Subject: Public Transportation

• Wanted: A Positive Story About Light Rail in Phoenix

  August 13, 2008

• Downtown Phoenix scenesters want the light rail to run past midnight (and so should you)

  September 17, 2008

• Downtown Phoenix Scenesters Vent to City Officials that Light-Rail Service Should be Extended Past Midnight on Weekends

  September 18, 2008

• Maglev Comes To Phoenix

  February 7, 1990

• Help Keep The Light Rail Running Past Midnight

  October 16, 2008

• Trainplotting

  Transit-plan backers say they see a bus in your future--so how come they've been working on the railroad?

  July 3, 1997

• All Abort!

  Pro-life group battles city on bus ads

  April 16, 1998

• Letters

  March 16, 2000

  March 16, 2000

• Letters 03-23-2000

  March 23, 2000

• The Subways

  Stand clear of the closing doors

  March 16, 2006

• Local Politicians and Journalists Help Test Out Light Rail Before Tomorrow's Grand Opening

  From left: Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman, and light rail CEO Richard Simonetta. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith called Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman a game show host, light rail CEO Richard Simonetta called Spawn's Todd McFarlane "Scott," and Hallman called potential light rail vandals pigs - all before dawn at the METRO media preview held this morning in Tempe.

  December 26, 2008

• Twentysomethings Are Out Protesting The Light Rail's Midnight Stop Time

  The mobile protesting pair of Erin Searle (left) and Kevin Sweet at the light rail's Central Avenue and Roosevelt Street station. It's not all sunshine and roses at crowded light rail stations today. Kevin Sweet and Erin Searle, a pair of college-aged sweethearts, are out protesting the fact the light rail ends its service at around midnight. The duo is armed with a couple hand-drawn posterboards and are planning on demonstrating at several stations along the light rail's eastbound route (if

  December 27, 2008

• A Light Railer's Lament

  I'm in a sour mood today even though I shouldn't be. Christmas, and all its attendant annoyances, is gone for another six months. I just spent some QT visiting with the family. It's warming up. I still have a job and one or two bucks left in the bank account.The source of my sourness lies with Phoenix's shiny new miniature train set known as Valley Metro. Like the other 90,000 locals who hopped aboard on the light-rail line's opening day, I was really excited about the sun god's gift to mass tra

  December 30, 2008

• District Offers Discount to Light Rail Riders

  Everybody's doing it, man. Riding the light rail, that is. Whether for a daily commute or just a joy ride, people seem to be packing the cars, and it's not even the free ride period anymore. The folks at District, the restaurant at the downtown Sheraton, hope even more people get into it for environmental reasons. So for the whole month of January, they're doing a "Go Green, Save Green" promotion. Just show up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- with a light rail receipt from that 

  January 6, 2009

• 'Til 2: Staging a Sit-In To Protest Light Rail's Early Closing Time

  The fervor over the light rail's early closing time continues to get bigger. As we've previously written about here and here, a growing number of Valley urbanites are pissed off over the fact the light rail system stops at midnight instead of running until 2 a.m. and providing the drinking crowd with a way of getting home. (Currently the last trains of the night depart the eastern and western termini at 11 p.m.). And now they're taking a page from the 60s protest playbook to try and get

  January 7, 2009

• Things I Learned Riding the 'Rail

  I rode the light rail for the first time last night, from downtown Phoenix to downtown Tempe and back again. For my money (which is to say, free, because I have a student pass that allows me to ride public transit to my hearts content) it was a most excellent experience. A few things I learned:

  January 8, 2009

• Business Hopes Light Rail Will Provide Customers -- the Hard Way

  January 9, 2009

• Light Rail Sit-in Called Off As Organizer Loses His Nerve

  Is it just us, or have people in this town lost their balls? For instance, we reported on Wednesday about local photographer Morgan Bellinger's plan to stage a light rail sit-in later this month as a way to protest the fact that the trains stop running at midnight. But now he's pulled an complete about face on the matter and cancelled the event following a con-fab with Valley Metro officials.

  January 10, 2009

• To Anyone Thinking the Light Rail is No Fun: Try Taking Off Your Pants

  For seven years now New York improve troop Improv Everywhere has celibrated their own holiday on the New York subway system called No Pants Day. On January 10th Phoenix residents were finaly able to join the Holiday on our new Light Rail. 

  January 13, 2009

• The Top 10 Reasons Light Rail Should Run 'Til 2 A.M.

  The Phoenix Metro Light Rail has been the talk of the town since voters approved the $1.4 billion project in 2000. The public transit system opened on December 27, and Valley denizens have both praised and bemoaned the rail. The most common complaint is that Light Rail service stops at midnight, but should run later.

  January 16, 2009

• Light Rail Issues Few Citations to Freeloaders So Far, But Fare Pass Checkers Out in Force

  A few citations have already been handed out to freeloaders trying to ride the light rail without paying the fare, says Valley Metro spokesman Hillary Foose. She expects to provide the number to media outlets next week. "The number of people who have been fare-evading has been extremely minimal, and so have the number of citations," Foose tells New Times. As previously reported in this blog, getting busted on a light rail train without a ticket c

  February 11, 2009

• Light Rail Ridership in First Month Far Short of Capacity; Fare-Collection Data Not Released

  Sure, one way to look at it is that light-rail ridership "is off to a positive start," as a Valley Metro news release opines. Or, as the Arizona Republic put it this morning in a headline, "Rail ridership tops expectations."That's the glass-half-full version of the story.In fact, the "average weekday ridership" of nearly 31,000 people is about 60 percent of what the trains could carry.True, it took people in other parts of the country a few years to warm up to their light-rail systems, but light

  February 19, 2009

• Light Rail Electric Bill for January was 38 Percent of Fare Revenue; System Took in Estimated 69 Cents Per Rider

  The electric bill for the Metro light rail system is slightly different than yours, naturally. For one thing, it's not just one bill -- it's about 125 separate bills. There are bills for each station, bills for the juice in the overhead lines that make the 90-foot-long, 50-ton rail cars move around, bills for the lights in the park-and-ride lots and bills for the system's operations center.Metro officials say they're still sorting through all those bills and still don't know exactly what li

  March 5, 2009

• Light Rail Ridership Up Slightly in February; Metro Still Lagging in Releasing Fare Data

  Light rail ridership went up slightly in February, driven by an apparent increase in the number of commuters using the 20-mile system. The estimated daily average of boardings in February was 32,430, higher than January's estimate of 29,415. Helping the system out was about 5,000 extra riders each weekday, according to a Metro news release (see below for text). The crowds on Saturdays were about the same, but holiday and Sunday ridership saw a few thousand less ride

  March 12, 2009

• Hoping to See Kid Rock and Ride the Light Rail Home? Fear Not

  Fear not, Festival goers! Valley Metro has your back...for two nights.For an unprecedented third time since its December launch, the Metro Light Rail will be extending its hours to accommodate those patrons of the Tempe Music Festival (April 3rd & 4th) hoping to catch either night's later sets. The Tempe Music Fest now joins New Year's Eve and the NBA All-Star Game festivities as worthy of breaking the 'Nix's strict light rail curfew. It's a gracious move passed down by those in charge

  March 25, 2009

• Maizie’s Café & Bistro Shows Central Phoenix is on the Right Track to Eatery Expansion

  January 8, 2009

• A Trolley Car Named Desire

  County residents unwrap new $1 billion Christmas gift

  December 25, 2008

• Light-Rail Stations Ride the Line Between Public Art and Construction Detail

  December 25, 2008

• Michael Nowakowski’s unlikely Phoenix City Council win puts him on Big Money’s radar

  January 10, 2008

• Taken for a (Bus) Ride

  August 9, 2007

• Letters From the Issue of Thursday, January 11, 2007

  January 11, 2007

• Stop Your Railing!

  Sure, light-rail construction is painful, but it will be worth it in the long haul

  December 28, 2006

• Head Rolls Finally

  A Valley Metro Rail manager's fired after New Times confronts the agency about ignoring complaints that she'd pressured contractors to hire a particular firm

  October 19, 2006

• Rail Against the Machine

  A long-hidden allegation of impropriety is finally about to be investigated

  July 20, 2006

• Remains of the Day

  More than a dozen Indian burials have been discovered during light-rail construction

  July 20, 2006

• Metro Light Rail Operators Don't Have a Contract — Just Grueling Schedules and Smelly Passengers

  April 23, 2009

• Brotherly Love Fest

  Philly journalist Don Russell hates Phoenix. Even though he's never been here.

  July 24, 2003

• Spiked

  A wealthy jerk and uninspired name calling

  June 19, 2003

• Traffic Thicket

  Will Phoenix voters finally get onboard a transit plan?

  March 9, 2000

• Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, April 30, 2009

  April 30, 2009

• Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, May 14, 2009

  May 14, 2009

• Metro Seeks Input on Plan for Interstate 10 Light Rail Stations

  Image: Metro Light Rail You can help guide the Valley's transportation future at a public forum on Wednesday to discuss how the light-rail system will connect and run alongside Interstate 10 West. The sequel to the successful launch of the 20-mile starter line is still in the planning phase, but Metro expects light rail to be blazing down Interstate 10 by 2019. The agency has identified a "study area" from 7th street to 99th Avenue -- if your house or business is near the freeway you might want

  May 21, 2009

• Light Rail Ridership at Lowest Level Yet; Summer Doldrums Take Major Toll on New System

    Light rail ridership dropped to its lowest level yet in June, averaging less than 30,000 boardings a day. [You can be sure unpaid boardings make up a healthy fraction of that number]. Metro Light Rail and its boosters have plenty of excuses for the dwindling ridership, some of which even make sense. For instance, Arizona State University students made up a significant portion of the onboard crowd during the spring, and now school's out.      

  July 14, 2009

• Metro and Valley Metro Honored for Helping People With Disabilities

    The Arizona Disability Advocacy Coalition, which has numerous Valley organizations as members, is giving Metro Light Rail and Valley metro an award for helping the disabled. Valley Metro runs the Valley's buses and oversees the light rail system. The public transportation agencies were chosen for the group's American Disabilities Act Liberty Progress Award because they involved passengers with disabilities "in the design, development and execution of Valley transit services," Metro anno

  July 23, 2009

• Tempe Crackdown Near Light-Rail Tracks Planned; Motorists to be Cited for Risky Acts

      Speaking of light rail, Tempe police plan a one-day crackdown on motorists who play games with light-rail trains. On Wednesday, July 29, cops will be swarming near light-rail crossings, busting drivers who fail to stop for red lights, make "hazardous u-turns in front of the trains," stop on the tracks or drive past flashing signals and crossing arms. Recent collisions with trains were caused by drivers disregarding traffic signals, says a Tempe police news release. Local

  July 23, 2009

• Phoenix's Light-Rail Cities Receive $90 Million Reimbursement from Feds

  www.valleymetro.org (image on left)​The hundreds of millions of dollars the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa fronted for the federal portion of the Light Rail Transit Project will soon be almost completely repaid, thanks to a $90 million reimbursement from the federal government. The $587.2 million bill paid by Valley taxpayers went toward a variety of light-rail costs, including 36 new light-rail vehicles, 27 passenger stations, and seven new parking lots. Of the $90 million federal r

  August 3, 2009

• Valley Metro Sees 15 Percent Increase in Ridership

  wikipedia.com​The piss poor economy is driving people across the Valley to the poorhouse, and apparently, they're taking the light rail to get there.Despite the struggling economy, Valley Metro ridership is up 15 percent from last year, partly due to the addition of the light rail, but also because people just can't afford to drive."Certainly, in the last six months, overall transit ridership has been boosted by the new Metro light rail service," says David Boggs, executive director of Valley

  August 7, 2009

• Light-Rail Rides on Rise, August Stats Show; Boardings Bottomed Out in July

  ​ It was a sluggish summer for Metro light rail, but ridership is ramping up again thanks to a new semester at Arizona State University. Officials estimate the trains were boarded 882,328 times in August, which was far more than in either June or July. Traffic on the rail dropped from a high of more than one million estimated boardings in April to the system's low-water mark of 750,551 in July. Officials had expected the heat and lack of tourists and students would mean fewer riders, nat

  September 15, 2009

• Laid-Off Light Rail Operators Protest Cuts

  Bob Bean (right) is among the union protestors at Central Station this morning.​A dozen or so light rail operators protested at the Central Station in downtown Phoenix this morning, holding hand-made signs that excoriated both Metro Light Rail and the Boston-based company that manages the line, ACI.Carrying colorful poster board with slogans including "Metro Rail, Thanks for the Unemployment" and "ACI-Metro Rail Lured Us with Lies," the workers handed out leaflets to riders using the stop.New

  October 8, 2009

• Undead and Loving It

  October 29, 2009