Phoenix METRO – A first day experience and review – Part 1 of 2

I wanted to use so many different titles for this post, but eventually decided to make it clear and to the point.

After four years and $1.4 Billion, yes with a “B” the METRO light rail is now up and running.  The first day it was open to the public (Saturday the 27th) a buddy and I went for a ride.  At least, that was our intention.  We wanted to start from the Encanto and Central station, ride out to Tempe and Mesa, then back to the Montebello (Christown) station and then to our starting point at Encanto.

The first five trains going to Tempe/Mesa were full when they arrived.  If the trains were really arriving 10 minutes apart (and I don’t think they were, I think it was longer), that was 50 minutes of wait time.  So finally we decided to go the other direction, to Christown, and then loop back.  Bad decision.  It took another two trains to find space to squeeze in, making around 70 minutes of wait time.  First day, free rides, you gotta figure.  But my buddy was already making comments about a bad first impression.  One thing about him, he isn’t swept up in tech and gadgets and new things like I am.  He thinks like a lot of folks think, and as the day wore on, I heard a lot more of his kind of thinking being expressed.

We got to Christown, and wisely, they make everyone get off the train.  The line was enormous to get back on.  It was lunch time and it was at least 2.5 hours of a wait to get back on the METRO.  So we decided to get some lunch, a $6.50 hot dog and a $6 dollar order of fries.  The vendors had a captive audience, though we could have gone into Christown, walked to McDonalds at the other end in Walmart and eaten cheaper.  But hey, we were riding for free, right?

The band they had entertaining had some good advice.  Take the free shuttle bus down to the next stop and get on the train there.  There was guaranteed room.  Well we couldn’t find the shuttle bus, so we hoofed it about half a mile down to the next stop, but when we saw the line there, my buddy realized he didn’t have all day like I did and needed to get back to where we parked, he had to leave.  So we found the free shuttle bus and rode it back to our original stop.  Time invested so far 3.5 hours.  Distance travelled, about 10 miles round trip total.  He was not impressed, and I felt a little guilty for talking him into this adventure.

He left, but I was determined to make the loop and luckily I had all day to try.  My solo adventures in part 2.