college. Officially they referred to the program as the Moonlight Express, but to students it was known as "the drunk bus". Typically they run door-to-door service but sometimes will run normal routes if ridership is light. It has been very successful. Every couple of years a drunk student manages to get themselves killed, but never in a way involving the Moonlight Express.bigredmed wrote:Say some drunk got a free bus ride and then got dropped off at 118th and Miracle Hills or 132nd and Center, but lived at 120th and Candlewood. He staggers down a slippery road and trips and hits his head. The alcohol makes him bleed faster than normal, and he gets a serious intracranial hemorrhage. This causes him to stagger into traffic and get run over.
Now the lawyers get sued because they set this up. Metro gets sued, but gets dropped because of sovereign immunity and because the bus driver did what they were supposed to do.
The lawyers have a big tort risk because they could have used the cabs they have used in the past.
The cabs would have had one person looking at the guy the whole time and the driver could have called for help after the first injury, or avoided it all together by taking him to his apartment building directly.
They can't hide behind the argument that the drunk should have known better, because its assumed that in his condition, he was doing the best he could by calling for the bus. It would be the expectation that they would act in the best interest of the people they were serving (drunks everywhere), and use the wisdom gained from previous years to act as a good steward for the drunk.
http://www.cyride.com/index.aspx?page=1312
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- Parks & Recreation
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Yes, and in a place like Ames or Gainesville, it would work pretty well as they are compact small towns with focused housing (most students live close to ISU in Ames.) Â In a larger city like Albuquerque where they have had a good bus system since at least the 1980's, it might work in the older part of the city near the UNM. But out in the west mesa, or in the north valley, I would bet that even their bus system would flail.TitosBuritoBarn wrote:
It's not a new idea. We had this in Ames where I went to college. Officially they referred to the program as the Moonlight Express, but to students it was known as "the drunk bus". Typically they run door-to-door service but sometimes will run normal routes if ridership is light. It has been very successful. Every couple of years a drunk student manages to get themselves killed, but never in a way involving the Moonlight Express.
http://www.cyride.com/index.aspx?page=1312
Our poor joke of a bus system would bomb big time.
- Coyote
- City Council
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More took free holiday ride home
Kevin Cole WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The Hauptman, O'Brien, Wolf and Lathrop law firm said it provided a record 3,248 cab rides during its Holiday Safe Ride Home program. "We only hope that the number continues to grow because, in our practice, we see the effects of drinking and driving all the time." The Nebraska State Patrol said it arrested 121 drunken drivers; the Omaha Police Department, 84; and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, 25.
Ok someone is going to have to explain this to me.
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bus- ... 75801.html
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bus- ... 75801.html
There was no mention as to if they are replacing them at the current location or moving the transit center to 16th and Cass or just taking out the shelters. Â Would be nice for more info on this.The city of Omaha is removing several bus stops along 16th Street and will have to shut down some of the surrounding streets and lanes.
From what I remember, they were going to take the bus stops off of 16th Street to get rid of the bus traffic on there and move them to 24th Street (I think around Capitol).iamjacobm wrote:Ok someone is going to have to explain this to me.
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bus- ... 75801.html
There was no mention as to if they are replacing them at the current location or moving the transit center to 16th and Cass or just taking out the shelters. Would be nice for more info on this.The city of Omaha is removing several bus stops along 16th Street and will have to shut down some of the surrounding streets and lanes.
According to the DT Master Plan it is supposed to get moved under 480 on 16th. Â This article didn't mention anything like that.HR Paperstacks wrote:From what I remember, they were going to take the bus stops off of 16th Street to get rid of the bus traffic on there and move them to 24th Street (I think around Capitol).iamjacobm wrote:Ok someone is going to have to explain this to me.
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Bus- ... 75801.html
There was no mention as to if they are replacing them at the current location or moving the transit center to 16th and Cass or just taking out the shelters. Would be nice for more info on this.The city of Omaha is removing several bus stops along 16th Street and will have to shut down some of the surrounding streets and lanes.
- Busguy2010
- County Board
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- Location: North Central Omaha
I don't think this is any indication of them preparing to remove the buses from 16th street yet. Â There hasn't been any progress on the proposed transit center under I-480 and there also havent been any notifications on the Metro site. Â Although I do wonder why they would remove the shelters when the street won't be reconfigured soon. Â Anyway, I always thought the idea was to remove 16th street as a major transfer area, not to remove all routes all together. Â Whenever the 16th street improvements are made I anticipate there will be one or two routes that still run on 16th; it would be bad on Metro's image to not have any direct service.
- Coyote
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Metro Transit now announces its operation of an Event Circulator linking downtown events, the Old Market, hotels, other attractions and numerous parking options. The goal is for people to park and have the flexibility to easily travel to multiple activities while visiting downtown Omaha.
This Saturday is especially exciting, with "The Battles on Ice" at TD Ameritrade Park and "The Home & Garden Expo" continuing at the CenturyLink Center. Metro recommends attendees arrive early and stay after: Board the circulator and explore downtown shops and restaurants!
For those not attending either event, come downtown by bus or car, board the circulator and enjoy yourselves, too!
Circulator Service*:
•Date: Saturday, February 9th, 2013
• Hours: 10:30 AM – 9:00 PM
• Route: one-way loop traveling east on Cuming; south on 10th; west on Jackson and north on 16th; bus stops will have Event Circulator signage
• Frequency: 10 minutes
• Fare: 25¢ cash
• Hoodsign Reads: Event Circulator
*All Metro buses are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible and heated, too!
This Saturday is especially exciting, with "The Battles on Ice" at TD Ameritrade Park and "The Home & Garden Expo" continuing at the CenturyLink Center. Metro recommends attendees arrive early and stay after: Board the circulator and explore downtown shops and restaurants!
For those not attending either event, come downtown by bus or car, board the circulator and enjoy yourselves, too!
Circulator Service*:
•Date: Saturday, February 9th, 2013
• Hours: 10:30 AM – 9:00 PM
• Route: one-way loop traveling east on Cuming; south on 10th; west on Jackson and north on 16th; bus stops will have Event Circulator signage
• Frequency: 10 minutes
• Fare: 25¢ cash
• Hoodsign Reads: Event Circulator
*All Metro buses are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible and heated, too!
http://www.omaha.com/article/20130607/N ... 79910/1685
The first increase in state funding in six years could mean new buses, tax relief or expanded transit services in Omaha and Lincoln.
The Nebraska Legislature last week voted 32-5 to override Gov. Dave Heineman's veto of increased funding for the state's Public Transportation Assistance Program. An additional $2 million had been allocated for each of the next two fiscal years.
- Coyote
- City Council
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Cities Consider Dropping Bus Service
WOWT wrote:Those who depend on the bus in areas like Ralston, Papillion, and La Vista may have to find some new ways to get into Omaha.
I am usually not downtown around 5, but I was today. Â Every north side of the street was PACKED with people using the bus, almost all of them looked "white collar." Â Also downtown in general was crawling with people between 4 and 6 when I was down there. Â A corner is being turned and all these new apartments are just going to add to it.
Well that is certainly some good signs about future growth downtown. If it can keep that momentum, land downtown will be too valuable to just sit on. And who knows, that could lead to our next skyscraper! Â :music: (Or at least I can dream that...)iamjacobm wrote:I am usually not downtown around 5, but I was today. Every north side of the street was PACKED with people using the bus, almost all of them looked "white collar." Also downtown in general was crawling with people between 4 and 6 when I was down there. A corner is being turned and all these new apartments are just going to add to it.
A monorail around downtown and along Dodge, Center, and 72nd would be awesome.HR Paperstacks wrote:As well as light rail!! :yes:RNcyanide wrote:Maybe we could have the street car discussion again.
When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other that not only does God exist, you're doing his will.
The Bride
The Bride
I was thinking something more like this:RNcyanide wrote:A monorail around downtown and along Dodge, Center, and 72nd would be awesome.HR Paperstacks wrote:As well as light rail!! :yes:RNcyanide wrote:Maybe we could have the street car discussion again.
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit? ... QCoyFbfWIc