South Florida Transportation Part II

[tampasteve]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

I'm sorry I wrote so much (as usual) but please read what I have to say. I'd really like to know your opinion(s)

It's actually a really, really simple answer: higher taxes. If you want to see more money to mass transit, it's in your best interest to vote democrat and support tax hikes.

Or rather vote Socialist Party USA for more action if you REALLY believe that this is the way.

I'm beginning to realize that many people in South Florida (and in the rest of the US for that matter) think on a very short-term scale. People may complain now that gas is too high, and that they wish they could ride mass transit, but they don't want to pay higher taxes now because they're already penny-pinching just to get by in SoFlo. If, on the other hand, voters took into consideration the long-term benefits of paying an extra half-penny or penny sales tax , then regional governments wouldn't be facing these financial short falls and would yield a better return on investment from mass transit.

This is a problem across all of the USA, as you astutely wrote.

Charging $12-$16 a gallon for gasoline is one of the reasons cities like London have such great transit systems. Frankly, I see it as a blessing that gas prices are rising so high. If the Federal gov't initially instituted a 10% tax on gas-by-the-gallon and then rose that tax by 1%-2% every year, it could open so many possibilities for using tax dollars.

Interesting idea, but rather than a federal tax it would be better for it to be a state tax, then more money will stay in the state's that impose the tax. The main problem would be that the money would have to be slated for mass transit - and it would have to be iron clad to keep the politicians hands off of it for other projects that could be called transit (like toll roads and such) or even completely non-transit related causes. Then divide the taxes based on income and population. Create councils of workers and neighborhoods to decide on what transit modes should be implemented. On a state and national level have a referendum on what kinds of transit the states should endorse so we can create a national system with common parts, fare cards, and a real interconnected high speed rail network.

I say go further though. Nationalize the oil, gas, electric power, water supply, railroads, eliminate toll roads, cotton, insurance, health system, and dare I say it, the mortgage industry.

Power to the workers!

Steve

[spellbound]

The essential thing people need to remember with transit funding for big-ticket items like heavy-rail expansion is that there are no real local solutions to the overall problem. Municipalities simply cannot afford to do it themselves...not without imposing a draconian tax burden that would be a severe hindrance to business and residents. It can only happen with a huge federal investment in partnership with state and local resources. Certainly, that federal money is derived through taxation but obviously the burden is spread over a far wider area.

With Metrorail specifically, the problem is threefold:

First, you simply have federal resistance to funding heavy-rail around the country these days. For a variety of reasons (some of them quite sound, frankly) you just don't see these projects getting the green light the way they did 25-35 years ago the way MARTA or BART or Metrorail itself did. New York would be a notable exception to that as the subway system continues to expand with new lines but with the dynamics of massive ridership combined with it being an essential conduit in the nation's most important city and their ability to fund themselves at levels other places cannot makes it a much easier sell to the feds. Elsewhere, the federal impetus has largely been behind light-rail ventures as heavy-rail has been put on the back burner for the most part.

Second, you have the well-publicized incompetence and mismanagement of MDTA itself. Combined with the lackluster political leadership the area has in Washington, this has been devastating. They have repeatedly lied to the federal government for years (decades, really) about everything from ridership projections to the overall financial picture and it should come as no real surprise when the feds slap them back with downgraded priority status for individual projects or outright cancellation. MDTA is just not good at what they do, not to mention their continued boneheaded insistence on "social engineering" in lieu of sound planning in originally pushing the north extension over the much more logical E/W line despite 25 years of evidence that it simply doesn't work. Now they are likely to see neither one partially as a result.

Third (and this is a bit more esoteric), I think there's a real question as to what type of transit Miami actually needs and what would give it the most bang for the buck. Like most of you guys, I once dreamed of a big, fleshed-out Metrorail that would extend across the county. Now, obviously, that's not going to happen but my thinking has evolved and I no longer think that was truly the best solution (certainly not financially) even if it undeniably had that "big-city" appeal that I think underlies what we really like about it. See, it's the geography and dynamics of the place---the way it evolved. Forget about massive cities like New York or London, even many smaller and older metro areas comparable to Miami in size like Boston or Philly tend to be focused squarely on their urban, downtown core as the unquestioned center of commerce and population for an entire region. Everything radiates out from there and those are the dynamics that work best with heavy-rail. South Florida is different. Yes, Miami is the largest commercial center and biggest city in the region but the MSA is extremely linear (over 100 miles long) and Miami itself is neither the geographic or population center of the region. In transit terms, I think a far less costly light-rail system that could better reach and connect this kind of linear sprawl (and reflect commuting patterns that very often aren't necessarily heading downtown) would really provide a better long-term answer and obviously FAR more likely to actually get a fair hearing at the federal level.

Anyway (and I know this is too damn long already ), I think that column that kevin posted above is pretty dead-on accurate. It's become very evident that Metrorail is likely finished after the MIC link. Yes, that is lamentable but NOW is the time for someone at the political level to be bold enough to state the obvious---not care who they make enemies with--- and get the impetus behind an alternative vision rolling. At the current rate, we are going to be left with nothing (except more buses and highway "improvements") and that is just not an option for a city that aspires to be more.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by spellbound

South Florida is different. Yes, Miami is the largest commercial center and biggest city in the region but the MSA is extremely linear (over 100 miles long) and Miami itself is neither the geographic or population center of the region. In transit terms, I think a far less costly light-rail system that could better reach and connect this kind of linear sprawl (and reflect commuting patterns that very often aren't necessarily heading downtown) would really provide a better long-term answer and obviously FAR more likely to actually get a fair hearing at the federal level.

Wouldn't S Florida's multi-nodal nature make it less likely to have light rail be of any use rather than more likely? As opposed to those other cities, the trips South Floridians want to use mass transit for tend to be longer (between nodes rather than inside of them). We need mass transit to get from west kendall to downtown (15 to 20 miles), Kendall to Doral (12 to 15 miles), Aventura to downtown (13 miles). People are generally perfectly happy driving shorter distances or walking for things like groceries and shopping and such. Its the longer distances for commutes that the general populace generally demands mass transit for. I garuntee you that at least 90% of all metrorail trips taken today are for trips over 5 miles. A light rail system that runs inside the Coral Gables/Coconut Grove/Little Havana/Downtown/Midtown/South Beach area would work (and we do need one) but light rail would have trouble with the dynamics of bringing people into that area from the outside, the trips would simply take too long.

PS. on the area I said does need light rail, what we would need to happen is for the street car to get built and succeed and then expand to those other areas to fill in the "inner core" of the Miami area.

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Wouldn't S Florida's multi-nodal nature make it less likely to have light rail be of any use rather than more likely? As opposed to those other cities, the trips South Floridians want to use mass transit for tend to be longer (between nodes rather than inside of them).

Dave, I think a lot of the newer light-rail systems built or planned around the country (Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, etc.) are actually quite lengthy...with the recognition that many people are not necessarily commuting into an urban core but rather all around it.

I don't know if there's really another solution that doesn't involve more busways or things of that nature. Commuter rail works great in many places (and Tri-Rail is terrific) but an extensive system of it that covers a much wider area down there won't happen because of the prohibitive financial and land-acquisition cost involved. Light-rail is capable of traveling at a decent speed and covering great lengths at a fraction of the cost of heavy-rail.

Honestly, I think the most likely scenario in Miami is probably little more than additional buses, busways, and highway projects for many, many years---that even light-rail on an extensive basis is unlikely to happen---but it seems (to me, anyway) to be the only alternative that has even a remote shot at actually happening.

[MIAhabana23]

The problem is not more taxes, Republican or Democrat. The problem is borough politics. A Commissioner sees more value in doing a several small scale road improvements throughout his/her district because each one of this projects has their name on a sign out in front, and makes the people think that Commissioner is "fighting" for them. "Mam, look at the road we paved in front of your house." Partisan politics is not the problem here.

The same is true on the State and Federal level, only in these cases, you have rural representatives who also want a piece of the pie. In the case of Florida, these relatively rural areas tend to get a big chunk of it too. Look at all of the roads that have been widened in Rural Orlando, Tampa, Ocala, Ft. Myers, Naples, and Jacksonville in the last couple of years. These projects will do little to ease congestion, but the politicians probably looked great for delivering these improvements. If this money had been pooled, we probably could have gotten some nice commuter rail systems running on existing rail roads throughout Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando (coming soon either way), and South Florida. But only the Commissioners and Representatives whose districts these projects actually ran through would have gotten any credit. Hence these things don't pass. So the pie gets spread very thinly and everyone is still stuck in traffic, except they are thrilled that their representative was able to bring some money home to build that new turning lane.

For example next year, the Federal Transit Administration will have $10.1 Billion. Rather than spend that money on a 10 massive projects throughout the top 10 Metropolitan areas of the country, they hand out a little here and a little there, someone gets a new bus, etc. All Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, will lobby to get a little project for their district. The impact of those 10 Billion dollars will be negligable.

The solution is At-Large Voting Systems. End the arguing over "my district" and worry about the region! Watch any commission, council, congressional, etc. meeting and you will realize that this is true. Your districts sucks anyway.

End the Pork Barrell Spending and build the projects that will truly make a difference. There is more than enough money to do, right now, what is necessary to solve congestion. I know this will never happen....it's just me ranting.

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by MIAhabana23

For example next year, the Federal Transit Administration will have $10.1 Billion. Rather than spend that money on a 10 massive projects throughout the top 10 Metropolitan areas of the country, they hand out a little here and a little there, someone gets a new bus, etc. All Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, will lobby to get a little project for their district. The impact of those 10 Billion dollars will be negligable.

The solution is At-Large Voting Systems. End the arguing over "my district" and worry about the region! Watch any commission, council, congressional, etc. meeting and you will realize that this is true. Your districts sucks anyway. Though I know this will never happen....just me ranting.

Well said...and agreed.

I would add that Miami's congressional representatives in D.C. (Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart) have been VERY weak on transportation issues---and not especially highly regarded overall---and this has also been a big problem in securing any funding. People forget that Metrorail would very likely have never existed at all if not for the work of the late Bill Lehman in congress. Nobody is doing that kind of job for the city at that level today.

I would certainly favor "super regional" councils as a way to address issues that affect everyone in a metropolitan region such as education or transportation but as you say, not a chance. Everyone wants their own little fiefdom instead.

[Songoten2554]

thats what i am saying light Rail projects need to be in Miami if Metrorail cannot expand that much anymore Light Rail is the future.



why not use examples of such metros like the Tyne and Wear Metro its like a light Rail but also like a Metrorail like but its cheaper to be built.

also another example here.



Vancouver's Canada line set to open in 2009 but it shows an example of a light metro this can work for miami it wasn't that cheap but it was cheaper then a full length metro plus i think this could work for miami?

[MIAhabana23]

Congressman Diaz-Balart did get us the Metrorail Extension to the Palmetto.
Any congress person that we have right now, no matter who it is, will be weak on transit, because the County needs to have a viable project ready to role. He got the money because their was a project that was ready to go. It was a good little project in his district that got his name on a sign.

Right now, the north corridor is not viable because it goes through low-density neigborhoods, so it will have very poor ridership. So the FEDs won't touch it. Congressman Kendrick Meeks isn't even fighting to hard for it for this reason.

The East-West corridor has goes through very dense neighborhoods (Blue Lagoon, Fountainblue, Little Havana), however, because of politics, they can't settle on a route (NW 7th Street or SR 836). Plus, if this route gets built before the North Corridor, the Commissioners, several Commissioners will claim that racism was involved. So the FEDs won't even have an opportunity to touch it. Mario Diaz-Balart used (not sure if he still is) to be on the Transportation Committee, and would have been able to bring some money for it, but the ball was dropped locally.

Plus the money from the 1/2 Cent Sales Tax that was supposed to fund the local matching funds required by the FEDs has been going to fund small projects here and there, such as bus shelters, new buses, road improvements, municipal trolley bus service, maintenance, etc. So every district has gotten some minor improvement from it. However, no district has received any major improvement.

The result is no Congressperson will have a project that they can sell to the Federal Transit Administration. The Federal Government is not going to provide money for a project that isn't ready. There is always someone ready with a project. If the projects were ready locally, any congressperson (whether Lincoln or Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, or Kendrick Meeks) would fight for the money to get a sign put up with their name on it.

Look at Charlotte, NC and their CATS System. The federal money that originally went into the system was slated for Orlando. Orlando wasn't ready, so they lost the money. Their Congressional Delegation was extremely embarrassed because they fought for money that their district wasn't politically ready to accept (due to infighting between districts).

For a Congressperson to stick their neck out for money, the projects have to be ready to go. It all starts at the regional level.

[AddictedToSpace]

Originally Posted by spellbound

Well said...and agreed.

I would add that Miami's congressional representatives in D.C. (Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart) have been VERY weak on transportation issues---and not especially highly regarded overall---and this has also been a big problem in securing any funding. People forget that Metrorail would very likely have never existed at all if not for the work of the late Bill Lehman in congress. Nobody is doing that kind of job for the city at that level today.

I would certainly favor "super regional" councils as a way to address issues that affect everyone in a metropolitan region such as education or transportation but as you say, not a chance. Everyone wants their own little fiefdom instead.

Spellbound, its called APATHY and it is not only a Miami problem. In general, many Americans don't give a shit about what ails us and how to make it better but they sure do like to complain.

[Songoten2554]

yeah thats what i want to know why we make complains if the progress is not happening like construction and such.

thats what i am saying that they should look at Light metros like the Tyne and Wear metro in England and the vancouver canada line in canada.

i think they should look into them and invest in that.

[AddictedToSpace]

Drop in Miles Driven Is Depleting Highway Fund; Loan From Mass Transit Is Urged

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/us...=1&oref=slogin

WASHINGTON — Gasoline tax revenue is falling so fast that the federal government may not be able to meet its commitments to states for road projects already under way, the secretary of transportation said Monday.

The secretary, Mary E. Peters, said the short-term solution would be for the Highway Trust Fund’s highway account to borrow money from the fund’s mass transit account, a step that would balance the accounts as highway travel declines and use of mass transit increases. Both trends are being driven by the high price of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Ms. Peters said vehicle miles traveled on the nation’s roads fell in May by 3.7 percent from May 2007, a drop first reported Monday by The Wall Street Journal. That made May the seventh consecutive month of year-to-year decline, and the ninth in the last 12. Historically, miles traveled have risen by 1 percent to 2 percent a month compared with the year earlier.

Put another way, for every 25 miles that Americans were expected to drive, they are now driving about 24.

That dampens proceeds from the federal tax on motor fuel: 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline, 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel. Revenue from the tax goes to the Highway Trust Fund, with most of it designated to the highway account, which finances construction and repair of roads, and a much smaller share to the mass transit account.

The highway account had a balance of about $8 billion at the beginning of the fiscal year, and the expectation was that it would have some $4 billion by year’s end. But it has been emptying faster than anticipated, and the Bush administration now projects that at some point in the next fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, it will hit zero, causing payments to be made from it only as revenue arrives. Ms. Peters predicted a shortfall of $3.1 billion.

Transferring the money from the transit account would require Congress’s approval, according to Congressional aides. And it is sure to face opposition.

“Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the way to go,” said the president of the American Public Transportation Association, William W. Millar. “The administration proposal is shortsighted and would mean that the mass transit account would be reduced to the point where there would not be enough money to fund the federal transit program in 2010, even at the current level.”

Last week the House passed a bill that would spend $8 billion of general tax revenue on highways. But the White House said President Bush’s senior advisers would recommend that he veto any such provision, and called for borrowing from the mass transit account instead. That account is currently in surplus, the White House said, and the transfer “would not harm transit spending and would not increase the deficit.”

As for a longer-term solution, Ms. Peters said that on Wednesday she would propose a new arrangement for paying for highways, based in part on private capital financing and use of tolls that vary by time of day.

So what is probably the only part of the budget that is in a Surplus status and he wants to turn it into a deficit.

[DGM]

Originally Posted by spellbound

I would add that Miami's congressional representatives in D.C. (Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart) have been VERY weak on transportation issues---and not especially highly regarded overall---and this has also been a big problem in securing any funding.

Both the Diaz-Ballarts may be losing their seats this coming election. They are being out-Cubaned by democrats, Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez. (Joe is running against Lincoln and Raul is running against Mario, I believe). I've tried checking the campaign websites of Garcia and Martinez about transportation but Martinez's doesn't work and Garcia's mentions nothing about transportation.

[DGM]

Originally Posted by AddictedToSpace

[SIZE="5"]President Bush’s senior advisers would recommend that he veto any such provision, and called for borrowing from the mass transit account instead. That account is currently in surplus, the White House said, and the transfer “would not harm transit spending and would not increase the deficit.”

I thought the Bush administration believed in letting the invisible hand of capitalism control trends like this. Taking money from mass transit and putting it into highway repair clearly sends the wrong message. But, no one needs to worry because Congress stopped listening to the executive branch about three years ago.

[MIAhabana23]

Originally Posted by DGM

Both the Diaz-Ballarts may be losing their seats this coming election. They are being out-Cubaned by democrats, Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez. (Joe is running against Lincoln and Raul is running against Mario, I believe). I've tried checking the campaign websites of Garcia and Martinez about transportation but Martinez's doesn't work and Garcia's mentions nothing about transportation.

Find out about the real Raul Martinez:
http://www.raulmartinez08.com/

As a former resident of Hialeah (I know live 2 minutes away in Miami Springs), I could never vote for this guy. The only thing he will do is bring money for subsidized housing projects all over his district like he did to keep power in Hialeah. I'm not saying Lincoln Diaz-Balart is the greatest congressman of all time, but at least he is civil. Martinez will punch everyone in Washington who disagrees with him in the face. Interestingly enough if you drive around Hialeah today, you'll see Lincoln Yard Signs all over the place, but not a single Martinez sign.

[AddictedToSpace]

Originally Posted by MIAhabana23

Find out about the real Raul Martinez:
http://www.raulmartinez08.com/

As a former resident of Hialeah (I know live 2 minutes away in Miami Springs), I could never vote for this guy. The only thing he will do is bring money for subsidized housing projects all over his district like he did to keep power in Hialeah. I'm not saying Lincoln Diaz-Balart is the greatest congressman of all time, but at least he is civil. Martinez will punch everyone in Washington who disagrees with him in the face. Interestingly enough if you drive around Hialeah today, you'll see Lincoln Yard Signs all over the place, but not a single Martinez sign.

I was born and raised in Hialeah so let me tell you something about the city and Raul Martinez. He is not the most honest politician, is there such thing as one? There were some goofs he made, the development Mango Hill being one of them. The ill's of Hialeah are brought upon the city by its residents not the city itself. Do you know that Hialeah has its own Police Department, a Class 1 Fire Department (there are less than 60 in the country), Water and Sewers department, Solid Waste, Gas, Public Works, probably the largest parks and recreation system in the county (three of which are water parks), Chamber of Commerce and its own transit system with two bus lines. Not to mention it is the fifth largest city in the State. I believe even with his prior screw ups Martinez has done more for that City than Balart and Leithinan have done for Dade County. They have pandered to old Cubans and their unattainable desire to see a free Cuba. (Cuba will not be free until the US wants it to and since there is no oil to liberate it wont happen.) It is time to get them out of office!

[tampasteve]

Originally Posted by MIAhabana23

Look at Charlotte, NC and their CATS System. The federal money that originally went into the system was slated for Orlando. Orlando wasn't ready, so they lost the money. Their Congressional Delegation was extremely embarrassed because they fought for money that their district wasn't politically ready to accept (due to infighting between districts).

Yes and no. Different people will say that the money was given to Charlotte from whatever city/project they are trying to argue for. I have heard the same said of the money coming from the Tampa rail project. The truth is that Charlotte won out because they had a plan ready while the other cities did not so we ALL lost out, it is really not the case of money being sent to one place and not another. It is likely that had Orlando or Tampa been ready then we could have seen money as well as Charlotte.

The same is true on the State and Federal level, only in these cases, you have rural representatives who also want a piece of the pie. In the case of Florida, these relatively rural areas tend to get a big chunk of it too. Look at all of the roads that have been widened in Rural Orlando, Tampa, Ocala, Ft. Myers, Naples, and Jacksonville in the last couple of years. These projects will do little to ease congestion, but the politicians probably looked great for delivering these improvements. If this money had been pooled, we probably could have gotten some nice commuter rail systems running on existing rail roads throughout Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando (coming soon either way), and South Florida.

You are 100% correct about the road projects doing little for congestion...but as for Tampa commuter rail (and Jacksonville too) it is unlikely to happen with the climate of relations with CSX. It is great that Orlando is going to ge their system eventually, but the deal with CSX is a sham and is bad for the wohle state....but again, at least Orlando has a group of people willing to deal to make the plan happen. Even rarely used corridors are hard to get out of that company. Often Tampa's Mayor Iorio is talking more of new ROW (perhaps adjacent to the current CSX ROW) for any rail system.

Steve

[tampasteve]

Originally Posted by Songoten2554

thats what i am saying light Rail projects need to be in Miami if Metrorail cannot expand that much anymore Light Rail is the future.

The problem is not the type of system, necessarily. The problem is that the MDTA is not in the position to argue for new monies....and they have not even mentioned LRT in any real sort of planning. We on this board have said it is the way to move forward, but until they do too it is just us dreaming. With no plan there will NEVER be money or a LRT system built.

Steve

[miamicanes]

The only way I'd support light rail is if they made the LRT trains interoperable with Metrorail's track. That doesn't mean they have to draw power from Metrorail's side rail... just that the trains would have versatile multi-height vestibules like the ones used by the San Francisco MUNI (flat, at floor height, for high-level stations underground, transforming into stairs for curb-height stations aboveground and capable of serving as wheelchair lifts when necessary), and standard-gauge wheels & bogeys.

Why? It would enable the incremental construction of a second rail line from Aventura to Midtown (on new tracks within the FEC corridor) that merged into the existing Metrorail tracks along 112 & upcoming tracks to MIC, then continued west to the malls, south to FIU, and eventually further south to Kendall Drive, Metrozoo, Cutler Ridge, or beyond. They could build it so the LRT trains ducked under the major roads it crossed, but took advantage of its LRT-ness to run at grade in between them.

There's no reason why there HAS to be an artificial distinction between "light rail" and "heavy rail". Instead, think of them as "Versatile Rail" -- running within their own right of ways (occasionally shared with a road crossing, but NEVER running directly among cars in traffic, because then it turns into a glorified slow bus limited to low speeds), not interfering with major roads (big, huge political plus for rallying voter support), but saving HUGE amounts of money on things like stations by eliminating the need for elaborate mezzanines and crossover levels.

Why "duck under" roads instead of go up & over them? Easy... an 18-wheeler is a LOT taller than the train. If it goes over, it has to go high enough to clear that 18-wheeler. If it goes under, it only has to go low enough to clear itself... and can even "split the difference" with the roads it crosses... tracks drop 6-8 feet, road goes up 4-6 feet. You can see lots of examples with the Washington Metro's yellow line in Virginia.

Actually, I'd also be opposed to catenaries. IMHO, it would be insane to build a rapid transit line that's all but guaranteed to be out of service for a week or more anytime a cat-1 hurricane brushes by. If it takes MDTA 2-3 days to get Metrorail up and running again after a major storm, and FPL 2-3 weeks to restore residential power, I shudder to think how many weeks it would take MDTA to repair 20-60 miles of catenary. The Alstom system (which safely allows an unprotected third center rail by energizing ONLY the sections that are LITERALLY below the train... where someone in contact with the rail would have been cut to ribbons and/or crushed by the wheels at least a few milliseconds before electrocution became a risk) might be worth looking at, though...

[dave8721]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/brea...ry/640175.html

Power failure closes Metromover for 2 hours

BY ERIKA BERAS
eberas@MiamiHerald.com
An electrical failure caused the entire Miami-Dade Metromover to shut down Wednesday morning.

The failure was discovered about 5:30 a.m. and was fixed by 7:30 a.m., a Miami-Dade Transit Authority spokesman said.

A dozen buses were pulled from the least-used bus routes and sent to loop the 21 Metromover stations.

The Metromover runs on its own Florida Power & Light grid.

''It may have been a computer problem,'' said Manny Palmeiro, a spokesman for Miami-Dade Transit. ``It's very unusual for the system to go down. Usually it's one leg.''

Electricians tried to boot the system 10 times before it started working.

It is unknown how many commuters were affected, but 27,381 people ride the Metromover daily.

Electricians are attempting to figure out what caused the malfunction.

[Songoten2554]

wow man i feel bad for the people that were stuck in there for hours you know to get to their jobs i hope they didn't got fired or something?

but at least everybody is allright these things happen unfortnally.