Here's why...

I grew up in Chicago. Nobody thinks twice about hopping a train to commute, or hopping a bus to and from the train. Commuters don't just go to the end of the line, they get off at stops all along the route. You can do work on the train, read a book, read the paper, have coffee, use the toilet, chat with your friends, or enjoy the scenery. You can also get where you're going faster than any other method. It's always fun to watch the people stuck on a freeway while you're passing them at 60MPH or more. Though more people drive than take the train, the trains are often SRO.

When I did consulting in Boston, D.C., Portland, London, Paris and Zurich, I took the train when I could. I introduced skeptical execs I traveled with to the trains and they discovered it was faster, cheaper, and we could work while traveling. They hadn't lived where they could use a train (like most people in the North Bay), so they didn't know what to expect.

In Marin and Sonoma there's only one transportation corridor. One can ride a bus or drive a car, but you're always sitting on that corridor. Every accident that slows cars slows the buses too. Travel times can best be described as variable. Buses run on schedules, but the only published part of the schedule is before they get on 101. Trains run on schedules too, but the arrival times are published and nearly always correct (like the ferries).

Traffic planners consider flow dynamics when analyzing traffic. That's easy to visualize. Think about Corte Madera creek in San Anselmo last year - too much volume for the capacity with obstacles preventing an open flow. 101 can't get much bigger, but it will have to handle more traffic anyway. Put an obstacle in its route and everything "upstream" backs up on entrance ramps and local streets.

There's arguments against Measure R that don't stand up in my opinion.

• There will only be 5000 passenger trips! - maybe, but there's very few underutilized rail systems if they're well integrated with commute patterns. 5000 seems to be a good indicator of success. There's less than 5000 people riding the successful Larkspur ferry (http://goldengateferry.org/researchlibrary/statistics.php) and less than 5000 people crossing the bay on the successful GGT peak period buses (http://goldengatetransit.org/researchlibrary/statistics.php).
• Congestion will be eased when the carpool lanes are done! - Ha! Caltrans says there's 14100 vehicles at peak in central San Rafael (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/saferesr/trafdata/2005all/r101i.htm). 1306 vehicles at peak use the HOV lanes (http://www.mtc.ca.gov/library/state_of_the_system/2005/carpool_lane_usage.pdf). Statistically, at peak 91% of the 101 drivers will have the same number of lanes in central San Rafael as they do today. The good news is the buses may be faster. By the way, traffic is growing on 101 again.
• It will harm the environment! - the tracks won't, they are already in place, but in shabby shape. Rebuilding tracks is done by vehicles on those tracks. Some of you may remember the freight trains that rolled along the tracks through Novato in the 90's (behind Costco). Tracks south of Novato haven't been used in years, but are still railroad right-of-way. The trains will reduce car trips and the math on emissions says there will be tons less each day. Trains make noise, like cars and buses.
• It will make Larkspur more congested! - I don't get this. If 5000 trips from or to the north don't drive to or through Larkspur, don't park in Larkspur, don't use Sir Francis Drake, then how will a train add to Larkspur's congestion? Sir Francis Drake is a nightmare at rush hour on both sides of 101. Taking any cars out of the traffic pattern should improve the flow. The train isn't planned to cross SFD on the ground so it won't block traffic (read on).
• The Larkspur station will be an eyesore! - perhaps, but it could be built to complement the Airporter depot (not much of an attraction). It might even hide the view of the Caltrans metering lights that have been idle for 3 years. Better still, have elevated tracks cross SFD and let the passengers out at the ferry terminal. A pedestrian bridge already crosses SFD and has been built to avoid being an eyesore. An overpass for a single track wouldn't look much different.
• Only 500 Marin residents would take the train! - Good for them! I predict they'll get on in Novato and skip the daily backup from Rowland to central San Rafael. That will make many other Marin drivers happy. Others will join them when they see how easy it is to use the train.
• Central San Rafael will get more congested! - the 2 car train will fit in the existing bus depot, which means southbound trains will clear 3rd street and allow the gates to go up. Much of central San Rafael's backup is on Hetherton trying to go west on Third or east on 2nd. The train would open 2nd eastbound for Hetherton traffic and, while at the station, open 3rd westbound for Hetherton.
• Measure A was better for Marin! - perhaps. It gave half its sales tax money to save buses being cut by GGT due to cost. It also funded road work that qualified Marin as a self-contributing county to get more money from the state. It didn't add bus or road capacity to help the commute in Marin and didn't improve traffic flow at any of the choke points intersecting 101. I'd be surprised if the cost of buses declines or holds steady in the future, so count on bus service reductions to come up again.

I encourage you to think whether the North Bay would be better served by leaving things as they are or by introducing a commute alternative that can grow to meet present and future demand. The 101 corridor won't get wider at any choke points, and the intersecting roads won't either. The only way to allow willing commuters a better commute is to give them reliable and predictable transit as an alternative to highway miles. Every convert is one less vehicle in the flow.

The plans so far have avoided peeling commuter counts from other transit agencies. The North Bay would make better use of buses by dropping runs from Sonoma County to San Fran in favor of rail to San Rafael/Larkspur and buses or ferries from there. Commute buses parked in San Fran all day waiting for a return trip to Sonoma County are not effective use of transit assets. Some of those buses could make shorter and more frequent trips to San Rafael, while others could be deployed for rail connections in both north Marin and Sonoma.

The carpool lanes haven't done it, the buses do a good job but haven't done it. Let's try something faster, more predictable, and not dependent on 101.

I'm voting for Measure R.