Does a city need both the Monorail and a Bus System?

Question

Madison Wisconsin is considering developing a Monorail system as a alternate commuter plan. In a city of 250,000 is it worth adding this when a bus line is already in use?

Answer 1

Monorails are flashy projects that rarely work in the real world. The only examples of viable systems are in Las Vegas built about 4 years ago and in Seattle built in 1966. The one in Las Vegas works best because it is geared towards tourists which don't mind paying the much higher fares necessary to fund such an operation. In Seattle the system is not of much use and may be abandoned soon. In Madison, expanding the existing bus system would likely work best inculding a BRT line (Bus Rapid Transit) This would fit a midsized city better and be more cost effective to design and operate.

Answer 2

Yes. Monorails are cool.

Answer 3

A monorail system would be worthwhile when it gets a population of 500,000 or more and the population looks like it is increasing at a faster rate. Otherwise, a bus system should say in place.

Answer 4

well is it going to be a green system... It could be the want to help move more people in general direction... with out all the stops and keep people moving faster...

Answer 5

Not really. I cannot see how it would pay for itself in an 8 year time frame.

Answer 6

In Chicago the El and Bus networks are complementary. Buses are extremely local- they make stop every block, or more; while trains makes stops every few blocks. There are also commuter trains that go out to the suburbs, and stop at every town or so. Property also gets more dense around train stops, because trains are much faster, and can hold more people than buses. Schedules are also more regular on trains.

That said... Madison Wisconsin isn't very dense, although I know for a fact that the downtown area is getting more dense (My family's old second home there is now becoming a 12 story condo building) the area isn't very dense still. Monorails would probably increase density over a period of like 25-50 years. Madison, just like Chicago, is actually known as a city for smart growth. The rail system would be another thing that allows for this smart growth.

Also, I heard someone say that the system is supposed to pay for itself in 8 years... No transit system is completely paid for by it's riders or users. Roads, Rail, Mass Transit: each of these require funding other than fares. In Chicago, The state gives the CTA (Chicago Transit), Metra (suburban/exurban commuter trains), and Pace (suburban busses) Over a billion dollars a year to pay for operations. That doesn't even include capital investments. Fares pay for about half of the systems operations budget. In other cities, fares cover about 25%

Answer 7

Sorry but Madison is not considering a monorail... It was considered in the 80's as an experiment for the University area.  Morgantown, WV has a peoplemover system, its kind of like a monorail, serving a university there and a couple other points.  And Morgantown is very small altogether roughly 40,000.

But currently Madison is trying to make way for commuter rail from Middleton through downtown to Sun Prairie.  (personal opinion i hope it gets built soon).  One more point, monorails are best for very large cities like Detroit, Seattle, Las Vegas, etc. because they are the most expensive dollar per mile to construct and operate.

A lot of cities have alternate transit networks.  Madison already has one, a taxi service which is an alternate to the city bus.  Also, contrary to what many believe, Madison is actually in a unique situation in that it is more dense than other cities its size because of the lakes.  Thus creating a more feasible situation for creating some sort of rail mass transit.

Oh and to answer the question, its best when cities DO have multiple transit systems in case one system is experiencing problems.  For example, a city with buses and trains will do very well in snow storms, that will cripple buses, but the trains can keep running.

Here, type in madison transport 2020 in google or yahoo and you will get some info (sorry im not good at links)