Quote:
|
Originally Posted by BuddyB309
My opinion, build more Mag lifts. Emphasize on public transportation, but in order for public transportation to work it has to be cheep and accessible. Have an express train for going city to city. A mini express train to take you to different sections in the city, and trains in there. We are driving way to many cars.
|
Cheap and accessible aren't the issue; convenient is. Until public transportation is as convenient as driving yourself (or possesses some other serious advantage, like the cost of ownership--think parking on Manhattan), most people will not take public transportation.
Within the past thirty days, I've traveled by plane, train, and automobile (literally!), all for distances of several hundred miles. Sure, Amtrak had the most legroom of any of them, but I'm limited by the one train running through Columbia (at 1:12 or 1:39 AM, depending on whether you go north or south). Flying to Cal Games was by far the fastest way to do it, but you've got the cost and hassles. (Did you know that you can't find original-formula Old Spice deodorant in a container under three ounces? I didn't until I had to find deodorant to pack for Cal Games.) With my car, I set the pace, the destination, the departure time, and any stopovers I so choose (like dinner in Virginia with 116 or a picture at South of the Border). You can't match the convenience of driving your own car.
A similar thing happens here on campus most nights. Alpha Phi Omega runs a door-to-door escort service, colloquially known by its campus phone number of 7-DUCK. Parking Services' evening shuttles (two fifteen-passenger vans) travel around campus at night as well. The evening shuttle has to make a full loop of campus, which can take half an hour or more, and you only know it's coming when you either see its flashing light or you get a reliable reading from the Nextbus signs at some stops. (As the shuttle frequently deviates from its route for various reasons, the signs have a reputation of being unreliable.) You know which option I take whenever I can? 7-DUCK.