Slightly Less Reliable Than Walking

That's how I used to describe the St. Charles Streetcar back in the days when I depended on it for my daily commute. I worked an evening shift at a French Quarter hotel. On most days, I would ride the Streetcar to work in the afternoon and then try to catch it back at night. After a while, I learned to make a game of the trip back. Instead of sitting at Canal street where the wait could be over an hour after 11pm, I just started walking. An even pace could usually get me home in about 45 minutes. I'd say that nine times out of ten, I could make the entire trip without seeing a single car. Oh but it used to tick me off when that thing would come rumbling by when I was two blocks away from home. Life got better once I bought a bicycle (the only stress free way to travel in New Orleans.) Still, there is something charming about taking the streetcar to work. You don't always get there on time, the conductors tend to be on the rude side, and the ubitquitous bobbleheaded tourists really grate on you after a while but hey it beats trying to park downtown. According to this morning's Times-Pic, patrons of the new Canal line are already learning some of these lessons.

Glitches that threw schedules for the new Canal streetcar line out of whack during its first weekday commute prompted angry complaints from riders who said rush-hour delays made them late for work and school.

--snip--

Many riders said they were willing to give the Canal line another chance. James Bergeron, who started out from his home in the Garden District at 2:30, transferred to the Canal line from the St. Charles line, but didn't get to Carrollton until 4:40 p.m. He was still waiting for the connection to City Park 45 minutes later.

--and of course, there's this--

Downtown Development District hospitality ranger Alfonso Martinez, part of the gaggle of people at the cemeteries stop, was enthusiastic about the new service and predicted it would be a big hit with tourists.

But he gave RTA officials low marks for how they handled him and others who waited and waited. Two of the agency's supervisors and a driver were standing across Canal Street, he said, and none came over to explain the delay.

"People see the lack of customer service," Martinez said. "They view it as, 'This is just for tourists.' "

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to see the streetcar on Canal street. I also know better than to expect it to function as an efficient means of mass transit. But then, who needs to be on time in this town anyway?