Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail
Busses, especially public transit busses, are not typically a very enjoyable ride. Having ridden a lot of trains (commuter and amtrak) and more busses than I would have liked, I cannot fathom how one can make the argument that these two forms of conveyance are equivocal.
As if the comfort issue isn't enough, consider this: Many people (especially commuters) take trains to get off of the roads and the congestion and frustration on them. Riding busses puts you right back on the roads and, as stated by several others in previous posts, exposes you to all the delays that commonly occur on the roads (due to volume, construction, accidents, inclement weather, etc.).
I cannot state better the points in favor of rail to New Bedford and Fall River than they have already been articulated.
I will add is that if there was train service to these areas, I would be likely (almost guaranteed, in fact) to take itdown to either/both for a day trip or two to check them out. I have never driven to either place (much less ridden a bus of any kind) to do so and can't imagine a scenario where I would drive or ride a bus to these places.
While I do not possess any emprical data to support the notion that others probably feel similarly (I'd guess that the people who live in NB and FR also would take more trips into Boston--for work and, particularly, for leisure if rail was an option), I'd invite anyone that has access to any such info to share it.
Busses, especially public transit busses, are not typically a very enjoyable ride. Having ridden a lot of trains (commuter and amtrak) and more busses than I would have liked, I cannot fathom how one can make the argument that these two forms of conveyance are equivocal.
As if the comfort issue isn't enough, consider this: Many people (especially commuters) take trains to get off of the roads and the congestion and frustration on them. Riding busses puts you right back on the roads and, as stated by several others in previous posts, exposes you to all the delays that commonly occur on the roads (due to volume, construction, accidents, inclement weather, etc.).
I cannot state better the points in favor of rail to New Bedford and Fall River than they have already been articulated.
I will add is that if there was train service to these areas, I would be likely (almost guaranteed, in fact) to take itdown to either/both for a day trip or two to check them out. I have never driven to either place (much less ridden a bus of any kind) to do so and can't imagine a scenario where I would drive or ride a bus to these places.
While I do not possess any emprical data to support the notion that others probably feel similarly (I'd guess that the people who live in NB and FR also would take more trips into Boston--for work and, particularly, for leisure if rail was an option), I'd invite anyone that has access to any such info to share it.