Is more passenger rail service needed for metro Atlanta? Atlanta Forward readers responded to recent columns on that topic. Here are some comments under the writers’ screen names:
Babsj: More rail service is needed! I don't really care whether it is high speed or not. What I care about is, there is no way for seniors to see the great things that have happened in this country once their driving is limited. Have you been to that bus terminal lately? What senior citizen would chance that? How will I get on the bus? How am I to sit on that bus with such limited space, not to mention the nasty restrooms with no attendant to service them. Quit thinking so much about yourself in your youthfulness and your wallet. We built this country once to accommodate all the people. Atlanta Forward means one day, you will be stuck also without a decent way to visit your Grands and Greatgrands and not enough money to fly (remember you have to pay for the bags of presents also). Think ahead but also think back — "We the people" means all age groups!
Don: The real question that needs to be asked about building new transportation capacity is, how do the alternatives compare? What would another lane on I-85 cost? What's another runway and terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson cost? What's the cost to upgrade or build out a passenger rail route? What is the added capacity of each?
Ddarren: Other major metropolitan cities are moving forward with mass transit and light rail. Atlanta and the South are stagnant and not progressing, unlike the rest of the nation. Could it be the politics?
Mangler: If your bullet train ticket between Atlanta and Charlotte, or from Atlanta to Miami, were to include a Zip car-type rental waiting for you there at the station, then sure, that would work nicely. However, when zooming from city to city that doesn't have an integrated transit system, there is hardly a justification for using a train (outside of simply liking to ride a train). Riding from Boston to Manhattan on a train is nice, since both cities have multi-modal transit options, and you are allowed to use a laptop and phone on a train without getting yelled at. As for ridership cost, that's a huge detractor as well. I would pay similar amounts for a train vs. plane, but not two or three times what a flight would cost.
Sawb: Another one in the "sounds like a great idea, but where's the money going to come from?" category. A solution would be to work with private business to get a line going between Atlanta and Savannah. Yes, I know it won't be some Euro-Bullet-Maglev special, but it would help gauge regional interest and the viability of passenger rail. If the interest is there and the investors make money, more projects would grow organically, and if things don't work out — well, at least we'll know.
