Quote:
Originally Posted by seventwenty
I honestly hate this. If you're going to 30th/Downing to Broadway, it's now a connection. Is RTD retiming trains through the downtown loop, though?
|
Are you talking about going to I-25/Broadway station? Sure, you have to transfer, but any of 3 lines will get you there. Let's say you want to take that trip at noon on a Sunday (ie not peak time, and only 2 of the 3 lines are running). From 18th & Stout, trains go south an average of every 7.5 minutes, which means your average wait time will be 3 minutes, 45 seconds.
If this improves on-time performance or saves enough operating money that RTD can run trains more often, it's worth it. Forcing transfers is fine as long as the service is good and trains come often enough. It can even be better, if it simplifies the route structure and improves service for the majority of riders who aren't transferring.
It's a bit like how Colfax buses use separate routes east & west of downtown. Why doesn't RTD run the 15 and 16 as a single line, going all the way across Denver? Because most of the riders aren't making that trip, and they can run buses more often, with fewer delays and less bus-bunching, by ending both lines downtown and forcing a few people to transfer. It's better for 95% of Colfax bus riders, maybe 99%.
Or it's a bit like the C-D line dilemma. If you're at Littleton and you want to go to Union Station, you'd be dumb to doggedly insist on a one-seat ride, and let a D line train pass by without getting on. You board the D train and switch at I-25/Broadway to whatever C-or-E train comes first, halving your theoretical average wait time.