Modern light rail cars, comfortably holding perhaps 125 passengers, are exceedingly quiet, fast, and attractive to the public. Metro would initially run 2-car trains at headways possibly as close as 5 minutes. Buses would interconnect with the LRT system and provide new crosstown routes. The typical impact is a tremendous boost to transit ridership systemwide. In Sacramento, for example, since LRT was introduced in 1987, total annual ridership on both bus and LRT has steadily increased, nearly doubling by last year.
Most new systems report similar spectacular results.
In addition to environmental and ridership advantages, there are cost benefits as well. Although the initial capital cost is high, there's a big payoff in lower operating costs. Since a single train operator can do the work of 2 to 9 bus drivers, LRT systems from Dallas to San Diego to Baltimore have seen sharp drops in their transit system operating costs per passenger-mile. On top of those cost benefits, there are benefits in terms of time savings for travelers, deferred highway and street expansion, deferred parking facilities, and reduced accidents. When everything is added up, LRT is a bargain for Austin and other urban areas.