South Sacramento Light Rail Project Hotline

«Crappy»
SIT-​REP
Seriously: soiled toilet-​paper present on an ENTIRE commute is absurd [See picture I uploaded of this «event».] Would you put up with this at a restaurant?
I’m not convinced this light-​rail service and this HOTLINE are even near to adequately addressing the needs of the Sacramento-​Metropolitan community nor the questions raised about it’s service-​levels being even close to commensurate with what both local taxpayors and user-​fees pay into the light-​rail service.
If a HOTLINE is available to call in service-​issues & emergencies, staff should respond.
In using this HOTLINE, I have indeed expressed to the representatives my «Love-​Hate» relationship with SacRT going on seven (7) years now — there really isn’t much «love» anymore in point-​of-​fact. As a daily/​weekly user of Light-​Rail & Buses, what I see now is a steady deterioration of infrastructure and a sad decline in «mass-​transit values» for why this system exists in the first place.
LOCAL HISTORY
SacRT was established on April 1, 1973 servicing 418 sq miles and is 9^th busiest RT jurisdiction in U.S. It includes Folsom, but so far does not sufficiently include Roseville nor Elk Grove, nor densely populated corridor of neighborhoods in between. The slow history of SacRT process goes like this:
* In 1987, after years of delays, the 18.3-mile light rail linked northeastern I-​80 and eastern Highway 50 corridors with Downtown Sacramento
* In 1998, after more years of delays, SacRT completed its first expansion along Highway 50 with the opening of Mather Field/​Mills Station
* In 2003, after more years of delays, SacRT opened (first phase) South Line, a 6.3-mile extension to South Sacramento (but 2^nd Phase is still not done), and in 2004 it was extended from Mather Field/​Mills station to Sunrise Boulevard
* In 2005, a 7.4-miles extension from the Sunrise station to the city of Folsom was opened
* Lastly, in December 2006, the final leg of the Amtrak/​Folsom project was extended 0.7-mile to the downtown Sacramento Valley Station, FINALLY connecting light rail with AMTRAK inter-​city and Capitol Corridor services as well as local and commuter buses. An AFTER-​THOUGHT? Arguably should have been a PRIORITY to begin with.
Ongoing goal for SacRT is to extend light rail south beyond Meadowview to Cosumnes River College, northeastern to Roseville, and north to Sacramento International Airport. However, one would think integrated mass-​transit CONNECTORS are a PRIORITY like in Bay Area & Seattle.
Back to review-​summation:
* Light-​Rail System– NO STARS: still relies on OLD cars. Some newer fleet exists but are problematic & rife with service issues. It’s comical the way older cars (one, sometimes two generations back) are PULLED BACK INTO SERVICE, making a hodgepodge train with 3 generations of cars chuggin commuters along. Whereas SacRT bus drivers are proficient & safety-​conscious, Light-​Rail drivers are wreckless, coming into stations too fast, engage in manic breaking LITERALLY catapulting elderly women out of seats, sliding across floors & throwing them down into train stairwells.
* Project Plan & Develop– NO STAR: MYOPIC (compared to Bay Area and Seattle) in addressing mass-​transit needs of folks in Elk Grove, Roseville, travelers to Airport & all points in between. Bay Area promotes more fair coverage of the SUBURBS surrounding Oakland & SF as well. There ARE commuter needs OUTSIDE Sac-​city limits!
* SCHEDULING– NO STAR: expect to be applauded for cutting back service? Especially in evening? Used to hang out in midtown, hit coffee shops, clubs until 11:30pm last Lightrail from 16^th & R would shoot me home. NO MORE. Last train now 9:00pm, and schedule reflects similar up & down lines in both directions on all lines.
* COST– NO STAR: Prices go up steadily last 5 years while HOURS and FREQUENCY PLUMMET. In Seattle, you pay $ 2 AND you get a transfer good on all buses for next several hours, and if you happen to get a transfer after 6PM, it’s good for rest of night until last bus lines leave downtown Seattle in 1am HR. What about SacRT? They make you pay FOR EACH LEG: $ 2.50 to get on a bus. $ 2.50 to get on NEXT bus (what used to be a «transfer») and $ 2.50 to use lightrail. 5 years ago, $ 1.75 would cover all legs.
* TIMELINESS– ONE STAR: trains that DO run have infrequent mishaps with downed wires. When they do, and trains have to stop, RT has stepped up & provided buses to transport riders to the points along the rail line they had planned to stop off at — even if sometimes it means a One to Two hour delay. But accidents happen, and I’ll give them credit for resolving this.
THE LOWDOWN
Bottom line: when compared to other city light-​rail & transit community service-​deliveries & their fee-​structures, I find service-​delivery of SacRT and HOTLINE in meeting the needs of the greater Sacramento Community to be DEFICIENT, INEFFICIENT, DEVELOPMENTALLY-​DELAYED AND MYOPIC.