1 reply to this topic

[Sloan]

http://www.wtkr.com/...0,6272382.story

[KevinKorell]

The very moment Sloan posted this story, I was in Norfolk "playing" on the Tide, riding back and forth wearing out my $3.50 Day Pass. It's a beautiful system, still sporting a "new car" smell. The staff seems friendly, both in making plenty of announcements to augment the recorded messages, and in talking with passengers at the endpoint stations. One operator asked if I was lost because I was just walking around to see what was in the neighborhood. Could it be extended to other parts of Norfolk? Of course, it would work fine. The line seems well received by those riding it. They have a good 15-minute pattern that is easy to understand once you know what those times are; there really is no published schedule with the actual times. And let's not forget Virginia Beach. Had they not opted out of the planning process, they'd have LRT now too. Instead one still has to take the slow #20 bus, which on its timetable takes a whole HOUR from the easternmost TIDE station at Newtown Road to the waterfront. Newtown Road is literally on the border of Norfolk and the city of Virginia Beach, but it's quite a way to go before one reaches the waterfront resort area. Serving other cities in the area like Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Chesapeake, and Suffolk might be difficult to serve because of all the bodies of water that need to be crossed by bridge or tunnel or bridge/tunnel. Definitely would add substantially to the cost.

Edited by KevinKorell, 21 September 2011 - 09:43 PM.