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Somebody commented that most of the gung-ho transit advocates seemed to be young, single or childless, males. IMO, most also seemed to give their locations as fairly large urban areas with moderate climates.
As for winter bicycling, try bicycling through 6 inches of snow, especially the wet slushy kind.
I know that plenty of people take buses in cold snowy areas, but that doesn't mean that they like doing it. I took buses for a couple of years when I worked in downtown Albany because I didn't have a parking permit. Getting free parking working at a suburban site was a major impetus to my changing jobs.
I was under the impression that most in this forum that frequently contribute live in smaller towns/cities (e.g. Western MA, Sacramento, Youngstown, outside Denver, Richmond (me)).
Anyway, the bold may be true, maybe not. It depends on the quality of the system, how far someone has to go, etc. Cold, rain, snow, etc. are not unpleasant if you dress for it. IMO people who drive are used to not having to prepare for weather as much and have gotten spoiled a bit. However, they rarely complain about having to drive in snow or rain on these boards. Just my preference, but I'd take wearing a hat, gloves and boots and getting some time outside over worrying about driving in snow/ice.
I'm a middle-aged, married male. I live in a somewhat large city in a tree-lined neighborhood of mostly 2-story homes and apartments, we have rainy winters and long, very hot summers (typically several weeks of 100+ temps.) . But if you're in my city, you can catch a breeze by standing anywhere near me.
This weekend I drove to San Francisco instead of taking the train, the first time I have done so in about 7 years. It technically took less time on the clock, but my perception of the trip was very different. When I take Amtrak, it seems like I just get comfortable on the train, go buy a sandwich, settle in again and start reading a book, working on some writing or even posting here (the train has Wi-Fi), and boom, I'm in Emeryville and it's time for the short bus hop over the bridge--usually too busy looking at the scenery/architecture to read much on that 15 minute ride. Driving was a lot more direct concentration, focused on not becoming part of the scenery, and at the end of each trip I was pretty frazzled. A lot more exhausting, and while I saved about 30 minutes each way, it seemed like a lot longer trip.
Diving is exhausting. Anything over 15 minutes is annoying IMHO.
I guess DC is not one of those cities with "decent transit" then.
I think DC has pretty good transit, but it doesn't serve all areas equally well. The experience in Arlington or the H Street or Rockville MD are all wildly different. Not all neighborhoods are equally convenient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chirack
If you use transit you can't help but structure your life around it. There are routes that don't run all day and routes that have less service after a certain time. This has an huge impact on when and where you may travel as well as how long it will take you to travel there.
Not exactly. There is a frequency that pretty much is the minimum required to not really think about it. Assuming you have 15 minute frequencies, nearby, then it tends to be pretty convenient. If the headways are longer, then it starts to get annoying. My sister lives about 7 blocks away from me, our transit experiences are wildly different. She has more bus options that run all day than I do, and she can choose more routes. My closest route to downtown runs from about 7a-8a, at 30 minute intervals. And 60 minute intervals on the weekend. If I walk about 3-4 blocks, then the more frequent bus is available.
For her, she has a 1/4 block walk to a bus that runs at least every 15 minutes, every day except Sunday (when it runs every 20) from 6a-1a. And a second route that runs every 30 from 7a to 10p a block away (each goes to downtown). The bus ride to downtown for me is a little shorter, only because I have a bus route that isn's so popular. But in each case, the time it takes is just a few minutes more than driving. My drive is about 7 minutes, the bus ride is 10 or 12. For her it is also about the same. But there are more traffic lights to downtown, so it can be slower in the car too. So even when factoring in the waiting time, it is pretty comparable.
I was under the impression that most in this forum that frequently contribute live in smaller towns/cities (e.g. Western MA, Sacramento, Youngstown, outside Denver, Richmond (me)).
Anyway, the bold may be true, maybe not. It depends on the quality of the system, how far someone has to go, etc. Cold, rain, snow, etc. are not unpleasant if you dress for it. IMO people who drive are used to not having to prepare for weather as much and have gotten spoiled a bit. However, they rarely complain about having to drive in snow or rain on these boards. Just my preference, but I'd take wearing a hat, gloves and boots and getting some time outside over worrying about driving in snow/ice.
Seriously? Anyone who lives in a cold climate learns to keep hat, gloves, boots, kitty litter, blanket, etc in the car in case of emergency.
Seriously? Anyone who lives in a cold climate learns to keep hat, gloves, boots, kitty litter, blanket, etc in the car in case of emergency.
I wouldn't say everybody; anecdotal experience of my own is that most of my friends didn't prepare like you and I did/do. Besides, my reference is more in response to the never-ending comments of "who wants to take the bus in the rain" or "nobody wants to take the bus in 20 degree weather". There seems to be less of an aversion to dealing with inclement weather for the transit crowd in these forums.
Seriously? Anyone who lives in a cold climate learns to keep hat, gloves, boots, kitty litter, blanket, etc in the car in case of emergency.
I've learned to bundle up for walking outside. I didn't know prepare to carry extra in my car for driving. I'd be wearing mittens (better than gloves), coat with hood anyway and boots anyway. Why would you carry cold weather clothing you'd wear normally anyway?
There seems to be less of an aversion to dealing with inclement weather for the transit crowd in these forums.
I always walked outside during college regardless of the weather and before I had a car. I didn't really occur to me afterward that I now i had a car, it could prevent myself from being out in bad weather. Seems a bit wimpy and unnecessary, plus I look at being outside as generally positive unless the weather is truly horrible. Though this winter was nasty, I'll admit there were some days when I didn't really want to be out.
Yup. Plus since you have so much disposable income the $100 late fee ($5/minute) won't matter. Just enjoy your $107 beer and chill, man.
Edit: beat to it, I see.
Portland hasn't finished the bridge yet to complete the loop so the Eastside streetcar isn't fully functioning yet.
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