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Comment by HWR_14 | Hacker News Reader

Why is it impractical for dinner and a show?

Not the OP, but I had the same issue living in North Austin, TX. I was nearly outside ATX, and would have loved to take the rail downtown for a night of bar-hopping and then not have to drive back. But the last northbound train was at like 10 or 11pm.

That meant while I could take the train to downtown, it wasn't practical (at least for a night of bar hopping) unless I wanted to spend a hefty sum on a return Uber at the end of the night.

It takes longer (with reverse commute traffic and less going home). I'd have to leave early to make it in time for dinner. And I'd have to hope I hit one of the infrequent trains that run after rush hour. It's completely impractical. I just wouldn't do it.

Why don't more people ask for better train connections?

Trains would allow kids, elderly, people without a driver's license or the financial means to afford a car to participate in society as well.

You pretty much need a car/ride to take commuter rail anyway. Relatively few people live walking distance from a suburban/exurban station. And there's just very little demand for the train outside of commuting hours--and would be even if they ran significantly more trains.

Some commuter rail lines in the U.S. are designed to only cater to commuters. So they may not run any train into downtown at night, or they may stop running well before the shows end at night, so there's no way to use the trains to get back home.

There are a few out of the city until about 11:30 or so. I'd be hanging around for maybe an hour+ then a fairly long train trip to my car.

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