[Billfred]

The last time I investigated public transportation in Columbia was back when I was still with 1293, right after Katrina hit and fouled up gas prices in South Carolina. Aside from cost concerns, the biggest kicker was that I would have to go to the exact other end of town from 1293's home base of the time in order to catch a transfer. No thanks.

That said, I'm now working on transitioning into my own place, and there's a bus line that stops right close to my workplace (ironically, a car dealership) and stops reasonably close to the campus at USC (which I anticipate visiting often, since the girlfriend will still be there). It's almost viable, though I'd plan on making several on-paper runs (mostly pertaining to their on-time performance) before committing to it in a job-critical situation.

I love taking public transportation when it works. At USC, the campus shuttle buses didn't except for when my alternative was walking half a mile uphill.* In New York City, it was almost the perfect method for two college students moving around Manhattan.** Like so many things we deal with around here, it all comes down to implementation.

*in the snow, with barbed wire wrapped around my feet, and while carrying fifty pounds in books--and I liked it, too!

**Sure, we only had the 1 train at the station nearest the hostel, and my girlfriend got locked out at one of those big upright gates after I'd gone in--but I left the car in South Carolina, taking a taxi everywhere was out of our budget, and I'd have been confined to a wheelchair for Chesapeake if I tried to walk from 103 to Battery Park. I couldn't allow that to happen, obviously, so break out the MetroCards!.