The whole family awoke Friday morning sometime around 3:30AM. Since none of us were sleepy and we were all hungry, we headed off to the nearest IHOP for breakfast.
On the way, we passed Park Central Mall and in the parking lot was an example of one of Phoenix’s new light rail cars. I was interested in getting a look, so when the sun started to come up later I came back to get some pictures.
I’m a firm believer that Phoenix desperately needs an improved public transit system. The buses are just too slow and cumbersome to get anywhere. By bus it takes an hour to get to my office, which is only 8 miles away, or a speedy 8mph.
I blame the general failure of that on the layout and extensive size of the greater Phoenix area, which makes any system difficult to reach everywhere. A system like the light rail cannot conceivably start out reaching everything and so only key areas can be addressed – the question is: Does Phoenix have key areas? Even if it doesn’t, with a little luck and perseverance, clusters will probably form near the stations. That’s what usually happens.
Personally, I wanted to see a proper transit system, subway or elevated trains, but as a second-best, light rail will have to do.
Anyway, the cars are kind of interesting, but I really hate the clichéd name “Metro” and I’m not too keen on the art deco style logo they’ve come up with.
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