From A Person Who Spends About $100 A Month On Public Transportation
I like the idea of cheaper gasoline. I'm not sure how much money will be made by the companies that will use the Keystone Pipeline and I am concerned about environmental damage a spill might cause. In addition I hope that cheaper oil will not screw up the change to more renewable sources of energy like solar and wind power.
Maybe the lower price of oil will have some unintended consequences because exploration might slow down but as a strategic matter we may be better off and I'm not sure how to make those calculations.
On the other front traffic is still lousy and new and better roads still need to be built in areas where the country is growing in population. On the other hand I'm seeing more hybrid cars, the odd plug in car and a lot of smaller cars. The idea of conservation and lessening our carbon footprint is good environmentally. I'm not a fan of higher gas taxes but maybe that would help raise money for roads and better public transportation.
I now commute to Hialeah about 5-6 days a week. I walk to the Metrorail. The train during the week is good, short waits, seats are plentiful and I get some exercise. It's a little faster to drive but in terms of gas and aggravation, I'm usually able to read the newspaper or the program for the next day's races. Weekends the waits are longer but the track owner gives riders a ticket for a free ride back where you came from.
The rail system in Miami is over 30 years old. It promised to spur growth and provide cheap public transportation. Most of the stations have seen some development in the immediate area but the development is nowhere near what the folks that sold the system to the public promised. President Reagan said we could buy new cars for everyone that rode the train when it first opened and save money. Ridership on the rail was about 10,000 daily back then. The current ridership is about 75,000 daily during the week and about 30,000 on the weekends. To the good there are connections to the airport and commuter rail that goes to Palm Beach, but no rail connection to Miami Beach.
As a more frequent rider I understand why folks are reluctant to give up their vehicles. Connections are difficult and to some places impossible. Strangely, and this my just be a matter of getting accustomed, I'm not a big fan of folks hauling their bicycles on to the rail. At rush hour the bikes take up a lot of space and make it more difficult to enter and leave the train and I don't think this was the original plan for rail/bike transportation.
Bus ridership is about 260,000 souls daily. Second hand reports indicate that using the bus is problematic unless you are a regular user for your commute to and from work and don't need to make connections to another bus.
Cars compete with public transportation, those who can drive probably don't use public transportation, those who can't really need reliable public transportation.
Maybe the lower price of oil will have some unintended consequences because exploration might slow down but as a strategic matter we may be better off and I'm not sure how to make those calculations.
On the other front traffic is still lousy and new and better roads still need to be built in areas where the country is growing in population. On the other hand I'm seeing more hybrid cars, the odd plug in car and a lot of smaller cars. The idea of conservation and lessening our carbon footprint is good environmentally. I'm not a fan of higher gas taxes but maybe that would help raise money for roads and better public transportation.
I now commute to Hialeah about 5-6 days a week. I walk to the Metrorail. The train during the week is good, short waits, seats are plentiful and I get some exercise. It's a little faster to drive but in terms of gas and aggravation, I'm usually able to read the newspaper or the program for the next day's races. Weekends the waits are longer but the track owner gives riders a ticket for a free ride back where you came from.
The rail system in Miami is over 30 years old. It promised to spur growth and provide cheap public transportation. Most of the stations have seen some development in the immediate area but the development is nowhere near what the folks that sold the system to the public promised. President Reagan said we could buy new cars for everyone that rode the train when it first opened and save money. Ridership on the rail was about 10,000 daily back then. The current ridership is about 75,000 daily during the week and about 30,000 on the weekends. To the good there are connections to the airport and commuter rail that goes to Palm Beach, but no rail connection to Miami Beach.
As a more frequent rider I understand why folks are reluctant to give up their vehicles. Connections are difficult and to some places impossible. Strangely, and this my just be a matter of getting accustomed, I'm not a big fan of folks hauling their bicycles on to the rail. At rush hour the bikes take up a lot of space and make it more difficult to enter and leave the train and I don't think this was the original plan for rail/bike transportation.
Bus ridership is about 260,000 souls daily. Second hand reports indicate that using the bus is problematic unless you are a regular user for your commute to and from work and don't need to make connections to another bus.
Cars compete with public transportation, those who can drive probably don't use public transportation, those who can't really need reliable public transportation.
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