Young People Prefer Using The Expanding Lightrail Over Driving

Many students who attend Colorado institutions of higher learning commute to their campuses by using public transportation including the expanding Denver RTD Light rail system. Students view the light rail system as a cheaper, more convenient way to get to school and there is yet to be a campus that does not approve RTD fees by vote. The light rail makes stops on Auraria Campus and University of Denver Campus and there are plans to expand to Red Rocks Community College and CU-Boulder by the end of the decade.

"I just think it’s easier to get to school on the train than to drive," said Belinda Joyce, 20, CU- Denver student. "I care more about my cell phone than my car."

Joyce takes the light rail to Auraria to get to class and often talks on the phone or listens to her ipod during the commute. The campus charges at least $2.00 per day to park a car on campus, so it is more affordable for her to use public transportation. She says the only place she drives to regularly is 24 Hour Fitness. 


It turns out that the young people of Denver value the ability to listen to their ipod and stay connected with their friends on their cell phones, more than the freedom of being able to travel to any location in their car. Ridership of the RTD Denver area Light rail is at an all time high and the number of people that use public transportation is expected to rise for the next decade. 

Belinda Joyce talking on her Cell Phone on the Light Rail

Many Denver Area young people born into Generation Y spent their early years of life growing up in the time before cell phones and ipods and can remember being driven around by their parents in gas-guzzling SUV's. With continuously rising gas prices and constantly evolving technology, young people have made a shift from driving personal vehicles to using public transportation.

Gen Y has been told in no uncertain terms that "driving a car is a serious responsibility," but if there is one thing that young adults have a tendency to shy away from, its being responsible. In an age where municipal tickets are handed out almost as often as report cards, young people seemingly ask themselves "is it worth the risk to drive to where I'm going?" everytime they get behind the wheel.

The operating cost of owning a vehicle has increased annually during Generation Y's lifetime and the high cost of vehicle ownership has became a major drawback. According to RTD, riding public transport can save $10,000 a year over vehicles in repairs, parking fees, insurance payments and gasoline cost. In between driving from Point A to Point B, it is also possible to get a ticket, get into an accident, have your car break down, or have to pay a lot of money for a little gas. 

"Sure I could afford to buy a car straight up," says Jayson Thomas, 22, CCD student. "But by the time you include gas, insurance and all that, I might as well use the light rail."  

"Switching from driving to riding public transportation is a proven way for individuals to cut monthly and yearly transportation costs." said APTA president William Millar.   

Paying for gas is the tiebreaker. It used to be that teens would go cruising because they didn't have enough money to go out to some other place. But with gas prices approaching $4.00 per gallon, a young person can't even afford to drive around aimlessly. A quarter tank of gasoline cost more than a movie ticket! Even a car with a fuel efficiency of 25 miles per gallon, spends $2800 a year on gasoline according to fueleconomy.gov. It seems impossible that in our capitalist society that no firm can produce fuel for less than $4.00 a gallon and rising-- projected to be up to $5.00 a gallon by the end of the year. (Honda link  Honda)

Young people simply cannot afford to own a vehicle, but even worse for the automobile industry, Generation Y does not even believe that it needs to. With the emerging field of Environmental Science teaching rising oil demand and decreasing oil reserves worldwide, it's easy to begin to view inefficient fuel powered vehicles as an obsolete technology. Why buy a new car in 2011, when by the end of the decade the demand and availability for petroleum could be economically unsustainable? Using the light rail is more environmentally friendly than driving and green technology figures more heavily for a generation who plans to live deep into the 21st century. Until hybrid cars utilizing alternative fuel systems have greater accessibility, public transportation will continue to seem like a better option.

Besides financial and environmental cost, the digital revolution is the final reason young people have integrated public transportation into their lives. You are out of touch from your social network when driving because anyone operating a vehicle is legally unable to use their cell phone. Ten years ago this would have seemed like a minor drawback and few could have foreseen the rise of text messaging and availability of MP3 players. In 2000, when light rail construction was beginning, who would have thought that you could carry around an iphone in your pocket, but in this era many young people can't think of being without their phones and ipods for any moment at all.

It seems strange that Denver Area young people view the fact that they do not have to be responsible for operating the light rail vehicle as a positive and not a negative. Using public transportation allows time for passengers to read and use their cell phones, mp3 players, and laptops. People can also use the light rail when they are intoxicated or incapacitated without being a treat to public safety. When I was younger I remember my mother showing me newspaper articles of teenagers who had died in car accidents while the kids were drunk driving. There’s even a light rail advertisement that says, "the light rail is your designated driver," and no one wants to risk a $10,000 fine over a few drinks or a few bowls.

"When I'm on the light rail I can use my phone without worrying about getting pulled over."
says Joyce. "And as much as i hate dealing with drunk people on the light rail, it’s so much better than seeing them driving."
 
The Subway Vs. The Light Rail

Taking the light rail allows young people to save money and as construction of the light rail expansions continue, commuters gain access to more and more destinations everyday. In comparison to the New York City subway system, the process of boarding and paying for the light rail in Denver is much less complicated. In order to board the subway, one has to descend stairs at least two stories underground and pay approximately $2.50 for each individual use of the train at a subway entrance. (metrocard link) The light rail train in Denver is on ground level and passengers can quickly to enter and exit the train cars without having to make a payment for each use. The easy access and boarding is especially helpful to senior citizens, mothers with baby strollers, and handicaps.

“I don’t use the Subway because I don't want to risk using the steps” said Francis Terry, 85, of Queens, New York. "I'll use the bus even though it takes longer."

The Denver area light rail features an ingenious pay structure that fits the city. The RTD Light rail project is the largest voter approved transit expansion program under construction in the United States and the RTD Board has proposed a 2012 ballot initiative to increase sales tax 0.4% to help fund rising construction cost. RTD student payment plans available through Colorado colleges on a semester basis for less than $100, allow students unlimited use of the light rail system as long as they carry their pass with them. Finally tax-free monthly RTD Employer FlexPass Program can save employees 30% off of public transportation fees.

Advertisers have also taken notice of the thousands of eyes that view light rail trains everyday and have sought to place mobile billboard style advertisements on the sides of light rail train cars. Since the light rail moves throughout the city and various demographics use it to commute, more companies are hopping on board (pun intended) everyday to put their visual graffiti in the line of site of the millions of yearly light rail passengers. Surely Bud Light, Six Flags Elitch Gardens and Rockies are helping to construct the light rail just as much as anybody.


Union Station and Future Light Rail Construction

The Denver Millennium Bridge Located Near Union Station

The downtown Denver community has became stronger since the introduction of the light rail and there has been much redevelopment on the East Side, including a new neighborhood of condominiums and townhouses at the intersection of Park Avenue and Washington Street, in between Capitol Hill and Five Points districts. The Denver area is not in a housing crisis and relative to other areas of the country, the unemployment rate is lower. The RTD public transportation system has created jobs because somebody has to build the train tracks, drive the trains, clean the trains and work train security. Those people working for RTD have families that need to buy groceries, get haircuts, and live in neighborhoods and this whole process keeps the local economy moving.

"Denver has a feel of a really big - small town. The RTD can give the town a mainstream feeling," said Kynton Chan, Lodo District Manager. "Having Union Station be a transit hub is going to make it really easy for businesses to prosper... A comprehensive transit system will carry our region into the future."

Centrally located on 20th and Wyncoop, the Union Station remodel is set to be complete by 2020. Union Station will be the new hub of RTD Denver featuring an eight-track commuter rail station that will connect to all light rail lines including one to Denver International Aiport, and will also house the new RTD regional bus facility. Union Station will allow light rail commuters easier access to 16 Street Mall, Auraria Campus, Coors Field, Invesco Field at Mile High, Pepsi Center, and Six Flags Elitch Gardens. The stunning Glass House Luxury Condos and iconic Denver Millennium Bridge, as well as businesses including hotels and restaurants will be among new buildings constructed near the new Union Station.
  
Conclusion

Denver area young people prefer to use the light rail because the high cost of operating a vehicle has begun to outweigh its benefits. The ability of light rail passengers to continue to use phones and mp3 players is more valuable to young people than driving. 



Belinda Joyce summed it up best when she said, "I care more about my cell phone than my car."