- Thread starter Robert
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METRO - Looks like some of us had a clue?
i read it, and, as usual, you have not addressed the matter. tell me how the sociological dynamics will change in the future, causing people who would not ride a poor man?s transportation to have a change of heart and opt for it. explain the sociological constructs that will bring about this accomodation. please make some salient points, and deal with the question head on. i do not like to have to scour the underbrush and thicket trying to find the answer.
I'm sure by line 5, the government would have exhausted every available line of credit, including drug money and the owner of Delta Commercial would have retired a billionaire on all the Lexus and Prado's he has sold. Please, enough of the feeder routes, we have been hearing about these for years now.
You could run a line up the middle of Churchill and Lincoln tomorrow and it would not make a difference. Now why is that?
Certainly I don't agree with you!
As far as money spent and from where, the cash used to built the lines from any source of credits is a normality in all of places this goes on. The returns on the money loaned to built them will be more than enough to cover for it for eons.
The rich and affluent will always drive their fancy cars. The rest of the mortals will get with the program as soon as service expands to where they need to go and move around. It's that simple.
It will take time and time is something we have much of to do so.
Clearly for the Metro to be successful it must be capable of fulfilling a need. If it doesn't go where people want to go or if they have to pay for surface transport to the metro and then the metro itself, this is a problem.
Attitudes can be changed by slick marketing. This is done all the time. Why a billionaire would choose to eat at McDonalds is beyond my understanding, but some seem to be "loving it..."
First comes the product, then comes the campaign to show people why they need said product and how the product will change their lives for the better. Dominican's aren't all complete idiots. Some just seem to have a differing point of reference than those of us who have grown up and lived under completely different realities for most of our lives.
To be perfectly honest, I doubt the Metro was ever intended to woo the Lotus drivers in SD. It is/can be a means for the "masses to commute Mon-Fri faster and more comfortably than is available by surface means. The eventual success or failure of this endeavor is in the hands of the operator to complete and expand the service going forward and in the hands of the customers who will always migrate towards something better if they can shown it is in fact better. Change takes time and sometimes to change attitudes takes even longer.
Then there is the concho, taxi, bus unions & associations who would be opposed to anything Metro related on principle alone.
Attitudes can be changed by slick marketing. This is done all the time. Why a billionaire would choose to eat at McDonalds is beyond my understanding, but some seem to be "loving it..."
First comes the product, then comes the campaign to show people why they need said product and how the product will change their lives for the better. Dominican's aren't all complete idiots. Some just seem to have a differing point of reference than those of us who have grown up and lived under completely different realities for most of our lives.
To be perfectly honest, I doubt the Metro was ever intended to woo the Lotus drivers in SD. It is/can be a means for the "masses to commute Mon-Fri faster and more comfortably than is available by surface means. The eventual success or failure of this endeavor is in the hands of the operator to complete and expand the service going forward and in the hands of the customers who will always migrate towards something better if they can shown it is in fact better. Change takes time and sometimes to change attitudes takes even longer.
Then there is the concho, taxi, bus unions & associations who would be opposed to anything Metro related on principle alone.
the metro will not woo the drivers of any cars, not just Lotuses. or, as some say, Loti. this is a third world country, and social dynamics are different to those to which you are accustomed. in your homeland, segregation is racially based. in this part of the world, it is based on class. when i was a young man growing up, and i met the parents of a girl with whom i was smitten, the first thing i was asked was who my father was. fortunately for me he was a surgeon, and a two time minister of government, so my name meant something. the same applies here. it is all class lines. i was in a club in POP once, where the music which is played is exclusively jazz. some guy came in and asked the owner if he would play a few bachata songs for him and his lady. the owner?s friend asked him to leave. i asked why, and the reply was that they did not want any bachata lovers in their establishment.
if you ever ride Metro and Caribe Tours you will notice that they have a different clientele. the lower classes ride Caribe Tours, the more exalted ride Metro. Dona Mercedes Vega y Vega is not riding to the capital with some barrio bunny beside her. she will be on Metro, thank you. Don Pepe is not going to shell out his hard earned pesos to Carol Morgan School to have his daughter sitting beside Radhames from the barrio. that is how it works here. it?s all about status.
I am a firm believer in the concept that "most people" will eventually act and make decisions that are in their own best interests; not everyone and not all the time.
I have to defer to those who have more experience and knowledge of the cultural intricacies of Dominican society as I have very limited first hand experience. We'll just have to wait and see what happens over time. If the pricing, the cleanliness and usefulness remains the same or improves, I don't see ridership numbers decreasing. I expect it will be a steady upward curve - maybe a slow one.
I have to defer to those who have more experience and knowledge of the cultural intricacies of Dominican society as I have very limited first hand experience. We'll just have to wait and see what happens over time. If the pricing, the cleanliness and usefulness remains the same or improves, I don't see ridership numbers decreasing. I expect it will be a steady upward curve - maybe a slow one.
i am not contesting the assertion that ridership will increase, especially when feeder routes and other lines come into play. what i doubt is that the metro will have any effect on traffic congestion, because, as i said, the metro riders have no cars to leave at home, and those with cars are not going to leave them at home. all the talk about carbon particulate reduction, and lessening of chaotic traffic breakdown is pie in the sky.
as to decisions being made in their own interest EVENTUALLY....the decisions have already been made. given the social underpinnings, it is in their best interest to drive their cars, and to avoid juxtaposition with the great unwashed. after all, no polite gentleman or dame rides on the carriages of the proletariat, and , oftentimes , lumpenproletariat. with time you will understand the importance of appearances here. guys walk around with brief cases which might contain, at the very best, an occasional spider. it is not what is in it that counts, but the fact that unsuspecting rubes might be inclined to believe that it is being carried by a person of substance and merit.
worse yet, Dona Mercedes has to stand while Yuberkis has a seat. oh, the inhumanity!
In just about every metro on the planet, the middle class use it because it's fast, the poor because it's cheap.
When the subsidies run out and the prices are raised, putting it out of the reach of the poor, then you might see some of the middle class here migrate to the metro, providing it serves their location. When this happens, the poor will move to the bus service or publicos as it's cheaper, just like in many cities. Go to London, LA etc and see who's riding the bus?
I think Santo Domingo has reached it's maximum sustainable population. For the population to grow even more than things like water, sewer, electric and road infrastructures all need to be greatly improved. That is where the Metro money should have went first. Most of the water and sewer system dates back to Trujillo and early Balaguer. If lines are going to be extended outside the city then light rail should be considered. Much less expensive to build and maintain.
Yep, right on the mark.
At the end of the day (and at the beginning lol) this has nothing to do with it.
Nada...
Zilch...
Peachy...
:devious:
I think that is why the Metro was more successful in Caracas (back in the day - no idea what it's like now). Most of the middle class people I knew there were Metro users. There were minibuses connecting the residential neighbourhoods to the metro stations.
All I see is another guaranteed win for Leonel in upcoming elections. When your rich have nice cars and can scam at the highest level, you are praised upon by the masses here. They don't even care if it comes out of their pockets, they are too busy being in awe! 2016 is now a lock!
Despite how you feel, all the alleged corruption, pricing etc, you have to give the PLD credit for building the Metro, plus many other public works projects.
The PRD monkeys wouldn't have had the first clue how to pull something as big as a Metro.
btw, just to clear it up: i've never used metro and it's likely that i never will but i support transport system improvement. admittedly, the money would be better spend on hiring hitmen to take down sindicalistas de transporte but one cannot have everything.
2nd Subway line to Santo Domingo East advances
Santo Domingo.- Around three of the four kilometers of the tunnel to link the Santo Domingo Subway’s 2nd line with Santo Domingo East have been excavated thus far, Transport Reform Office (Opret) deputy director Leonel Carrasco announced Sunday.
He said the most advanced part of the work is the tunnel, with just less than 500 meters to conclude.
He said work in on schedule thus far. "The schedule set for the construction of this Metro line is being fulfilled normally."
Carrasco said the subway extension will be tested by 2016, “provided that government funds flow.”
He also said construction of the bridge over the Ozama River has already started, with the two main columns, in addition to the digs along several kilometers in Santo Domingo East. "Nearly two kilometers of the four kilometers-long line have already been dug.”
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/ec...nd-Subway-line-to-Santo-Domingo-East-advances
T?nel de la segunda l?nea del Metro ya est? casi listo - listindiario.com
Santo Domingo.- Around three of the four kilometers of the tunnel to link the Santo Domingo Subway’s 2nd line with Santo Domingo East have been excavated thus far, Transport Reform Office (Opret) deputy director Leonel Carrasco announced Sunday.
He said the most advanced part of the work is the tunnel, with just less than 500 meters to conclude.
He said work in on schedule thus far. "The schedule set for the construction of this Metro line is being fulfilled normally."
Carrasco said the subway extension will be tested by 2016, “provided that government funds flow.”
He also said construction of the bridge over the Ozama River has already started, with the two main columns, in addition to the digs along several kilometers in Santo Domingo East. "Nearly two kilometers of the four kilometers-long line have already been dug.”
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/ec...nd-Subway-line-to-Santo-Domingo-East-advances
T?nel de la segunda l?nea del Metro ya est? casi listo - listindiario.com