A year after their openings, the garages are a little more than half full on a daily basis. Salem’s 700-space facility has averaged 413 vehicles per day, while Beverly’s 500-space garage has averaged 260, according to data from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Disney Guy wrote:My numbers.
Eighty five percent full and the garage/lot is not underutilized.
Ninety seven percent full excluding spaces too small to get in or out of and the garage is at capacity although the sign out front might not have the "full" light on.
deathtopumpkins wrote:I still don't quite think they were a waste though. That's still way more vehicles parking than either station had before, which likely means an increase in ridership, and it's nice to have the capacity there for the future.
Plus, while yes, park and ride stations usually belong in a more suburban area along a highway, Salem and Beverly are still surrounded by other towns that don't have rail service (e.g. Marblehead, Danvers, Peabody, Essex), which likely generates some of that park and ride usage.
The EGE wrote:Zone 1 and 2 fares are far too high compared to rapid transit fares. Yes, the T would see some revenue loss from cheaper passes, but imagine what ridership would look like with $3 fares most places inside 128.
BandA wrote:station miles zone fare
Auburndale, 10.2mi 2 $6.25 = .62/mile
Newtonville, 8.1mi 1 $5.75 = .71/mile
Worcester, 44.2mi 8 $10.5 = .24/mile
Swampscott,12.8mi 3 $7.00 = .55
Lynn, 11.5mi 2 $6.25 = .54
Salem, 16.8mi 3 $7.00 = .42
Beverly, 18.3mi 4 $7.50 = .41
Waltham, 9.9mi 2 $6.25 = .63
Fitchburg, 49.6mi 8 $10.50 = .21
Providence, 43.6mi 8 $10.50 = .24
Needham Hts, 13.7mi 3 $7.00 = .51
For comparison, Metro-North Commuter Rail New Haven to Grand Central:
Stamford, 33mi $14.50 = .44 / mile
New Haven, 72.3mi $21.75 = .30
Auburndale is right near Riverside green line (which is in Auburndale at Rte 128), fare is only $2.10 for a longer, slower route. Newtonville has buses on the 1/2 hour at rush hour for $3.65, and Waltham has express buses at $5.25 and slow local buses at $1.60. So, the "Eastern" lines are not out of line compared to some other commuter rail lines. But demand for commuter rail is suppressed by cheaper bus and "rapid" transit lines. If you lowered the CR fares you would probably overfill those garages in Salem and Beverly that we were talking about!
F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:
The people who board at those stops do not care what their per-mile cost is. They have no idea how many mileposts out their stop is. That's math without relevance to a rider in the real world.
Thw only thing that matters here is that Swampscott and Salem are the only Zone 3's that reside inside 128, Beverly is the only Zone 4 that resides inside 128, Lynn--a humongous bus terminal serving the entire North Shore route network--is crippled by a Zone 2 that discourages any transfers, and it's the only line on the system that skips completely over Zone 1 straight from 1A to 2.
That is FAR off-scale for the commuter rail network. The furthest off-scale of any line. That inequity keeps people on the North Shore from leaving their cars because it's simply not worth it to get gouged that way. The poor garage utilization and poor bus utilization on the North Shore is an artificial problem of their own creation because they won't address the Zone inequity.
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