I wasn’t planning on writing again so quickly about my bus adventures, but today’s trip was a bit different than yesterday’s even though I rode nearly the exact same route from home to the South Campus Gateway and back. (Plus I’ve got to try to make Jeff Johnson proud!)
For starters, several buses were running late. Some by as much as 10 minutes. Which normally wouldn’t be a big deal by myself, but I decided to cart Desi along for the ride. At 7 months old, he’s getting heavier, which makes standing around aimlessly drag longer than it feels like it should.
The rides were otherwise pleasant, and people were very talkative since I had the kiddo with me. Who doesn’t like seeing a happy baby?
The other problem was the off-and-on rain today. Some of the stops have adequate shelters while others have nothing. I can’t imagine these are expensive structures to erect. Some of the shelters don’t include system maps or timetables either which can be confusing to anyone unfamiliar with the system. Why the discrepancy? I’d assume this simple infrastructure update would be a worthwhile investment for COTA that would bolster ridership.
Oh, and slightly off topic… While on the bus today I did have a conversation with a woman about the Streetcar line. She said she didn’t see the point. I explained the benefits that I personally see with it (economic development, environmental impact, public transit stigma), but it didn’t seem to change her mind. She was telling me there was “nothing to do downtown” but also telling me I should go to a show at the Palace Theater. That she was helping to promote. Downtown. Huh. Strange.
Do you take Desi to daycare via the bus? If I did, the one way trip would cost me 1.5 h each way, and she’s only 5 miles away at preschool.
Next year a bus to school for her. Hooray, we can all take buses!
We don’t do daycare.
It poses a real snag. My wife and I actually took our jobs here to be close to work, and we are, walking distance. We didn’t think we’d have a child based on the way things were going. Finally, we got lucky. A small commute to daycare shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s a brutal challenge. Next year she’ll go to kindergarten and, yippee!, a bus will be available and we’ll all be less dependent on a car.
COTA should look into having a third party install and maintain shelters in exchange for the right to advertise on them. Chicago did this with a French company called JC Decaux (which also manages velib’ programs in France).
The shelters are pretty nice too: