FrontRunner: A review
ABOARD FRONTRUNNERBlake Wachter, an internal medicine resident at University of Utah hospital, boards at Ogden. She's hoping to make FrontRunner a leg of her daily trek to work.
And it's some trek — Wachter, right, lives in Huntsville. She makes the hour-and-20 minute commute six days a week. Today, she's doing a leg in her Subaru, a leg on FrontRunner and will finish up on Trax for a total of about two hours travelling time. She hopes.
My husband and I are going to do the calculations tonight to see if it will work.The FrontRunner's work tables and WiFi will allow Wachter to study and work online. But, in her Subaru, "I can listen to study tapes. And I like to drive, it gives me time to relax."
Other than the freedom of driving your own car, it's going to be hard for most commuters to argue against FrontRunner. Unless you car pool, it's cheaper. And you can work, read the news, check email on the way. But, of course, freedom-loving Utahns will have to accept the hassles of making connections and sharing space with other human beings.
The first-day problems I encountered:
• The WiFi connection was non-existent on one trip. On another, I had to move to another car to get it to work. It frustrated the heck out of several "professional" communters.UTA may argue for some slack because this was a shakedown cruise for FrontRunner. But after a week of free runs, today's passengers paid full fare and should have gotten full service.
The fix: Get some good tech people, WiFi is hugely important to FrontRunner's success.
• On one trip, the engineer (operator) was horn happy — laying on the horn at every crossing and dirt construction path. A "station host" on board shrugged and explained: "It depends on the operator. This one's a honker."
The baring air horns rattled your fillings, terminated cell calls and likely cut in half the property values of the residential neighborhoods we passed through.
The fix: Hire engineers who are over nine years old.
Finally, how about a club car? A cocktail on the way home would erase the memories of the above-mentioned hassles, and increase ridership among some demographic groups.
Other FrontRunner traveling experiences and reviews welcome.
5 Comments:
My free ride on Saturday turned out to be so horrific that I have decided to pay the extra in gas at least for a month or two. I save no time by taking the FrontRunner from Layton to Salt Lake City, with parking and transfers. I was so not impressed.
Public transport is rarely ever faster than driving. If you're looking for that, you'll usually be disappointed.
It's better for the environment.
It is cheaper. Compare a $160 monthly pass to a 60-mile round trip commute. With car maintenance, gas, and depreciation calculated by the Gov't at $.50/mile, the 1200 miles/month is $600.
It is more consistent. (no traffic jams, occasional rescheduling, far fewer accidents vs. car travel)
It is less stressful. Despite the quote that "driving relaxes her", that is not true of most people.
It can be more productive. Take care of work before and after 8-5 and you don't have to do it at home.
It can leave more time for family. If you're someone who takes work home, you may find home time is really home time.
I've done it in Boston and London. Commuters from the North going to SL will find their day transformed and really, who couldn't stand to walk a bit more?
It's better for the environment?
Hogwash.
A big diesel electric train running at a fraction of its rider capacity is an eco disaster when compared to my 40mpg motorcycle.
The WIFI being dodgy is inexcusable and makes the longer travel time unusable for many.
The fact that the UTA site cannot even calculate a route from my house to my office speaks volumes for how ineffective the system is.
Give your hog a wash and take the train.
The overall savings of all riders on the train vs. individual cars and motorcycles is clear.
Try again on the UTA trip planner and look for a starting place closer to the train or bus.
Your inability to use the UTA site speaks volumes about your computer skills.
Good luck with your motorcycle in the snow and rain with Utah drivers around you.
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