I used to commute 5 times a week (often more) on Piccadilly. So that’s £5,200 for my ridership for the year? From that perspective seems rather expensive…
It’s disappointing they ditched the signal upgrades. It will bite everyone soon enough. Some of these systems date back over a hundred years, and are all incredibly bespoke.
Re the missed stations, I feel like they missed an opportunity with the Elizabeth Line line to shift more Heathrow traffic that way, giving some breather to Piccadilly during signal upgrades.
£5200 for your annual ridership but then divide that by the lifespan of the signaling. Let’s say it lasts 30 years, so that’s €173, (but of course, at the end of the 30 years £173 is worth a lot less).
The only reason I compare it to America is because I don't actually know the figures for the UK, but I expect that car owners would spend more there due to higher cost of petrol, higher vehicle taxes, etc.
That's why I don't think they compare well: many people who use public transport, even the Tube or similar, still need a car, at least sometimes. So it's not an alternative, and it's not equivalent value.
This is a line that has 53 stations. For comparison that’s 20 more stations than the longest and highest volume L line in Chicago.
I wonder how this cost benefit compares to the $9 billion project to widen Houston highways?