Category Archives: reasons to ride

Bus to caucus

On Saturday, like many of our fellow Washingtonians, Bus Nerd and I attended our first caucus. It was Chicklet’s first caucus, too, but of course, pretty much everything she does is a first for her. I digress.

The caucus was held at T.T. Minor elementary, so we took the 48 (also known as my ride to everywhere) down to Union and walked the rest of the way there. (Note that we could have taken the 2 up the hill, had we been inclined to wait–or disinclined to walk.) The place was packed–with 100 people showing up just for our precinct, which is only one out of many in the district. I’m guessing there were a thousand people there.

I’ll spare you the details of the complete and utter chaos that ensued (we did manage to tally votes and elect delegates)–and my thoughts about how silly our electoral process is–and skip to the part about the bus: At least 10 people we had ridden the 48 with that afternoon participated in our precinct caucus, as well as many more people we had seen on buses around the neighborhood. We’d suspected our nearest neighbor of being a bus chick (more on the telltale signs in a future post), and it turns out we were right; she took the 48 to the caucus, too. One strikingly attractive middle-aged woman I’ve been seeing on the 27 for years (and sometimes on the 48, riding with a little boy I assume is her grandson), and on whom I have a little bus crush, was chosen to be one of our delegates. Now, I finally know her name, and I have an excuse to say hey (He-ey Georgiana!) if (when) I see her on a bus in the future.

Score one for the political process.

The ultimate bus foul, part III (or, another good reason to ride)

Folks in New York rode the subway without pants yesterday:

About 900 New Yorkers shed their bottoms – but not their underwear – and took to the 2, 6 and R trains for the seventh annual No Pants Subway Ride.

“This is what I’d be doing anyway on a Saturday – sitting at home with my pants off,” proclaimed Matt Gernt, 22, a finance consultant from Harlem, before boarding an R train.

No pants on the subway (Source: New York Daily News)

 

I can’t say I’m interested in seeing that much of my fellow riders (Seattle bus types: Don’t get any ideas.), but I imagine that for some New Yorkers (my brother, Jeremy, for example), it all depends on who’s on the train.

A weekend bus adventure

Last week, my Gail came to town to meet her new granddaughter. On Saturday morning before she returned home, the four of us (Bus Nerd, Bus Chicklet, my Gail, and me) headed to Hi Spot for brunch. Bus Nerd and I have taken the bus to Hi Spot at least a zillion times (4 + 3, 48 + 3, or short walk + 3) since we’ve been married. Unfortunately, Saturday was the first time we’d done it with an infant. Dealing with the baby in the sling, the diaper bag, and my Gail’s bus newbie status distracted Bus Nerd, and he somehow managed to drop his wallet on the 4. He realized it soon after we got off, but not soon enough to catch up to the bus.

I know from experience that losing something on the bus means waiting until the end of the day for it to be turned in to lost and found (assuming it gets turned in at all), and then waiting until the lost and found office is open to claim it. Losing a wallet is a bit more urgent than losing and umbrella or pair of gloves (my specialty), and I knew that Bus Nerd wouldn’t be able to enjoy brunch if he had to wait until Monday to find out if his wallet had been returned. So, being the resourceful bus chick I am, I suggested that he catch a cab and intercept the 4 while the wallet was still on it.

While my Gail, Chicklet, and I caught the 3 to the restaurant, Bus Nerd did just that. He called Metro from the cab, and a helpful rider information specialist kept him up to date on the 4’s progress (for once, the route’s excruciatingly slow pace was a benefit) while the cab driver gave chase. He caught up with the bus on Virginia. The driver remembered him and immediately handed him the wallet, which had been turned in by another passenger. Nothing was missing.

Wallet back in pocket, Bus Nerd took the cab to the restaurant where my Gail, Chicklet, and I were waiting, and we all enjoyed a stress-free meal. Props to the rider information specialist, the Good Samaritan passenger, and the cab and bus drivers, for making the end of this story a happy one.

“Is this seat taken?” (part II)

The PI’s Singled Out blog has a recent post about meeting people/finding dates on the bus.

In the hunt for my next job, “only a bus ride away” will be mandatory criteria in my list of wants. “Why?” you might ask. Well, besides the obvious environmental and traffic-relieving reasons, I want to ride the bus because I think that:

The bus is an untapped gold mine of potential dates with Seattle’s singles.

Well, hello!

Told you (many times, in fact) buses were sexy.

Still more reasons to get on the bus

1) On September 21st, city residents across the country returned parking spaces to the people. From parkingday.org:

Conceived by REBAR, a San Francisco-based art collective, PARK(ing) Day is a one-day, global event centered in San Francisco where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.

StreetFilms posted a couple of videos:

Park(ing) Day, NYC
Park(ing) Day, San Fran

2) Sprawl counteracts fuel efficiency gains. From the Detroit Free Press:

An expected 59% increase in the number of miles Americans drive between 2005 and 2030 will outpace any reduction in greenhouse gases from better fuel efficiency of cars and trucks, said a report issued Thursday.

If there is any hope of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, a key component of greenhouse gases, the nation needs to slow sprawl and build more compact housing, such as lofts atop commercial buildings in downtowns and taller buildings on less land, the report said. It was compiled by the Urban Land Institute and issued by the Michigan Environmental Council.

Smart Growth America has the full report.

And on a related note…

3) A new study by the APTA finds that:

…when compared to other household actions that limit carbon dioxide (CO2,), taking public transportation can be more than ten times greater in reducing this harmful greenhouse gas.

[…]

The research points out that due to increases in vehicle miles traveled, the problem of pollution from vehicle emissions is accelerating. Greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources have grown 27 percent from 1990 to 2004. Autos and light duty trucks represent about 61 percent of the total mobile source of greenhouse gas emissions. The report says single occupancy drivers switching their work commute to public transportation is one of the more effective ways to reduce the nation’s vehicle miles traveled while reducing harmful carbon dioxide.

Speaking of work commutes…

Tomorrow I’m going to try out the Connector. It doesn’t stop anywhere that’s convenient for me (and plus, I’m happy with my current bus commute), but I want to see what it’s all about. I’ll report back.

More on car-free travel

According the American Public Transportation Association, lots of folks who travel to major U.S. cities this summer will use public transit to get around those cities. From a recent press release:

In its Green Travel Forecast, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) estimates that 90 million American adults will travel to large American cities this summer. On average, one out of three people surveyed said they will tour green by using public transportation (34 percent)… A ranking of the top ten city destinations and their transit use among visitors follows:

• New York City (48%)
• Washington, DC (46%)
• Boston, MA (43%)
• San Francisco (40%)
• Philadelphia (34%)
• Chicago (31%)
• Seattle (30%)
• Las Vegas (26%)
• Los Angeles (26%)
• Atlanta (22%)

I love taking public transit in unfamiliar cities. Yes, there is the anxiety associated with learning a new system–how and when to pay, where to get off, etc. (thank God for the Internet)–but that is easily offset by the adventure factor. Plus, you learn a lot more about a city on a public bus (or train) than you ever would on a tour bus.

Here are some of the reasons the people surveyed are choosing to ride:

Sixty-two percent said it would be less expensive than taxicabs or rental cars, followed closely by 61 percent who say they won’t have to worry about finding a parking space for their vehicle. Another 48 percent say they will use public transportation when traveling because it is easier to use, while 42 percent like not having to drive around an unfamiliar city…

For those of you who are planning to travel to another city this summer, APTA has put together this guide: “Green Travel Forecast, a Consumer’s Guide to Touring American Cities in a More Environmentally Friendly Way.” The section on Seattle isn’t all that informative (it doesn’t really explain the relationships among the agencies or distinguish between commuter and city service), so I’m not sure how useful the stuff about the other cities is. Still, at the very least, it’s a good place to start for links.

What I learned from a bus poet

It’s been a hard first half of the year: losing my mother, preparing to become a mother, and watching one of the people I am accustomed to mothering move 3,000 miles away. When I haven’t been feeling sad, I’ve been disoriented, rudderless, unsure.

On Tuesday, I saw this poem (written by Barbara Wolf) on the 48:

Changes

What I’ve learned from water
is to welcome change,
flow when I can, become snow when I must
then a mist, hovering over the Earth
or a fog, snarling traffic, or even an ice cube, tinkling in your drink.

It helped.

Hands on the wheel, eyes on the road (please!)

A few days ago, my coworkers had an e-mail discussion about the new “no texting while driving” law that will take effect in 2008.

Here’s an example of the comments:

“The law makes sense, but I don’t know how I’m going to live without texting in the car.”

As a frequent pedestrian (and thus, a frequent victim of distracted drivers), I have to admit I was a little thrown–not really because people actually do this (OK, a little because people actually do this) but because they freely admit to it, as if it’s as common as driving five mph over the speed limit.

On the way home that evening, I decided to see for myself how common it was. As my bus zoomed by all the cars stuck in traffic, I peered inside at their drivers. Out of the dozens of drivers I spied on, I saw only three sending text messages–fewer than the earlier conversation had led me to fear. Then again, that was probably because most of them (at least 80%) were busy talking on their cell phones. One guy was using a laptop (with both hands), and another woman was reading a book.

Folks who want to use their commute time to get stuff done: It might be best to choose a form of transportation that allows your hands (and eyes) to remain free. I can think of at least one that fits the bill…

Tax reform

From Rodney in Denver:

I’ve been thinking of ways to get more people to use mass transit. I thought making transit passes tax deductible would be a good idea… I’m curious what your thoughts are on this idea?

Well Rodney, having just finished my own taxes, I think it’s a pretty darn good one. There’s a deduction for people who buy hybrids; there’s mileage credit for folks who drive for business purposes; there’s even a sales tax deduction for major purchases (like cars and boats). Why no love for transit types?

I think the trick is in the implementation. A deduction for buying a transit pass wouldn’t be very substantial (given that the cost of passes isn’t very substantial) and therefore wouldn’t provide much of an incentive to buy one. If the deduction was much more than the cost of the pass (in other words, closer to the social benefit of driving less), we’d have to require folks to prove that they actually rode.

Soon, most transit systems will have the technology to measure actual transit usage, and we’ll be able to reward (through tax breaks and other fabulous prizes) frequent riders. Until then, I’ll take the transit-pass deduction. And the free food at transit fests.