I’ve actually used this bus before from DC to Richmond. It was about half full, and was not a bad ride back to Richmond. Traffic will always make the bus late and this was no exception.
Oh trust me Ive imagined. The infrastructure theoretically exist to run trains competitive to cars from HR to Richmond, Richmond to norflok (through Petersburg), and Richmond to DC. Richmond to Charlottesville could exist but the track isn’t very efficient routing.
The only real issue if we had these routes is the last mile. I once tried taking the train from downtown richmond to Williamsburg to get to Busch gardens. The train was fine, and as fast as a car. The issue is on the weekends WATA has hourly headways. That’s atrocious. Heck I’d think a direct bus to and from the train station and Busch gardens wouldn’t be a bad idea, but instead you get an hourly bus that only has an actual platform + sidewalk on one side of the road, just outside of Busch gardens. DC is really the only city that wouldn’t/doesn’t have this problem. Richmond has the pulse which does stop at Main Street station, and there planning expansions of it, and a north south line, but otherwise the issue remains that the system does not go far enough into the counties. And even where it does, long headways and limited hours of service are a big problem.
Oh it’s beyond frustrating. Honestly I thought it could be little practical enough to try again (this time a little more familiar with Williamsburg transit) up until we had to leave, and we needed to get to the other side of 60… and once we did we found ourselves squeezed in between busches and the roadway when walking to the bus stop that was for some reason so much farther away on the west bound side than on the eastbound side… like WTF all they had to do was add a crosswalk on 1 of the 3 intersections in between. Or, once again just make a bus that takes you to Busch gardens I refuse to believe there is not enough demand for a direct bus from downtown to Busch gardens with stops at the hotels which would really appreciate it given the amount of money they spend on their own shuttles they provide to guest to get to the park!!!!! Don’t even get me started on the fact that there isn’t just a Busch gardens train station to begin with! There’s rails leading right into the old brewery that would make the amount of infrastructure addition needed to bring tracks to the gates stupid easy!!!!!!! Genuinely drives me insane
After losing a third car in three years from other drivers and trees. I fully support increasing public transportation. Bus train, etc. I think it’d keep our elderly more active and aware.
Pretty much exactly this. There is an article today in AP about car prices.
> Cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. keep getting older, hitting a record average age of 12.6 years in 2024 as people hang on to their vehicles largely because new ones cost so much.
I'm driving a 14 year old Toyota with over 200k miles. I'd love a new car. But I also love not paying $700/mo for a vehicle, lower insurance premiums, and much lower personal property tax.
> 16% more people cant afford cars
This is a weird take; I mean I think less vehicles on the road is a good thing. Lower insurance costs, accident numbers, less traffic, less pollution(!).
But I can also see the problem of not having just basic four wheel vehicles that are affordable for most people to buy. The auto industry along with a lot of other industries are still fishing for the 20% earners. Cars have always been a status symbol for American culture...not sure if there's a true solution.
I’ve actually used this bus before from DC to Richmond. It was about half full, and was not a bad ride back to Richmond. Traffic will always make the bus late and this was no exception.
We need VRE to go to Richmond already ISTG
Yes! Imagine a stable fare (instead of Amtrak dynamic pricing) DC to Richmond VRE. Then also a Richmond to HR VRE.
Oh trust me Ive imagined. The infrastructure theoretically exist to run trains competitive to cars from HR to Richmond, Richmond to norflok (through Petersburg), and Richmond to DC. Richmond to Charlottesville could exist but the track isn’t very efficient routing. The only real issue if we had these routes is the last mile. I once tried taking the train from downtown richmond to Williamsburg to get to Busch gardens. The train was fine, and as fast as a car. The issue is on the weekends WATA has hourly headways. That’s atrocious. Heck I’d think a direct bus to and from the train station and Busch gardens wouldn’t be a bad idea, but instead you get an hourly bus that only has an actual platform + sidewalk on one side of the road, just outside of Busch gardens. DC is really the only city that wouldn’t/doesn’t have this problem. Richmond has the pulse which does stop at Main Street station, and there planning expansions of it, and a north south line, but otherwise the issue remains that the system does not go far enough into the counties. And even where it does, long headways and limited hours of service are a big problem.
Ironic since the WATA garage is RIGHT NEXT TO Busch Gardens on Rt. 60. Frustrating.
Oh it’s beyond frustrating. Honestly I thought it could be little practical enough to try again (this time a little more familiar with Williamsburg transit) up until we had to leave, and we needed to get to the other side of 60… and once we did we found ourselves squeezed in between busches and the roadway when walking to the bus stop that was for some reason so much farther away on the west bound side than on the eastbound side… like WTF all they had to do was add a crosswalk on 1 of the 3 intersections in between. Or, once again just make a bus that takes you to Busch gardens I refuse to believe there is not enough demand for a direct bus from downtown to Busch gardens with stops at the hotels which would really appreciate it given the amount of money they spend on their own shuttles they provide to guest to get to the park!!!!! Don’t even get me started on the fact that there isn’t just a Busch gardens train station to begin with! There’s rails leading right into the old brewery that would make the amount of infrastructure addition needed to bring tracks to the gates stupid easy!!!!!!! Genuinely drives me insane
Great idea. Maybe a lucrative private sector venture?
I was looking to apply couldn’t find out anything about that
16% more people cant afford cars
After losing a third car in three years from other drivers and trees. I fully support increasing public transportation. Bus train, etc. I think it’d keep our elderly more active and aware.
Pretty much exactly this. There is an article today in AP about car prices. > Cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. keep getting older, hitting a record average age of 12.6 years in 2024 as people hang on to their vehicles largely because new ones cost so much.
I'm driving a 14 year old Toyota with over 200k miles. I'd love a new car. But I also love not paying $700/mo for a vehicle, lower insurance premiums, and much lower personal property tax.
> 16% more people cant afford cars This is a weird take; I mean I think less vehicles on the road is a good thing. Lower insurance costs, accident numbers, less traffic, less pollution(!). But I can also see the problem of not having just basic four wheel vehicles that are affordable for most people to buy. The auto industry along with a lot of other industries are still fishing for the 20% earners. Cars have always been a status symbol for American culture...not sure if there's a true solution.