Mass Transit: A Look Elsewhere

I like to travel. Sometimes I get itchy and need to get away for a few days. I’m itching now and will be taking a few days starting tomorrow. The thing is, I’ll be driving. If you’ve read my other blogs, you already know I drive a Volkswagen Beetle, so fuel economy is pretty good. Plus, by riding the bus, I can afford a short trip every once in awhile.

When I travel, I try to pick cities that have decent mass transportation. I’ve seen both good and bad, rather horrible, so I thought I would write about my top three great experiences.

1. Seattle, King County Metro (http://transit.metrokc.gov/)
   Besides being an awesome area of our country, Seattle is home to one of the greatest mass transits that I know. The busses run on both diesel and electric, sometimes both, depending on the route; the drivers are friendly, sometimes even singing to patrons or pointing out landmarks for tourists; and they have a transfer policy that pales all by comparison.During the busiest times of day, drivers hand out slips of paper that indicates a two hour time period and that allows for a transfer to another bus or re-entry to the same bus. This is awesome for people who need to jump off for a quick grocery or laundry stop or for those who need to transfer to another bus route. IndyGo used to do this, transfers that is, but they charged you $.50. King County Metro is king!
2. San Francisco, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) (http://www.bart.gov/index.asp)
   First, what’s not to love about a city that has busses, subways, and trolleys! Oh, there’s also sunshine and mild temperatures, but hello trolleys!Their subways run from the San Francisco airport to downtown to Oakland across the bay…and actually beyond. It’s interesting in that you charge your pass with money and then depending on where you enter and then exit, the money is deducted. So, if you travel from Oakland to the city, the fee is more than if you traveled from downtown to Great American Ballpark, where the Giants play.The bus system travels just about everywhere, are relatively clean, and run on a pretty regular 30 minute cycle. The only bad thing, San Francisco is known for their homeless (just as Seattle is) and they tend to sleep on the busses…or they did when I was there…but they don’t bother you, they just want a warm place to sleep.

   Oh, did I mention trolleys? This is a great way to see the city. The trolleys are historic and come from various parts of the world, where mass transit has been the norm for awhile.

3. Chicago, CTA (http://www.transitchicago.com/)
   I like the fact that Chicago has an elevated train, the El, and that several of the trains make a circle around the downtown area. Sure, it’s loud and dirty, but it shows other large cities, like New York, that not everything needs to live underground.I also like that the trains pick up/drop off at the airports, always a plus for travelers and tourists, but that they go deep into the suburbs, even if you have to change routes. Plus, there are the busses (PACE) that pick up the slack.

   Additionally, there is the Transit Benefit Fare Program that gives employees, who ride transit, the opportunity to buy their passes with pre-tax income. Apparently, this a federal tax law designed to encourage mass transit usage. How is this being used in Indianapolis?

So you’re probably asking yourself, what about New York City? Well, their system is quite extensive and easily navigable, but it is large and quite possibly the oldest mass transit system in the U.S. It would take a miracle for Indianapolis to implement something on that scale. The three that I mentioned are doable. In fact, just improving IndyGo, ala Seattle Metro, would be a great start.

Sure, there are up and down sides to all examples and they are merely my opinion, but I ride transit in every city I visit. I encourage the executive, the mayor, and any other official to look beyond the Indianapolis metro area for examples. It’s not one size fits all, but it’s a start and that’s what we need.

Why IndyGo Sucks

I ride the bus. In fact, I try to ride the bus as often as possible to as many destinations as possible. Thing is, it isn’t always possible.

Last Saturday, I had just left the IU Medical Library. My shift ends at 9:00 PM and I have exactly seven minutes to walk a block…er, maybe a mini-block…to the bus stop. Typically, on Friday and Saturday nights, the bus is prompt. Apparently, last Saturday was not a typical night. I waited until 9:27 PM, but decided to call IndyGo for an explanation.

Behold! No one was available to take the call, so I left a message. I gave a specific description of the issue: the route number, the stop number as listed on the sign, the time, the number of people waiting for the particular bus, my name, and my phone number. I also asked that someone return my call. Good thing I’m not holding my breath waiting for the call because it will never come.

On Tuesday, I hopped the 28 bus to go to work. Much to my dismay, the bus was a recycled Blue Line Circulator bus, read small bus, that had been repurposed for the 28 route. Granted, the 28 is not the 10, but it is pretty busy during the morning rounds. In fact, that morning, there were seven people standing because no seats were available and others still needed to board.

My questions to the President of IndyGo are:

1. Why do you allow route drivers to be excessively late or to never arrive without posting a message to your web site or on the answering service? There are people in this city that rely SOLELY on this form of transportation. In fact, one gentleman had been waiting 30 minutes for the Saturday night bus because he needed to get to the farthest point on the Route 10 bus and he knew the last bus of the night, the 10:17 for the particular stop, would not travel that far.
2. Why do you repurpose the smallest busses for some of the busiest routes?
   Am I incorrect in thinking that having multiple people standing on the bus for their entire ride is safe and/or justified? What if someone in a wheelchair had boarded? The situation would have become even more dire.

With the prices of gasoline these days, more people are taking public transportation. Yet, little is being done to enhance or expand the current offerings. I’ve heard people say that they do not want to take public transit because they are dirty, the drivers are rude, the schedules are not enforced, or there isn’t a bus stop close enough to their home.

I agree with all of these statements. The closest bus stops to my home are 1.1 and 1.2 miles away, but I drive the distance to the bus stop and then board the bus for the rest of the trip. I’ve walked it a few times, but with our monsoon season currently underway it’s easier and safer to drive.

I would like to publicly invite Gilbert Holmes, the President/CEO of IndyGo, to contact me. I would like to discuss the policies of IndyGo and to invite him to ride the bus with me a few days and on a few different routes.

I have just the warm up route for him…Saturday night. Bring your best Kung Foo move, Mr. Holmes, you will put it to good use!