It?s June and it?s hot ? so hot that it can make steel soft. That means a longer ride home if you use MARC. As many of you know by now, MARC leases track rights-of-way from CSX, which has had some real problems with train derailments in hot weather because of what the heat does to the tracks. A couple of years ago, CSX decided to institute speed restrictions on its tracks whenever the temperature gets above 80 degrees. Whenever speed restrictions are put in place, trains will be restricted to 20 mph under their normal top speeds between the hours of 1 and 7 p.m. This means that trains on the Camden Line that normally have a top speed of 70 mph can go only 50, although they will not top out at less than 40 mph. MARC estimatesthat the speed restrictions will cost you an extra 10 to 15 minutes on the ride home. The interesting thing is that the lines with the most stops are least affected because they rarely get going too fast anyway. There is an express run over on the Brunswick line that loses a lot of time because of its length.
Speaking of MARC: Personal checks are no longer accepted by MARC train conductors for payment as of today. Plan ahead and make other arrangements, especially those of you who buy the monthly passes.
REPLIES TO NASTY-GRAMS
You think this job is easy? You think it?s easy having everyone look over your shoulder and judge what you say and the way you do your math? I got a lot of nasty-grams from readers about my May 31 column on the cost of hybrids over conventional vehicles. Bel Air Bill writes to say: “I think your savings example is very misleading. The savings is based on the quantity of gas consumed by the hybrid compared to the quantity consumed by a nonhybrid vehicle. If a sport utility vehicle gives you 15 mpg, you will consume 1,000 gallons of gas in 15,000 miles of annual driving. With fuel averaging $2.90 per gallon, the annual cost will be $2,900. If a Prius hybrid averages 50 mpg, you will consume 300 gallons at $2.90 for a total annual cost of $870. Your annual savings will be $2,030. The higher the cost of gas, the greater the savings. If your current vehicle?s mileage is higher than 15 mpg, your savings will be reduced. The cost of gas from one year to the next is not a significant factor unless the price drastically goes down. (Don?t hold your breath.) We really can?t measure the green effect of lower emissions and cleaner air.”
Frankly, Bill, it would seem more fair to make a comparison between cars that are a little more similar. To compare the gas mileage of a Dodge Durango with a Toyota Prius is stretching it.
And then there was this from somebody who didn?t use their name: “Your latest anti-hybrid article states that the purchase premium requires consumption of 3,000 to 6,000 gallons to break even. My recently purchased Prius is getting 50 miles per gallon, roughly double what I would expect from an equivalent conventional car Camry, so whatever I spend on gas yields an equivalent cost saving. To recoup the $3,000 premium I paid will require 1,000 gallons at $3 per gallon, ignoring the $3,100 rebate on my 2006 income tax. Actually, I think the average price of gas will be substantially higher than $3 per gallon over my first 1,000 gallons. Consumer Reports? calculation estimates the Prius saves $400 over five years (May issue, page 10) and that their calculations in the April issue were incorrect.”
That “latest anti-hybrid article” started off by my saying I was a big fan of the technology and was considering buying a hybrid. Anyway, everyone gets a say in Sprawl and Crawl Land.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to Steve@ SprawlandCrawl.com.
