Two world-class cities. Two new light rail lines.

Who will take all in the LIGHT RAIL SMACKDOWN?

Meet the contenders:

LUAS

Meet LUAS. This Irish studmuffin started service in 2004 as the cornerstone of Dublin’s and Ireland’s comprehensive transit strategy.

MUNI’s T-Third Line

Meet the MUNI Metro. The T-Third line was completed and began service to much City fanfare in early 2007. It serves as the outer leg of a proposed Central Subway system which would burrow directly underneath the City center. This competition ranks just the recent T-Third extension.

The Competition

It’s a head to head contest. How does each rank on reasonable measurements of success of a light rail transit project? cost per mile, speed, frequency, reliability, public reaction, etc.

• Total Project Cost

  • LUAS: $1.1 billion (EUR 800 million) (Source)
  • T-Third: $648 million (EUR 436 million) (Source)
  • Note: LUAS total cost includes rolling stock and two storage depots, T-Third includes only one storage depot and no rolling stock.
  • 

  • Wow. The T-Third cost almost half as much as the LUAS. Was that a good deal? Let’s find out…

• Total Length

  • LUAS: 15 miles (24 km) (Source)
  • T-Third: 5.4 miles (8.7 km)(Source)

• Cost Per Mile

  • LUAS: $66.7 million per mile (calculated from above)
  • T-Third: $120 million per mile (calculated from above)
  • 

  • Hmm. Even though the overall LUAS project was more expensive, the per mile cost is about HALF as much as the T-Third.

• Average Speed

  • LUAS: 22 minutes for 6 miles (Source) :: v = d/t = 6 mi / 22 min = 6 mi / .37 hr = 16.21 mph
  • T-Third: Embarcadero Station to Sunnydale/Bayshore is 36 minutes over 6.73 miles (Source) :: v = d/t = 6.73 mi / 36 min = 6.73 mi / .6 hr = 11.2 mph
  • Note: These are from self-published schedules. Experience shows T-Third lags significantly behind schedule. LUAS does not.
  • 

  • Wow, the LUAS is almost 50% faster than the T-Third! Maybe we didn’t get such a good deal after all. But speed isn’t everything, is it?

• Frequency

  • LUAS: Morning (6:30a-10a) 5 min or less; midday (10a-3:30p) 7.5 min; evening (3:30p-7p) 5 min or less; all other times 15 min or less. (Source)
  • T-Third: Morning (7a-9a) 10 min; midday (9a-4p) 10 min; evening (4p-7p) 8 min; all other times 20 min or less. (Source)
  • Note: Self-published data.
  • 

  • Oh, and the LUAS comes about twice as often as the T-Third. So it’s faster AND it comes more frequently. Perhaps it was worth the pricetag?

• Ridership

  • LUAS: 80,000 average daily passengers (Source)
  • T-Third: Unavailable at present. Bus line 15 (replaced by T-Third) reported 29,524 average daily passengers. For comparison, N-Judah reports 31,381 average daily riders. (Source)
  • 

  • The LUAS has amazing ridership figures. I wonder — do people like it because it’s fast? Or, maybe because it has a very high frequency of trains?

• Farebox Recovery Ratio (Profitability)

  • LUAS: Operates at a profit (EUR 5.6 million in 2006) by a private French corporation through a franchise agreement. Actual farebox recovery unavailable. Of course, report of an operating surplus does not subtract any sort of amortized capital construction costs.
  • T-Third: Individual line operating cost information unavailable. Overall MUNI system operates at a significant loss. Farebox recovery ratio is about 25% (Source).
  • 

  • Go figure, if you build a transit line that actually serves people’s needs, you can have an operating SURPLUS! Who knew!?

• Public Reaction

  • LUAS: Overwhelmingly positive. Significantly reduces vehicle use along corridor. Youth even rap about it.
  • T-Third: Overwhelmingly negative. City residents complain. And complain. It really sucks.
  • 

  • People can’t be fooled by fancy parties or famous politicians. They know a stinker when they see it.

It looks like San Francisco sure got screwed. And it seems like we just can’t wait to get screwed again!