TKC QUESTION: IS THE KANSAS CITY TOY TRAIN STREETCAR READY FOR WINTER?!?



A Winter Storm Watch looms of Kansas City on Sunday and the coming cold typically translates into harsh times for the smallish streetcar line.

To be fair, last month Kansas City's most expensive mode of public transit achieved more progress by outpacing last year's October totals but barely moving a head of its kick-off year traffic for the same month by about 2K estimated rides (Oct. 2016 -166,412).

Here's the chart:



But more important than a debate over phony numbers is a life lesson understood on local streets:

Last Winter cold & ice shut down the streetcar nearly a dozen times and Kansas City quickly learned the toy train performs poorly when weather turns bad.



A glimpse of the streetcar as it was forced to be towed doesn't inspire much confidence in Downtown denizens who depend on the train to get around the loop quickly. Fortunately, in the very same weather, the bus was able to easily pick up the slack. Also, maybe this year "Brush McBrushface" -- The Streetcar line snow & ice cleaning machine will make more of an impact.

Still we ask . . .

HOW MUCH ARE YOU DEPENDING ON THE KANSAS CITY STREETCAR THIS WINTER???

Whilst it might be too cold for mobile phone tech scooters when December & January come around, the answer is relevant to our local conversation inasmuch as KCMO has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to this effort that doesn't really work in the cold.

You decide . . .

Comments

  1. Hey now, be fair, the bums will count on the streetcar to keep warm!

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    Replies
    1. Not sure if people downtown really depend on the streetcar in the same way that people use the bus. What we've seen from the numbers is that it's mostly for the weekend. The tourists and partygoers can easily get an Uber or Lyft. But the truth is that a line from the river market to the pLaza would be more useful but not feasible without federal funding. But there isn't much progress on that so far.

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    2. 25 million riders?

      Is KCMO doing the math again?

      I guess that would work if we count trips back and forth for kids going to concerts at the Sprint Center then back to their car.

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  2. Riders welcomed anally?

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  3. Save The Plaza11/23/18, 8:02 PM

    Rivermarket to Plaza would be a nightmare that wold completely wreck the district. Might as well just call it Bannister Mall II at that point. And it's not just about the "youths" the homeless in the park are already making the plaza more dangerous. This would just create a pipe line.

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  4. Tax a Roni, the Kansas City Treat!

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  5. Is toy train ready for winter? Hahahahaha! Catches breath, hahahahahahaha!

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  6. This year we have lots of scooters to push and pull if toy gets stuck.

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  7. The Street car is not winter ready. We should store it for the winter. Somebody needs to drive it up Sly’s fat ass

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  8. Lol. If there's as much ice as they're saying don't count on the streetcar to go anywhere. They might as well just make the bus option a permanent route on the streetcar line which is kind of ironic. Ask for the scooters I haven't seen anyone riding them when the temperature gets below 30. But the next few weeks still a good option and much more flexible than the streetcar.

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  9. How does this work out on a cost per ride basis?
    Counting only current operating costs $ 3.10
    Adding local tax liabilities $ 7.75
    Adding federal portion & amortization $18.42

    At this rate it would have been cheaper to buy each downtown bum a Mercedes with uniformed driver, or to give each tourist a Kruggerand and a steak dinner.

    Welcome to Keynesian KC!

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  10. "Kansas City quickly learned the toy train performs poorly when weather turns bad."

    Duh! Our great-grandparents learned that years ago and opted for a bus system. Those who cannot learn from the past... .

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    Replies
    1. Those who cannot learn from the past...

      ...are condemned to bitch and moan endlessly over something that's already happened and is not going anywhere so they might as well just stick their obsessive worthless opinions up their asses where they came from.

      Delete
  11. Brushy McBrushface will have to start transporting some of the 25 million anally visitors to take up the slack from the failed fair weather toy train. The fair weather toy train has definitely earned its name.

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  12. ^^^^^Thanks for sharing. Now go put some rustoleum on your trailer before the storm hits tomorrow.

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  13. I've ridden the Toy Train in summer and in winter. It was hot and miserable waiting for the train and riding the train. Same story in winter. Every time those huge doors opened, heat or cold rushed in. Add to that experience the fact that you end up standing because the trains have very few actual seats.
    When are they going to start charging for this wonderful experience, or are the taxpayers on the hook forever?

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  14. Actually, Kansas City HAS learned from last year's problems, and the Streetcar IS READY!

    Th Mayor's Office has hired a resident Sorcerer who has cast a spell that assures that the Downtown Area will experience absolutely no snow, ice, freezing rain, vehicle breakdowns, street collapses, building collapses, pipe breaks, or other routine events that will disrupt service.

    SO THERE! Nonny Nonny Boo-Boo!

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  15. The streetcar looks all shiny and new but it is old technology. Rails in the street and overhead wires will clutter up Main Street to the Plaza and it will be no faster than a bus, and probably slower than a bus. This is not rapid transit and any investment in mass transit should be in high speed dedicated rail rapid transit to the airport, or the stadiums or job centers.

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