I've been thinking a lot lately about how people get around and what impact it has on their lives.
I grew up in a small Southern college town. We drove everywhere. There was a public bus but we never took it. Since leaving home I've mostly lived in big cities with public transportation--NYC and DC. The subway is amazing and almost everywhere was really accessible. It runs all night, hits all of the boroughs and is relatively affordable and fast.
When I moved to DC last year, I settled back into life in a smaller city. Still a relatively good public transportation system but it gets less places and closes at night. I started riding the bus, brought my car with me and used it much more than I had expected.
Then two months ago my car died. I then had to rely completely on public transportation, mainly the bus. When you take the bus everywhere, you have a lot of time to think. When you're waiting for the bus to come, stuck in traffic on the bus, walking to and from the bus stops. I started to notice how much stress it added to my life. Often running late to things, not being able to get around quickly, dealing with unpredictable and often unreliable buses. Often spending a few hours of every day just getting from place to place.
And I live in a city with a good public transportation system. I don't live far, I don't really commute a significant distance. I also started to notice more and more who was riding the bus with me. With the exception of rush hour times downtown, the majority of bus riders are people of color--in my area, Latino and African American folks.
What emphasized all of this is that I recently started riding my bike to get around. I remembered what it's like to be able to get around quickly and easily. No waiting for the bus, no running late because of traffic or late buses. I could go on about why biking is so great but I'll leave that for another post.
What it has made me think about is how poverty is such a cycle. How things like the amount of time it takes you to get around can make it even harder for you to improve your situation. How commuting to work, being late, having to juggle many responsibilities and not having enough time in the day keeps these cycles going. How even just the stress of getting around can have an affect on your health. How privileged I am to live in a city with transportation, to have access to a car sometimes, to be physically able to bike around.
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What it has made me think about is how poverty is such a cycle. How things like the amount of time it takes you to get around can make it even harder for you to improve your situation. How commuting to work, being late, having to juggle many responsibilities and not having enough time in the day keeps these cycles going.
This is so true. As an undergrad I managed a Starbucks, and one of the things I realized was that many potential employees did rely on the bus, so setting a rigid schedule kind of discriminated against them in favor of kids who had a car or could use their parents car. I had always had access to a car, and this was one of my early "a-ha" moments concerning my own privilege. So I started offering interviewees several time slots to choose from and scheduling shifts that started at 1:30 instead of 1:00, for example, for employees who rode a bus that arrived every hour at quarter after the hour. It was actually really easy to do, because after awhile you get used to the bus schedules and know who's riding which bus. Otherwise, they have to show up 45 minutes early and wait around, or be 15 minutes late every day. But generally speaking, the job market expects you to conform to its schedule, and this is a kind of systemic disadvantage that usually goes unnoticed.
I know so many people, too many people, who have lost jobs because their bus was late. I know people who were given a job opportunity, the only one, and couldnt take it because the bus didn't run late enough. I also knew people that lost their jobs because they were tired of the stress that accompanied their bus routes. Taking the bus can be a really hard task. You try to save up to get a car and you get a job but have to take the bus but get fired because the bus has been late so many times, then you cant afford your car but if you had a car you could get a job. It can be so damn frustrating. I live in Akron, Ohio. I have been there before. The buses don't run normally on Sunday and they usually dont run past 9 and their late. I used to live in Canton, Ohio which was even smaller. It's hard when the city isnt big enough to have a big city public transportation system and is so small they cut routes all the time because enough people don't go on them. But it only takes one route to be cancelled to ruin one person's life by them not having a way to work. There's no cabs here. Few, I should say. And forget about a social life. You wouldn't want to ride a bike because of where you would have to ride it.
My car broke down and when I get back to Ohio I have a feeling I will be having some of these problems cause I dont have any money. But I still feel priveleged because I don't have to do this with children and I am not handicapped and I am not elderly and that makes it even harder to work with the buses here.
I lived in Chicago for 7 years and I'll admit it: I really liked the bus. It actually saved me time in non-rush hour traffic because I didn't have to drive around looking for parking. Also, I never had to worry about driving in the snow or the rain. I could just sit back, read a novel, and not stress over the ride.
However, to recognize my privilege, I lived near a major bus line that ran every 10 minutes and connected me to almost everything I needed in the city (whoot for Halsted #8). Plus, my life and job were flexible enough that I could avoid a lot of rush hour traffic, and if I couldn't, then the subway was a quick way to get to work or home.
I had the flexibility to give myself an hour to get across town. I didn't have to schedule myself to the nth degree, and therefore, could just let the times on the bus be a place for me to de-stress.
Now, I live in an area with limited public transportation and I find myself missing it. I don't like driving and I feel like I'm polluting the environment because it's the only way I can get to some of the places I need to be.
I think that if buses were more reliable, ran more often, and ran in such a way that it was more convenient for people to take the bus than to drive, there would be less cars on the road and less pollution in the air. Biking is terrific, too, if the weather is good.
I love, LOVE, LOVE public transportation, it makes me feel closer to human beings, as weird as it sounds.
I wish that more cities would be more bike-friendly, though. I used to live in Columbia MO and that was ONE hell of a bike-friendly town, I liked it a lot. It's also a great work out, it's cheap, and it's environmentally friendly.
Your post reminded me of this post from the blog Greater Greater Washington (which I recommend for all DC-area residents interested in transportation reform and urban planning!), which discusses why transporation issues have a disparate impact on women, especially working mothers. While this pieces doesn't specifically discuss how this affects low-income people, it's hard not to draw the connection between the hardships that poor public transporation options and bad urban design place on working people (especially mothers) and the difficulty of getting out of poverty.
I'm 24 and I just got my first car six months ago. Prior to getting a car I relied on public transportation, the bus mostly, Metrolink if I wanted to get to L.A. Now that I have a car it is easy to see just how inconvenient the bus is: having to leave at least an hour early to get to school for the 20 minute walk to the bus stop and the 15 minute ride to school (now it takes me 15 minutes), dealing with strange men trying to hit on me, late buses... I didn't mind it really at the time because it was all I knew.
I've been taking public transportation since high school, and if I have any wishes, it would be the continuous plea to RUN LATER. One cannot get in and out of the PA suburbs via train after midnight, even on weekends. Bay area BART is no better, and it is even more expensive than SEPTA. The DC Metro was able to extend their hours; why can't you?
Especially in these times of both environmental and financial crises, it is ludicrous that we do not devote more of our tax money to public transportation, which so many of us rely on.
I live in Atlanta and I haven't owned a car in the five years I've been here. Which means I've seen a lot of MARTA. (Which is oh so cleverly, i.e. racistly, referred to as "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta) You kind of get the feeling that they don't get improvements to it because rich white people don't use it, except at rush hour. The bus system is extraordinarily frustrating, often unreliable, and stops running at midnight. The trains stop running through the main part of downtown at around 1, even on weekends. So, if you are working crazy shifts, you might have to wait hours for public transit to open again before you can get home. I've always had a lot of friends with cars, so I've been able to do stuff like get my groceries without having to take public transportation, but I feel like that is up there on things that make life difficult. Trying to juggle all your groceries and not being able to buy cheap bulk items because you can't carry everything.
Atlanta is also a very bicycling unfriendly city. The streets are very narrow, and very, very few roads have cycling lanes.
I so wish Atlanta was one of those cities with really good public transportation. And it is a city that really really needs it. Our commutes are as bad as Los Angeles. But all the upper class workers live outside of the city in the suburbs and commute in, so no money is ever going to go to adding more lines or more buses to MARTA.
amen. i was in atlanta for a summer internship and worried everyday about the commute. i've missed buses because i was just a few steps away from the bus stop, after which it was a 30-40 minute wait. commute itself took double the time. surprisingly, my colleagues were not proactive at all in offering rides. perhaps they had forgotten just how difficult MARTA is.
I live in a very small town and decided some time ago not to own a car. As parents the unuhusband and I felt that it was our responsibility to leave as small of an environmental footprint as possible, but I find that as our children age we are not able to follow through with our commitment due to terrible bus service. It does not run regularly on weekends. I often want to scream that life does not stop on Sunday at 5pm and cab fare is actually getting ridiculously expensive. It turns out that even with gas and insurance because I have had to do the cab thing due to bad service that I will actually save money. Who would have thought that driving would be cheaper than relying on public transportation and cabs.
I have only taken public transportation when I was on vacation in NYC or San Francisco. However, I joined the Peace Corps and I am living in Ukraine. I rely on public transportation to get me around the country and even across town. Its just so nice how easy it is to get on a bus or train here. It felt like such a big accomplishment when I took a small bus (called marshrutka) from my host family's house to the center of the city by myself. I really wish that the US had a more developed public transportation system. I always hated driving and vowed that I would move to NYC so I wouldn't have to own a car. Ok, so Ukraine is a little different than NYC, but it makes me feel really good about myself when I get on a marshrutka and ask other passengers where a certain stop is in the local language. When I first started taking the buses long distances, I was very critical about it. I was going to take a bus from Kyiv to my local town and a teacher at my school said there is a bus every single day at 2:30. I grilled her on the reliability of that bus. "Are you SURE it is *always* there every day at 2:30?" "Is it ever late?" "Does it leave early?" Every day the buses come at the same exact time, give or take 5 minutes and they have been pretty reliable. I went from a place where everyone owned a car to a place where a car is a luxury. It has been a really good experience trying to learn all the bus and train schedules. It makes me feel more independent, which is kind of weird since I am relying on a bus or train to be there instead of just hopping in my own car.
"even just the stress of getting around can have an affect on your health"
you are so right. nothing puts me in a WORSE mood than a delayed commute on the metro. arg!
not to mention the physical health detriment to being exposed to so many air-borne germs!
not that i think the solution is that we all get in our cars and drive everywhere. maybe if people drove less and more buses and mass transit systems were in place we'd all make it to work on time.
NYC's monthly unlimited MetroCard is about to go up to $103 (from $81). That's $1236 a year to ride the subway. My part-time job makes me ride the train almost every day, which makes the unlimited cards a better value for me at $81. At $103 it's almost a week's pay - I still have to figure out if it saves me any money to buy unlimited.
Plus they are cutting a lot of service.
I'm lucky enough to have parents that will probably help me with the cost, but a lot of people don't. For a lot of people $81 is a strain on their wallets. An additional $22 per month (which is $264 a year). The subway is not a luxury, it's a necessity.
Yikes! I remember when they first introduced unlimited monthly Metrocards and people were complaining about shelling out $63 for one.
I did the math, and buying a bus pass here (in Seattle) wouldn't save me money even if I rode the bus twice a day, five days a week.
I lived for 5 years in Burlington, VT without a car. It's difficult, but it can be done. Like many of the other posters, I had the advantages of being able bodied and not having young children.
Even in 'pedestrian friendly' cities, public transportation can be trying. Buses run every half hour (and only every hour after 6pm and you could expect to wait at least another half an hour if you had to change lines. The busses stopped running at 9pm on weeknights and only 7 on Saturdays. Busses did not run on Sundays or holidays.
On top of that, has anyone ever tried grocery shopping or going to the laundromat on a city bus? When the small shopping complex near my apartment closed, it left me without a nearby grocery store and laundromat. Not only is it time consuming to just get there, but you also have to figure out how you are going to carry everything and where you'll put it on a crowded bus.
I was only buying groceries for myself and my boyfriend. I cannot imagine trying to transport groceries for a family on the bus. Another thing that needed to be considered was the time it took to get from the store to home. The entire trip was often over an hour long. In the summer months, I would avoid buying milk or meat unless someone was giving me a ride.
On top of that, has anyone ever tried grocery shopping or going to the laundromat on a city bus?
I've often thought about the way city planning would change if public transportation was the default and driving cars was secondary. If people assumed you weren't going to drive everywhere, then businesses like grocery stores would return to neighborhoods. I lived in the Fremont district in Seattle when I was really young, and you could tell the neighborhood had been laid out this way. There would be several blocks of residential streets, and then one block of businesses. There was a Safeway, bank, barber shop, and 7-11 about 4 blocks from us, and several families in our neighborhood didn't have cars, but were easily able to accomplish their shopping. My mom often walked there with us, and then just stashed everything in the bottom of the stroller to carry it home. But the way we design cities now, with all the stores clustered together in ugly strip malls miles away from the residential areas, forces you to drive or juggle all your groceries on the bus.
Ironically, I've started biking to the grocery store and library much more often since my daughter was born. Why? Because the bike trailer we found at the thrift store to carry her in has tons of space in the back for groceries or library books. Kinda funny.
I lug my Trader Joe's stuff home on public transportation. I'm pretty much limited to one shopping bag (because I might have to use my other arm to hold onto a pole) and what I can fit into my backpack. If I were older or physically disabled, or carting kids around, it would be much harder if not impossible. (I see mothers trying to keep track of kids while loaded down with strollers and packages and wonder how they do it. I would be terrified that my child might run off the train at the wrong stop or get lost).
On top of that, has anyone ever tried grocery shopping or going to the laundromat on a city bus?
I recommend using a wheeled suitcase for laundry or groceries if taking the bus, although I have definitely done both many times without one. But often I find it easier to take my little wire pushcart -- the kind elderly women often use -- and walk (I don't think NYCTA buses allow carts like that on board).
I do this whenever I do large loads of laundry and often did it to go to the bigger, cheaper supermarkets a few miles away before I brought my old car up here to use.
Thanks for posting this, Miriam. I think about transportation politics a lot, too -- in part because I grew up in a sprawling southern city with terrible public transit (Nashville), in part because I hang out with bike activist kids, in part because I feel like an irresponsible asshole for keeping my old car in Brooklyn where I could easily do without it (the out-of-state insurance is negligible, and street parking is easy) and in part because I really, really love driving, bikes and the subway.
I often think of mass transit's role in determining cities' cultural development, and every time I ride the G train I'm made aware of the influence of money in the MTA's upkeep decisions as well as the patterns of urban migration and gentrification. And I have long had an ongoing, if seldom actively pursued, plan to set foot in every subway station in New York.
When visiting Chicago I've been routinely baffled that the el stops running late at night. I hadn't realized that the Metro in DC and BART do the same. That's sort of incredible, and I wonder how much cheaper it is for them to shut down service entirely rather than run, say, a train an hour. Is New York's subway the only all-night metro system, or does the T in Boston or something else run 24 hours, too?
The T in Boston does NOT run 24-hours. I was a bartender there for years and I swear the MBTA is being paid off by the taxi companies. Because it stops around 12:30am, which is right before the bars close at 2am. There is a night-owl bus service that is extremely limited (and not very safe that nobody uses) that runs until two, but that still leaves all the bar workers and after-hour drinkers to take taxis (or drive drunk) home.
The T in Boston, in my opinion, is extremely inconvenient and unmanageable unless you live right in the city, which hardly anyone does.
I am a huge advocate of 24-hour safe public transportation.
The best thing about living here in NYC is the bus driver will let you off anywhere you ask him to after 10pm if they agree with you it's safe - that way you can be dropped off closer to your home and in a safer area than you might be if this rule wasn't in place..
I always imagined Boston might be fairly bikeable due to its size.
That situation with establishments closing later than the T does seem absurd, and I'd think that as a result there would be tons of drunk college kids on bicycles late at night. I've wondered if there's any correlation between poor public transit late at night and local biking while intoxicated laws laws.
Unfortunately, Boston isn't particularly biker-friendly either. While I don't have any experience biking through the city, Boston is notorious for having bad drivers who don't exactly follow the law that bikes are allowed on the streets too. There are also no bike lanes and very narrow streets (Cambridge is slightly better though, they have bike lanes on some major streets). There's at least 1 or 2 bike deaths a year because of this. However, like I said, I have no experience riding in the city and I do know a few people who would much rather bike than take the T.
And I totally agree with you holmes that there must be some kind of deal with the MBTA and the taxi companies. The T no longer runs the night owl service and now there's talks of raising the price while cutting even more late night and weekend service, which I feel is really dangerous. I live right outside the city so if I want to stay in town after 12:30, my only options are to go with my friends who drive (and risk them driving me home drunk) or take a $40-50 cab ride (there have also been incidents lately where women have been raped by men posing as cab drivers). I always feel like such a loser having to leave my friends so early and I can't imagine what it would be like if I worked a late-night shift and couldn't get home, especially since most people who do work these shifts live on the edges of the city like me and would have to pay the enormous cab fares everyday. The late night riders are also largely minorities who don't always speak up, speak english, or can't attend the meetings the T holds to "discuss" changes in services.
I was in public transport heaven when I went to Switzerland a few months ago. Everything ran on time, was spotless, and ran almost 24 hours. I'm sure it has its flaws for those that live there, but it always amazes me how the US and cities here have never taken the example of European cities and their systems (I've also used the public transit in England, Paris, and Stockholm, which were all still much better than the T). Of course I don't know anything about the financial aspects, but I've always imagined that it would be far more cost-effective in the long run to develop a more solid public transport system that people can trust and rely on than the crappy service we have now and the dependence on cars to get us everywhere.
Philly's SEPTA definitely does not run all night. If you're in the city, some lines do run relatively late, but you'll be waiting anywhere from 30-60 minutes on a street corner, quite possibly in an unsafe area, in the middle of the night. If you're trying to get to/from the suburbs, there is no service at all.
One of the many, many things I miss about NYC is the 24-hour MTA system.
Just to put this out there, BART cannot run 24 hours at a time because the physical infrastructure of the system was designed to have a daily period of maintenance. I can't find the article that originally discussed the reasoning behind this decision to cite my source, but I believe it was decided in part because of neighborhood concerns about noise. It seems likely that other subway/train systems are also designed with a similar maintenance period.
And since we're talking about public transportation horror stories:
"A recent study shows that along with some Bay Area freeways, some of BART's overhead structures could be extensively damaged and could potentially collapse in the event of a major earthquake, which is predicted as highly likely to happen in the Bay Area within the next 30 years.[38] Extensive seismic retrofit will be necessary to address many of these deficiencies, although one in particular, the penetration of the Hayward Fault Zone by the Berkeley Hills Tunnel, will be left for correction after any disabling earthquake, with the consequences for in-transit trains, their operators, and their passengers left to chance."
Left to chance. Known issue. Collapsing tunnels with people potentially inside of them. Left to chance. If this doesn't say something about the state of public transportation in the US and California (and our budget), I'm not sure what does.
Just as an FYI, some of the trains run all night, such as the major red line route. The service is more infrequent, but it runs. My husband and I used to live off the brown line and we felt like we had a curfew! haha! we'd be downtown visiting friends and have to leave by 11:30 or so to catch the last brown line north. a little over a year ago we moved to a red line area, so it's easier. however, safety is a huge issue and there have been a lot of instances on our end of the route recently. you would think an increase in violence/assault would result in security, but no. grrr.
Quick gush here: I live in Chicago and, like ElleStar, I totally love the transportation here. I don't own a car and I don't need one. For me, the transit system is easy to navigate, relatively reliable, and takes all the stress of driving, parking, and navigating off my shoulders. I was really surprised to hear about Miriam's experience where public transit added MORE stress to her life. This is really the opposite of my experience. Not to mention the hundreds of dollars I saving in car costs. My transit costs are about $130 per month, total. And my mobility is really pretty comprehensive.
@everybody ever, above: Chicago has two El lines that run all night, the Red and Blue lines. And I'm under the impression that MOST Boston transportation is NOT 24-hour.
Anyway, rest assured, there are plenty of people here in Chicago who think the public transit is too slow, too dirty, too full of scary (read: different from them, black) people. But I frankly think those people are just addicted to their cars and can't see another way of living.
Anyway, maybe my experience is the exception.
I really appreciate that you're thinking about the effect of crappy public transit on working people, Miriam. I went to school in Nashville and knew many people who had to quit their jobs when they made massive bus cuts this summer. Our ENTIRE culture -- including the job search, employment, and scheduling of shifts - presumes car ownership, and that's really pretty ridiculous. Car ownership is a massive expense, and freedom from that expense would help everyone's income go further.
We need to demand affordable, reliable transportation in our cities and towns. Chicago is struggling with capital funding for its transit and cuts could be around the corner. That's totally unacceptable.
You're correct--ZERO Boston public transportation runs all night. The last subway trains leave at 12:30 (the orange line at least generally chills at Downtown Crossing until about 1).
And word to VT Idealist--I love public transportation (and use it a ton, since right now nearly 3 hours of my workday is eaten by commuting as I get from one part-time job to another), but I hate dealing with shopping or laundry on the bus. I do it less now that I live with my partner, who has a car, but we both feel guilty about using it even as much as we do.
My brother lives in Nashville and can't afford a car. He is limited to working at the grocery store down the street from his house because public transit is so spotty.
Thanks for the note, ellenrose. I wasn't aware of that. I'm unfamiliar with most of Chicago's geography but interested: What areas do the red and blue lines serve, and why do you think they're the all-night ones? (My experiences of the city are mostly limited to the north side, where my best friend lives, and to what I have absorbed from Saul Bellow books.) I did suspect that the T shut down at night but couldn't imagine what other American cities' metros, if any, might have 24-hour service.
While in Nashville, did you ever ride the Music City Star, the new commuter rail line? I haven't had occasion to, since I moved away before it opened and since I never lived anywhere near where it served. My parents lived and still live in the Green Hills/Forest Hills area, and I lived a while on the east side, a ten-minute drive to work downtown. Luckily I seldom had to rely on Nashville's awful buses, though. What part of town did you live in, and what were your experiences there with getting around?
Here is a great color-coded map: http://www.tastypopsicle.com/maps/cta.asp
The Red Line goes North and South through the loop and sticks mainly to the East side of Chicago along the lake.
The Blue Line goes from O'Hare on the North West side, coming Southeast through the loop, and back out to the Southwest.
I also live in Chicago (I grew up here and recently moved back 2 years ago) and I take use the CTA all the time. It's true it is very convenient it that the lines literally go everywhere and the Blue and Red lines do go all night, so that's nice...sort of. But you don't really want to be on a train at 3am by yourself anyway, I wouldn't really say that's safe. I know so so so many people that have been robbed on the Red line (I say Red line because that's the one most of my friends use, it could be just as common on other lines as well). I have several friends that have been harassed. In fact one of my best friends about a month ago was followed off the train by some creepy man that kept saying he wanted to have sex with her. She had to run into the nearest Walgreens and call the cops.
Also I used to work as a bartender and server which had late hours and I'd usually leave work with lots of cash on my person. I hated using public transportation having all that cash that late at night. So I'd try to drive as much as possible which made me have to leave extra early to find parking and cost me extra money and blah blah blah.
Anyway, all I'm saying is that you're lucky your experience with the CTA has been so good, but I know many that don't feel that way. Also the CTA's budget is in the toilet and the prices keep getting higher and higher as do the cutbacks. All I see is the CTA is going to get worse unfortunately. Although, if we get the Olympics then it has to improve. I have my fingers crossed.
I live in Sweden right now and the public transportation is great! I used to drive everywhere in Austin and I'm glad that I don't have the opportunity here.
The buses are almost always on time, well maintained, and have convenient routes. The bike lanes are wide, off the road, and often separate from walking lanes for pedestrians. Also, I believe children under a certain age ride the buses for free, which is a relief to parents.
My town is too small to have a subway, but the ones in Stockholm are pretty good.
Also, Swedes will almost always give up their seats to the elderly, people with disabilities, and people with young children. I'm afraid I don't see enough of this in the US.
The only complaints would be that the buses can be expensive and they don't run late at night. Nothing seems to be open past 2 am here anyway, so I guess that's not much of a problem. (I'm not too great at biking in the snow and ice, but that's another story...)
I'm worried that I'll be disappointed with the public transportation when I come home, but I hope to maintain my new lifestyle. Even though cars and bikes seem to constantly be at war in Austin.
I was on exchange in Sweden and yeah, the buses are almost perfect. They're expensive in Stockholm but where I was (Lund) it cost about $2 if you had money on a card. I usually biked though.
Speaking of public transportation, poverty, and the politics, something that I've noticed since I bought a car is the difference between commuter link busses and regular city busses. Both are part of the same city bus line (CCTA here in VT).
Commuter link busses are meant to pick up commuters at local park and rides and bring them to the downtown business area. The riders tend to be middle or upper class. The commuter link busses are nicer than the regular city busses. They look nicer, have more comfortable seats, and tend to be cleaner. These busses are also quicker. There are no stops between the commuter lots and the business area.
It's SO interesting to see the differences between various public transportation types in a single city. I'd love to see statistics on, say, how frequently Boston's commuter trains are serviced or replaced versus the subway lines. Anyone know where to find things like that?
In Philly, the suburban lines (middle class white people) are much, much nicer than the inner city lines (working class and poor people, most of them black).
The suburban lines have much bigger seats, better lighting, and cleaner platforms and trains.
I live west of DC. The buses run about 16 hours a day, 5 days a week. Not that long ago, the schedule was even more erratic. I have certainly missed things because the bus wasn't running that day, when they were scheduled to; or just because the bus was running and drove right past my stop as I was waiting there.
I've never driven, never had a driver's license. When I was in high school and then in small college town I was generally standed in places, unless I had a friend or family member around to give me a lift. I've definitely felt disadvantaged, when I lived in places where the only public transit was my feet (or bike)- the suburbs and a small town. In both instances I had to find jobs within walking distance, which wasn't so bad for part time things at 15 or in my tiny college town where everything was within walking distance... but if I hadn't been able to be so flexible and not too dependent on a job, it would be a different story.
Now I live in SF where not having a car is pretty normal. But taking the bus is time consuming. It takes me 40-45 minutes to get to work, and google maps says it'd be 12 min to drive. Even if it took another 12 to find parking, that'd still be less time than I spend waiting for, on and walking to/from the bus. But even though I feel like I have to deal with a lot of waiting and uncomfortable social interactions (mostly from men), I'm still a point where the benefits outweigh the costs. I'm a grad student living in one of the most expensive cities in the country and a fixed transportation budget of $45 a month is fabulous- no gas costs, no car insurance or upkeep or chance of blowing a tire and spending a few hundred dollars on towing and repairs. I'm only responsible for me, and if my cat has to wait an extra hour to be fed it's not at all the same as having a child to pick up from daycare and being an hour behind my intended schedule. No chance of parking in a tow-away zone or having to pay for parking.
Anyway, I sympathize. And totally get how a reliance on public transit really changes how you interact with the world. I don't consider it a disadvantage for me, really (an annoyance at worst, some days). But it's an issue I get that I think a lot of people really don't.
I live in a city with 100 000 that I think has a pretty good transport system. Buses come every 20 min on weekdays and it's super cheap for students during the school year. But I ignore jobs north of downtown since I live on the south side. Even if it wouldn't be so bad to get there once I got the job, I can't imagine applying to places that are pretty far from each other unlike downtown and around the mall. Some main roads are bike friendly thankfully though so I can't wait to get mine fixed.
Not having a car here is fine except when I want to buy groceries. You can only carry so much for 20 minutes. However, the intercity transport to where I grew up is now more expensive and inadequate than for more cities so I barely go home. We need more trains.
In Toronto, people from all levels of society ride public transit, from big-shot politicians like Bob Rae, to panhandlers. I've heard that it's quite unique in that respect.
What makes the difference in Toronto is access to the subway. [Buses run all over the city, but they can be crowded, and they get stuck in traffic.]
One history of the city that I read hypothesized that the reason Toronto avoided ghettoization (at that time, at least) was because the subway was relatively easy to access, so there were no isolated pockets of the city. Today, there are definitely areas that could be described as "ghettos" and they're all beyond the end of the subway line.
Also, getting a subway station is a huge financial boon for a commercial neighbourhood.
NYC's system was cool in that every type of person rode the subway. Rich, poor, and in between.
I saw Steve Buscemi on the subway. My friend saw JFK Jr. I can't see famous people riding mass transit anywhere else. There seems to be stigma to taking public transit just about everywhere but NYC and the SF/Berkeley area.
Boston tries to use celebrity endorsements to boost MBTA ridership. I've heard recorded messages from Bruins, Celtics & Sox gushing about how much they love the T. But personally I don't buy it--multi-million dollar athletes squishing onto the green line with the rest of us?
I also live in Toronto, and am so privileged to be able to live somewhere with a decent public transportation system (it's quite true - our mayor uses public transit to get around - which of course does mean that public transit is a priority for our city government...sadly, not as much of a priority at all for our icky federal government...sigh). I don't have a car, and live in a neighbourhood with most of the services/shops within walking distance - and work in another neighbourhood with many shops/services within walking distance. I walk, ride my bike or take the streetcar everywhere.
My partner and I are currently debating about buying a car when we have a baby. She thinks we will need it - and I see the logic, it would definitely for one make it much easier when visiting relatives/friends that live outside of the city. But I think we can still get by fine without it, and that we won't need the added expense. And I know that once we have a car, we will use it for trips that we could probably still do on public transit, because it will be 'easier'. Sigh. Anyway, that's for another post I guess.
ugh. i know what you mean.
i went to high school in a small city with no public transportation and it really made my life impossible. i lived with my aunt who had two smaller children so she could never give me rides anywhere, and when i wanted to go out i had to get rides from friend's parents who eventually started to resent me. ALSO, it wasn't fair because while all the other students could go to volunteer camps and conferences that built their resumes for college i had to do any sort of resume-building within my high school, which was small and barely had any extracurriculars. so their resumes ended up looking MUCH better than mine. It always made me so mad because i would have loved to volunteer outside of my high school, but it was physically impossible for me...
I feel ya Miriam. I live right outside DC and use the metro bus to get from my practice after school to home. I'm in high school, but not yet driving and i live far enough away from school that my parents can't drive me home everyday, so i am left with taking the bus. It takes me an hour getting home when it would be 20 minutes driving. It can add stress and i am sometimes late to other commitments I have in the evening. But I guess I'm very lucky that the buses fit my needs so far.
in some places, there's also an economic penalty for taking public transit. my commute is literally twice as long and twice as expensive (in terms of train tickets vs. gas) on the commuter rail than driving. $20 and four hours a day vs. $10 and two hours a day. even when you account for insurance and maintenance, i'm sure the $50 i save a week by driving is still worth it.
there's no way more people are going to voluntarily chose public transit if they're penalized so steeply for doing so, and people who have no choice but to use it will continue to be screwed. this is a major infrastructure problem.
Not only does the culture presume car ownership in every household, but for every adult as well. I live and work just out of reach of the Phoenix public transportation system (which leaves much to be desired as well). My partner works pretty far away from home so he drops me off at work in the morning and picks me up in the evening. Although it's not necessarily part of my job description, I have been asked to go on errands at work and can't do it unless a coworker loans me their car.
My boss once looked at me strangely for having to arrive early and leave late, and asked,"Why don't you just get another car?" I don't think it should have to be the norm that every person has their own vehicle- you know they ARE an expensive, polluting, major purchase! It's too bad that it's seen as the default transport by so many.
My husband and I only have one car, which he needs to get to and from work, so I am a bus commuter. I actually like taking the bus, especially since I currently work in downtown Seattle, where I would have to spend a fortune on parking if I drove. However, when looking for a new job I've found many list "must have reliable transportation" as a requirement, which more or less disqualifies bus riders like me, and others not privileged enough to own a car. I am surprised and disappointed to see this attitude even in a city that is supposedly so progressive.
I'm not sure requiring reliable transportation is so unreasonable a request from the company - did they specifically state that owning a car was required?
I don't think it's unreasonable for an employer to require that their employees have a way to consistently arrive on time. That's part of having a job, isn't it? Making sure you've got the ability to arrive on time and ready to work? If the company is requiring it, then they've obviously had problems with people consistently not arriving in a timely manner. Is the Seattle bus system constantly off schedule and late?
Granted, I live in a small southeastern Idaho town where there isn't any public transport to speak of and have never lived for an extended period of time in a city that had such facilities available, so I'm not familiar with the relative inadequacy of said transport, but I don't think basic expectations of arriving on time makes an employer less progressive.
"reliable" is code word for "car". So says one employer I know. That's one inequity a decent divorcee I know has encountered. For several jobs that she's qualified for and that would support her and her child, she required a car, that she could't afford. This is one way the impoverished are kept in poverty.
Okay, that's fair enough.
But if an employer were actively requiring you to have a car in a job where a car isn't necessary to do said job(I'm assuming something other than delivery driver), isn't that a form of hiring discrimination that she can protest? Did they want to know her license plate numbers or something, or require physical proof that she had a car?
If she has a way of getting to the job on time, then it shouldn't be any of the employer's concern as long as she does in fact show up to work on time.
There's a mysterious tendency for jobs to sprout driving-related requirements if the employer is concerned about "reliable transportation."
Reliable transportation always means car. There's no opportunity to prove that you're willing to catch the bus an hour earlier to guard against the possibility of the bus that makes more sense running 30 minutes late, no chance to investigate carpooling options with coworkers or beg a friend to drop you off. If the public transportation in your area has a crappy reputation and someone has an inkling you might rely on it, you're screwed. Every prospective employer will suddenly realize it's vital that any new employee be able to perform some peripheral errand at a moment's notice someplace you can't get to by public transit, even though there are 20 other people at the office who can do it instead. Not exactly something you can sue over.
I live on Long Island, and am job hunting sans car. What a disaster--not only are the buses infrequent and prone to missing connections, but apparently people without cars don't need to go anywhere on Sunday or after 8pm, which makes things like grocery shopping an adventure. If I didn't live with my car-owning girlfriend, I'd be totally screwed. I'm lucky enough to have been able to make public transportation proximity a top priority when I was apartment hunting, and it's still easier for me to commute 2 hours by train into the city than it is for me to get to most of the surrounding towns--and I'm young, able bodied, and able to walk long distances. And perception often matters more than the reality of how easy it is for you to get somewhere; I once got automatically disqualified for a job that was four stops away from my apartment on a reliable bus route that ran every half hour, because the person doing the hiring didn't know anything about the bus system and decided I had to be lying about my ability to get there consistently on time.
So yes, I do think employers not being willing to make some simple accommodations for non-drivers (or even just hold back their negative assumptions) is unprogressive and destructive.
If you don't tell them you don't have a car, the day your bus is late is the day your job finds out you don't have "reliable transportation." It's also probably the day you'll get a warning or get fired.
I used to live in Toronto where the TTC was amazing but now I live in Groningen, The Netherlands, which puts everywhere else I've ever been to shame. First: I can go almost anywhere in the country by train or bus. I can use the same strippenkaart (strip of tickets) on any bus in any city in the country.
Bicycling: in a country known for being bike friendly, Groningen is the friendliest and bike use is growing. Guarded bike parking is free. Bike paths are kept separate from traffic and they go everywhere through the city more efficiently than cars. In the centre of the city, pedestrians, bikes, taxis and buses have priority and there are places where cars are not allowed. Parking is arranged at a few places near the centrum and at Park and Rides that have frequent bus service.
There is car sharing for those who need a car now and then. People of all social status ride bikes. Street/public transit harassment of women is practically unheard of. Old people ride their scooters on the bike paths.
The city is built on a scale that allows people to live, work and play (and get their groceries) without a lot of wasted commuting time. Beautiful!
Oh, I absolutely *love* the transport in the Netherlands. I'm more familiar with Delft than Groningen, but the fact that you can get anywhere you need to go on a bike is wonderful. I also noticed that their bikes in general have much better construction than bikes I've found in the states, and are obviously meant as a major form of transport. I'm currently trying to find a way to get one without paying an arm and a leg in shipping costs.
The problem with public transport in the US, though, is that we're just so much bigger than the other countries. My boyfriend is Dutch, and scoffed at my explanations of why Idaho doesn't really have public transport, but then he came here and realized just how much space there is between things (though this is mostly true for Midwest and West). My parents live ten miles outside of the town on a farm, with very few 'neighbors', so having a bus system that went out so far would really be impractical when you consider cost.
I lived in Groningen in the 90s and public transport was fantastic then too. I usually cycled though and it was an absolute pleasure, giving me a freedom of movement I don't have back home here in South Africa.
I don't drive and have always relied on public transport and let me tell you it is stressful and exhausting. I live in the city centre and for years I worked in the outlying suburbs. I spent an average of 2 1/2 to 3 hours commuting every day, using a combination of trains, buses and taxis.
I stopped using the train when I was mugged at knife point (not the first such incident for me) and stuck to buses and taxis.
Our buses are old, noisy and polluting and the schedules are not always adhered too. But they're safer than the trains.
The minibus taxis carry the most passengers - hundreds of thousands every day. The industry is unregulated (Apartheid legacy - long story) and is characterised by lawlessness, violence and almost non-existent safety standards. If the taxi associations don't like something they go on strike (with accompanying violence) and simply shut down major routes, blockading roads and attacking buses trying to transport people.
Minibus taxis are generally not all that comfortable and they squeeze in as many people as possible. For example, one evening I was in a taxi (meant to hold 14 passengers, a driver and a fare collector) that squeezed in 23 people - and the driver wanted to squeeze in more!
Fortunately in my area the taxi service is different from other areas in that the drivers are generally professional and friendly and the vehicles are in good condition. They have close ties with the community and make every reasonable effort to maintain a high standard of service.
The City of Cape Town is now in the process of formulating an Integrated Rapid Transport system, along the lines of what has been successfully implented in some South American cities. The implementation is frustrated by a lack of co-operation from the taxi industry, which is represented by literally hundreds of associations, all of which have some kind of beef with others.
Recently they staged a 3-day strike in protest against the IRT system and thousands of people simply couldn't get to work. Buses and a few motorists were attacked and several people were injured. It was an ugly episode.
Sorry about the long post. It's just that the topic of public transport is very close to my heart and having had a taste of safe, affordable and convenient public transport in Europe, it is one of my dearest wishes that we can have the same here in South Africa. It would literally save lives and give a significant boost to our economy, as well as the national psyche.
I would also like to add that in practice, public trans schedules are frequently wrong and that can lead to dangerous situations
One particularly horrifying NYE, when I was 18, Friend A and I took a train from Haverhill, MA (where I left my car) to Boston, a 35-45 min. trip
Friend A took off as planned, and I was supposed to meet up and go home with friends B&C. They never showed, due to problems with public transit. After waiting an hour, I decided to catch the 11:30 train back to Haverhill, another half hour wait at the freezing station. The train stopped halfway to Haverhill and the drivers informed me I HAD to exit the train, because it was the end of the line before they headed back to Boston. Only every OTHER train went out to Haverhill. The schedule I had picked up at the train station was wrong. I tried to buy another ticket and they wouldn't let me. My only option was to exit the train and catch the next and pray they saw me and stopped.
I waited around for half an hour in -8 degree weather, but no train came. I finally called my folks on a payphone because I was worried about frostbite and didn't think I had the money for a cab or if there was even one around. I had never taken a cab before. It would take them 30-60 minutes to get there, they had been in bed already and were in NH. While I waiting on a unsheltered bench, no other people in sight, I heard the sounds of men laughing, yelling and breaking glass from the park and ride lot around the corner of the ticket building. All I could do was tuck myself into a shadowy corner and pray my folks came around the corner before the glass breakers. It seemed like I was there forever.
Finally my parents got there, and my feet eventually regained feeling, but that night could have gone a lot worse. I relied on public transportation while in college in Pittsburgh, and I ran into a lot of scary, unsafe situations. Once I had go to court over a death threat. I don't really feel comfortable having to rely on public transportation anymore.
Have you ever been to Amsterdam? EVERYONE there has a bike (and apparently the older and more dilapidated the bike - with the essential milk crate on the front - the better). They have right of way, it's so flat geographically and all the little children ride on their parents bikes, or from an early age cycle on their own (this is safe because of the dedicated cycle lanes). However, I wonder if there is a element of stratification particular to this form of transportation - that is, is it intersected by issues of race, class, gender and so on? As I said before, the older the bike, generally (I thought) the cooler the person astride it...Also it helps us to look beyond that Euro-American perspective of car as somehow aligned with privilege and public transport with disadvantage and help us to see the soi-disant 'alternative' forms of getting about - (again Amsterdam) tram and bike-cabs, rickshaws and the like......
To all the people talking about some cities not being bike-friendly: with the exception of some major interstate highways, bikes legally have the right to use any roads that cars do. Any place with roads is "bike-friendly". If the roads are narrow and people get stuck behind you, guess what? That's their problem, not yours. Just don't even worry about it. True, biking can be dangerous, but so is driving. I don't think "danger" should be a factor that deters anyone from biking. Bikes are fast, cheap to buy, easy to store and repair, great for your health, and friendly for the environment. They handle ice and snow surprisingly well, too- I've biked to and from class in heavy snow a couple of times, fully expecting to wipeout repeatedly, but never did. In heavy traffic, biking will get you there more quickly than driving, because you can cut between cars waiting at stoplights and intersections. Bikes are awesome!
"I don't think "danger" should be a factor that deters anyone from biking."
Really? Higher likelihood of getting hit by a car while not encased in anything but clothing and a helmet seems like a good reason to forego cycling in certain areas of town.
I'm not anti-cycling. I'm very pro-cycling. But some cities are more bike friendly than others. They have specific lanes for bicycles, and because more people ride bikes, cars are used to giving the bikes leeway and watching out for bikes.
In Atlanta, cars don't look out for bikes. They also often pass bikes leaving very little space. If more cyclists were on the road, the cars would get used to the bicycles, but as it is, it is fairly dangerous in many parts of Atlanta (especially at certain times of day) to ride a bicycle. And if you aren't particularly fast, cars honk at you and ride up right behind you...which makes me personally very uncomfortable.
Bike Friendly is kind of like the term user friendly. Sure, bikes are allowed, but that doesn't mean that the drivers give them enough space, or that there are bike lanes, or that drivers in the city seem to have a disdain for cyclists. Some cities are just better for cyclists. It's a valid point when talking about transportation options.
In general, I think fear is a bad reason to not do anything. You could get run over by a car. You could also have a heart attack and die from being in terrible physical shape. Or you could be involved in a car wreck in which someone else dies, and then kill yourself out of guilt. Shit happens. Live in the moment.
PS. I understand it can take some getting used to, having people tailgating you and honking... but again, it's not your problem, it's theirs.
I live in Denver, CO. I ride my bike nearly every where I go. It has become an integral part of my life. I enjoy the pace that riding a bike demands and allowing myself to zip through parks on bike paths on my way to meetings. Riding a bike is also very liberating. Plus they are very affordable. Bike repairs can be done on your own for minimal costs. In Denver there is also the Derailer Bicycle Collective that teaches folx how to make bikes for free. Derailer also has classes for womyn, queers, trans peeps that offer an alternative to macho bike shops. Highly recommended!
http://www.derailerbicyclecollective.org/
When it does snow or is too windy, the bus is sufficent. But the prices keep increasing while service is being cut. My friend started and RTD Watch Blog as a way to offer a public voice about the changes made in our public transit system.
http://rtdwatch.blogspot.com/
Alternative modes of transportation make so much more sense for cities.
Yea,someone sees that poverty is more than just being poor. It means being trapped. No car no good job because the bus doesn't go there or if it does it stops before your shift is over. I have lived in Seattle which has a good internal bus system. I lived close in the city and could walk most places. But my job was in Redmond at a place that had no bus service!! At night when I wanted to go out depending on where I wanted to go walking or the car was better. Standing by oneself at a bus stop at 1AM is not a healthy thing to do. There is much to be said for having a choice!
Gotta say, I love PATCO and SEPTA in Philly. SEPTA doesn't run super late, but PATCO goes all night. As someone who uses the two to commute to school a lot I can definitely say the two are pretty terrific, especially PATCO, which is an absolute breeze. Philly gets knocked for not being subway-heavy, but their transport to the outlying areas is pretty darn good.
Therein lies the problem with the Philadelphia area. People who live in the suburbs/New Jersey/Delaware think Philly is great, because for them everything works.
This goes not just for public transit, but for everything else.
This is something I have been thinking about recently, too. I teach in a Boston public school. To get to school, I walk to the T station, take the subway to the bus station, then take a bus to school. This takes about 45 minutes. Since BPS students are allowed to "choose" (sorta) what school they go to in the city, they are given a free monthly student T pass at school. Many of my students commute an hour OR MORE to school- and that is one way.
Even beyond this time issue and the politics of busing in Boston schools, I am also continuously amazed at how my students can ever be in a good mood. They wait at a crowded bus stop for a bus that comes every 20 minutes. Then they have to squeeze on to the bus, with the bus driver probably yelling at them to scoot back. It's crowded and uncomfortable and noisy. Of course many of my students are in horrible moods by the time they get to my class! I get frustrated and irritated everyday too!
This is something I have been thinking about recently, too. I teach in a Boston public school. To get to school, I walk to the T station, take the subway to the bus station, then take a bus to school. This takes about 45 minutes. Since BPS students are allowed to "choose" (sorta) what school they go to in the city, they are given a free monthly student T pass at school. Many of my students commute an hour OR MORE to school- and that is one way.
Even beyond this time issue and the politics of busing in Boston schools, I am also continuously amazed at how my students can ever be in a good mood. They wait at a crowded bus stop for a bus that comes every 20 minutes. Then they have to squeeze on to the bus, with the bus driver probably yelling at them to scoot back. It's crowded and uncomfortable and noisy. Of course many of my students are in horrible moods by the time they get to my class! Of course they are hostile and angry in the classroom. I get frustrated and irritated everyday too!
'm totally shocked by this post. I moved to DC six months ago from Michigan--home of the motor city and absolute zilch in terms of public transit. I mean, the Peoplemover in Detroit is an absolute joke. I love it here in DC and don't miss my car one bit. In the past year in Michigan I shelled out at least two grand in repairs and even more than that in gas. I just don't think it's a sustainable way to live. Especially when I compare to what I pay here--my employer pays for my public transit fare and I commute for free!
I thank my lucky stars everyday for the metro and metro bus. As for being late, you learn to leave early and bring a book. Occasionally you get a cab and suck it up. I understand that public transit is hard for families and those who have to work at awkward hours. However, I get really pissed off when I see working class professionals driving to work in their SUVs alone when they easily could be sitting next to me on the bus.
I live in a fair sized city in Northern Ontario and even though the central bus depot is in a great location(downtown next the mall, all the best shops and a 10 minute walk from my school) the schedule is horrible. The busiest buses run every 15-30 minutes, but the "less needed" buses can run as much as 2 hours apart. I live in a rural area that is about a 30 minute drive from downtown, but because of routes and schedules the bus doesn't even come halfway to my house. There are TransCabs that will take you beyond the reach of the bus, but my house is even out of range for them (which is complete bullshit).
This semester I have dance rehearsals at school 3 nights a week with an additional class at a studio on tuesdays, meaning I have to take the bus to the last stop and wait for my parents to pick me up FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK. If this didn't piss me off enough I take one of the "less needed" buses that only runs every 2 hours; even if I'm done rehearsal at 4:30 I rarely get home before 6:20. Oh, and they jacked up the fare last week without announcing it first. All in all, not very please with the service in my town.
"To all the people talking about some cities not being bike-friendly: with the exception of some major interstate highways, bikes legally have the right to use any roads that cars do. Any place with roads is "bike-friendly"."
Not true.
Where I live the drivers are extremely aggressive, and the courts are biased in favor of drivers over bicyclists in car/bike accidents. The roads are NOT set up for bicycles. For example, the left turn lights are rigged to pressure plates. Drivers get to make left turns; bicyclists do not.
The problem comes with bike riders who can't obey simple traffic laws. They are allowed on many streets with cars and thus are expected to follow the same exact laws. This means: not running lights, stopping for pedestrians, not riding on sidewalks, paying attention to one way signs and a host of other things that make bikes a nuisance. They should be a great thing, but the people on the bicycles acting like entitled asses make them a problem.
Well, I ride on the sidewalks because the roads are too dangerous, and because the traffic lights DO NOT WORK for bicycles. As I'd mentioned, pressure plates.
in heavy traffic, isn't there usually another car there to trigger the pressure plate? and when there isn't, isn't traffic usually light enough for you to just make an illegal turn?
Exactly. I can't count how many times I've seen drivers tailgating a person on a bike in my city. It is very very uncommon and drivers just do not know what to do, plus they have the attitude that the person on the bike is obstructing them and should just get out of the way. In an accident between a very large, heavy, fast steel box vs. a very small, light, slow human being on wheels, guess who's going to win?
Also, the weather here is often not conducive to riding a bike. I'm not talking about snow and ice (though that can be dangerous too, especially when you're sharing the road with those heavy steel boxes) but hail the size of quarters, rain that you can't see through, tornadoes, and really fast straight winds plus lots of overhanging limbs. People here could definitely bike more than they do now, but let's not pretend like it's as simple as hopping on a bike.
geez, where do you live? that weather sounds FANTASTIC. (I'm a storm lover... the crappier the weather, the more I like it, haha). and yeah, wind can really suck for a biker... i've been pushed off the road a few times by strong gusts, and once into the side of a bus, tho i've never actually been knocked off my bike by wind... i'm sure it's possible though. and when i first started biking and wasn't in very good shape, a strong wind could sometimes make it impossible to pedal up steep hills. but in general, with the possible exception of hail, i don't really think good weather is a prerequisite for biking. if it's raining or sleeting heavily, goggles to improve visibility might be good... and gloves are important for extreme cold. the last time i crashed, it was because it was 19 degrees out with strong winds and sleet, and i needed to use my brakes but my fingers were too numb to get around the handbrakes. stupid me... i won't forget gloves again. ;) but for the most part, yes, it really is as simple as hopping on a bike. just do it, people! biking is awesome!
I live in Oklahoma. And I didn't mean that the wind itself was a problem but the wind when it decides to bring down lots of tree limbs, both large and small. Hard to navigate a limb-littered street without getting a flat tire.
Also, there are plenty of times when you literally cannot see more than a few feet in front of you because the rain is so hard (if you are from the West Coast you have probably not experienced this and don't believe it - which I say because I used to be one of those people myself). That is really really dangerous not just for steering your bike but when you are on the road with cars that can't see you just as you can't see them. Goggles will not do anything because it isn't the rain getting into your eyes that is a problem, it's the rain falling in near-literal sheets.
Plus, where are you going that you can show up completely soaked and not have people look at you like you're nuts? Some of us have jobs where we have to dress and look a certain way, and don't have luxuries like changing rooms or showers or even the time to ride our bikes to work and then put on new clothing and do all that needs to be done to look presentable. So no, it isn't as simple as hopping on a bike.
i live in Columbus OH.
so far as i can tell, the bus system here actually rocks. for a bus system. my b/f's car is on the shop (has been for over a week) so he's been riding the bus to work. he works 30 minutes from where we live (by car). it only take 45 minutes for him to get to work on the bus!
but i, i cannot use the bus. why? because the CLOSEST bus stop is three times my maximum allowed walking distance away (not that i can walk all the time - three times the max i am ALLOWED, which is not how much i CAN, i cannot walk as far as i am "allowed" most of the time, it hurts too much)
there is, purportedly, a disabled system, that will pick up disabled people. ok, yes, there is, i have seen it, i've even ridden it once. but IT is not reliable AT ALL. couple of years ago i had a professor who was wheelchair bound (let me tell you, she was awesome. but i always felt bad, because a cane is less bad than a wheelchair) one day, i saw her waiting for the disability bus. it was supposed to pick her up at 5:30. i went to class, got out at 8. she was STILL THERE.
and that happened to her at least once every two weeks.
so, i drive. unless i can't drive that day - and i on days when i can't drive, i can't bloody WALK either.
where are the mass teleportation devices RAHeinlein promised me!?!?
seriously, when my dad lived in DC, i would go visit him, and i LOVED the Metro. (that WAS over a decade ago, but still). if buses were closer, i would probably take them more.
Miriam: oh please do post about how great biking is! I finally got one myself and am really, really amazed at how great it feels to be in control of your life with such a small, healthy, friendly vehicle. It does help that the Chinese city where I live has bike lanes almost as wide as the road on every street - only problem is the air pollution! *cough cough*
i live just outside Belfast, so whilst geographically smaller than the cities mentioned on this post, the transport system is similarly smaller (in both service-area and mindset) we have 4 train lines, a bus service that turns up as and when it feels like it, an international airport with abysmal connetions to the city centre. I grudgingly used the train and bus until i passed my driving test 6 months ago and getting on board with a pram, or equally being told to wait until the next bus in 30 mins if there were too many babies on board already really did suck, the public transport here is overcrowded, unreliable, infrequent and compared to the likes of Manchester, Liverpool and London positively archaic - cycle lanes are minimum and according to the Unofficial Code of Belfast Bad Manners, cyclists definitely do not have the right of way! to get about in Northern Ireland you need a car - and that's the voice of experience.
I live in Cape Town, South Africa and only recently got my own transport. I'm finally able to take a drive along the beach after work, and then head home -- 22 miles away.
Before I got the scooter, I had had to use public transport: buses, taxis, private cabs, and the train. Back then I didn't realise how expensive and time-consuming it is to use public transport. Never mind limiting.
And yes, POC are the worst hit. There are 6 train lines in the Cape Peninsula and I'm not sure about the bus routes. Taxis aren't terribly unsafe but I far prefer my scooter. Buses are probably the most reliable form of public transport in Cape Town.
Trains, buses and taxis stop running at either 8pm or 9pm. One -- possibly two -- area has 24-hour taxis, however. I know people who choose where they stay based almost exclusively on the frequency and availability of the public transport.
We now have 2 high-speed services but I wonder how many people can afford them. I know I can't.
Hi Joy-Mari
I agree with what you wrote except about minibus taxis not being terribly unsafe.
Just this past week in the news: 15-month old toddler killed in taxi accident (tyre burst), taxi driver knocks over 19-year old student and drags his body 30m, taxi driver seemingly deliberately runs over 16-year old girl on her scooter. How about that case last year where the taxi driver plowed into a group of school kids, killing 6 of them? And these are only the stories that made the news.
I've travelled by minibus taxis for over 20 years and I can tell you they are getting worse and worse. Some areas are better than others (like the Vredehoek/Oranjezicht taxis - they're excellent) but the others scare the crap out of me. I've stopped using the Main Road taxis because I got sick and tired of praying for my life as they sped down the always crowded Main Road and of course, the chronic over-crowding and long long waits in Claremont until the driver felt good and ready to leave.
I've driven in taxis where the doors flew open, the seats were loose, there were holes in the floor and with make-shift steering wheels. I've also more than once heard drivers discuss other drivers who drove while they were drunk or on drugs. And if a taxi driver says someone is a danger on the road then you must know how bad that person is!
The taxi industry is now threatening to derail the elections in April if they don't get their way. Yes there are good honest individuals in the industry, people just trying to earn a living and provide a valuable service. But the taxi associations are run by thugs and criminals who victimise their own members as much as they do the general public.
I just read an article on News24 about Afriforum asking the public to use their cell phone cameras to photograph lawless acts by taxi drivers. They will collect everyone's pictures and stories and present it to the Transport Minister at the end of the year as part of their report on the state of the taxi industry.
According to the article, the latest report from the Road Traffic Management Association states that minibus taxis were proportionally involved in four times more fatal accidents than the general public. 21.02% of minibus taxis are either unlicenced or not roadworthy - as opposed to 8.26% for the general public.
Another Chicagoan here.
The CTA works well if you live in certain neighborhoods and work in certain neighborhoods, and if you don't have kids. Unfortunately, the neighborhoods it doesn't serve well are those populated by the people who need it most.
(Here via FeministFinance.) I grew up in a college town with excellent bus service, so I got spoiled to that early on. I live in Minneapolis now and for my needs, the bus service here is almost as good as what I grew up with. My employer partnered with the transit system to offer the unlimited bus pass for about $60/month pre-tax, there's a bus stop half a block from my house, and it actually takes me less time to bus to work than to drive, once you figure in letting the car warm up in winter and finding a parking place after I get to work. The bus is usually a little crowded in the morning, but never too bad--I usually get a seat, and on the way home it's never too crowded to sit. There's also a trip planner on the transit company's website where you can say "I am here, I want to go there, I want to leave/arrive at x:xx, what are my options?" Oh, and there's room for two bikes on the front of every bus, so I can bike to meet another bus and still take my bike with me!
I'm also lucky enough that the local co-op grocery store is near enough that I can just get off the bus one stop early on my way home from work, shop, and walk the rest of the way home with my groceries. I pay a little more doing most of my grocery shopping at the co-op, but I think it evens out with the amount I save on gas by not driving often.
However, all is not roses. When I lived in a suburb here it took me much longer to take the bus than to drive to work. I still sometimes took the bus because I love not having to deal with traffic (especially on snowy or rainy days) but more often the desire to stay in bed just a little longer won out. Also, I know that if I worked nights instead of days, or if my employer were less centrally located, I'd have a much harder time bussing.
Here is a key issue that has not been addressed: if you use the private car and what it enables you to do in a day in the suburbs, other forms of transportation can't compete. Why? Suburbs were set up post WWII in arrangements that make it work only if the private car is the mode of transportation. If, in a typical day, you need to commute to work, go food shopping, go to the dentist and the dry cleaner, not to mention attend to the needs of your kids, you must have a car in the suburbs because these various responsibilities I cited are generally spread out in such way that they can't get all get done in a day without a car. So what does that mean? It means that we're going to decide as social and economic policy for suburbanites that we want to abandon the private car in favor of local buses (if we can get local buses in our suburbs, and that's a whole other story), and that means we are all committed to and comfortable with new social norms which are that we only do one or two of those things in a given day; say, commute to work, pick up our kids (with the bus), and go home. No soccer, no mall, no supermarket. The distances are too great and too time consuming doing it with a local public bus (again, assuming buses go to those places, and that's a big assumption. I am just citing that for the sake of the argument).
Personally, I am happy with that arrangement -- doing only 2 things in a day, with the bus. I think that the private car has encouraged us, or at least allowed us, to do too much in one day. We're always running. Instead of doing more, how about doing less? And with a bus, you'll have to do less, much less. Good for our pocketbooks, and good for our mental and physical health.
Another alternative is to support the opposite plan -- that we want to be able to do as much with a local bus in the suburbs as we did with the car. That's possible too, but it means closing the distances between home and business, schools, doctors, supermarkets, stores, etc. In essence, this plan would re-structure the typical suburb to be like Queens, NY, a borough of NY city which is family centered, full of kids, with parks, etc., similar to the suburbs. Yes, Queens does have local buses and subways, but except to commute to work, people don't for the most part use the buses and subways. (How do I know? I lived there for much of my life). And a sizable portion fo the population do not have cars. So how to they manage? Here's how: supermarkets, doctors, day care centers, shoe stores, etc., are interspersed within all the residential neighborhoods, so that you can walk to all services, including the public schools. And that is what people do. Some differences from the suburbs are apparent, but they're insignificant. For example, you can't buy several 10 packs of diet coke along with your additional bags of food, because folks in Queens, walk to the local supermarket with something called a "shopping cart" -- a little hand-held wagon -- and there is no room in it for 10-packs of soda, and bags of food. A shopping cart holds about 6 bags of food. So -- you have to go shopping more frequently, which is more doable since, again, the supermarket is only a couple of blocks away.
The typical American suburbs could be like this. Does it have to be all residential cul-de-sacs, 10 miles from the strip mall? If we had, and we could have, commercial enterpises, and services (schools, libraries, hospitals, etc), interwoven into residential communities in relative walking distance from each other (with sidewalks, of course), with the addition of local buses connecting these communities, we would have a suburban landscape no longer dependent on the private car. Will it happen? Probably not? But could it happen, and would we be far better in so many ways if it did happen? You bet!
Penny