December 31st-New Years Eve
This is the big day for the light rail in my eyes. The previous 4 days have been interesting and certainly busier than anything the light rail will normally deal with, but tonight not only is the light rail free, but for the first time it will run till 2am and more importantly for the first time the light rail will actually serve as transportation to New Years destinations instead of simply being an amusement ride.
Based on the performance over the last 4 days I expect long waits to board trains along with slow and uneven service probably starting at around 6-8pm.
Hopefully there are no accidents today with either cars or pedestrians, hopefully people being intoxicated and still having little idea of public transit etiquette doesn’t lead to wide scale frustration with the system.
Tempe is also providing free bus service all day today with the:
62, 65 and Orbits Mercury, Venus, Earth and Jupiter leaving downtown Tempe Every 15 minutes until 2am.
The document with all of this information is here
In other news:
The light rail experienced its first crash since opening to the public
Light Rail will no longer be free after today
Light rail user guide via EV Tribune
Also Valley Metro is planning on raising fares because of declining sales tax
They’re holding public meetings all around the valley to discuss and get input on changes to the structure of the fair system and increases in price.
if you’re actually interested in going you can find all relevant information here
The Daily Light Rail Rider 