I recently moved into a new condo which is about 35 blocks straight south of where I work. There’s a bus line that goes from in front of my house to about 1/2 block from my office. I want to ride the bus, but I can’t and here’s why:
Utah Transit Authority (UTA) has raised bus fares twice in the last year and are going to raise them again in the near future to $2.75 ($5.50 per day for me then or about $110 a month). Even at $4 a gallon, this is more than I pay for gas–way more.
In January the results of an audit of UTA were released with findings that really dismayed me. I won’t put in quotes but basically ridership on a bus has to be 21 people per route in order to better the emissions which would be puffed out by those 21 people driving their cars. Average bus ridership in Salt Lake City is 8.1 per route. Thus bus emissions are much worse than the cars those riders would be driving.
(Okay, one quote from the audit: “The 461 tons of NOx pollution created by diesel buses exceed the 164 tons of NOx its passengers would have created if they had commuted in a passenger car. As a result, the added pollution created by buses outweigh the gains made by light rail and vanpool. The data suggests that if more riders used transit, including buses, it would result in better outcomes for air quality. However, at current ridership levels, transit is a net polluter.”)
Bus service is terrible, with few routes (and being cut all the time) and those only on major streets.
I’ll stick to my car.
Rant over. What does a bus ride cost where you live?
It was $2.50 last time I rode (just checked - it’s still the same).
Are you including the cost of parking downtown? What about damage to your vehicle by clods in the parking lot banging their car doors into yours?
And look at all the things that riding the bus can give you that you’d never get driving your own vehicle like dirt and crap left all over the seat by someone’s children, drunks and retards drooling on your shoulder, threats from gangbanger wannabes too poor to have their own ride (yet), and everybody’s favourite - “Oops! Did I miss your stop? No, sorry, you’ll have to get off at the next one.”
Looks like the monthly pass is $58.50. Much better than $110. On the bus you could read, nap, etc. Think of it as a stress reducer.
(Okay, one quote from the audit: “The 461 tons of NOx pollution created by diesel buses exceed the 164 tons of NOx its passengers would have created if they had commuted in a passenger car. As a result, the added pollution created by buses outweigh the gains made by light rail and vanpool. The data suggests that if more riders used transit, including buses, it would result in better outcomes for air quality. However, at current ridership levels, transit is a net polluter.”)
That’s not going to happen until people start riding the bus. Here’s your chance.
I remember the buses in the SLC being the cheapest in all the US in the late 80s. I was riding around for 5¢ - 15¢ a ride, at a time when NYC tokens had were just about to go to $1.
I don’t pay for parking–our clinic has its own employee parking lot (thus I know who the clod would be banging her door into mine). I don’t know what their monthy pass will be when the latest rate hike goes into effect. Can’t ride a bike–bad knees.
Ah the good old days of bus riding, Bloo…in Washington DC in 1971 we paid 60 cents and considered that high.
A traumatic experience that put me off buses for years:
I got on the bus one day in Washington DC and found all seating taken, so I was the only person standing at the back of the bus. I had on some spiffy new white sandals (you know, still slick on the bottom). I must not have had hold of anything because the bus driver suddenly braked and I literally surfed down the aisle to the front of the bus. Had I not needed to get to work on time, I’d have surfed right out the door and taken the next bus. As it was I had to endure the laughter of all my fellow passengers. Humiliations galore!
I can (and recently, often do) take the bus to work. I live in Rhode Island, and our bus system is RIPTA (RI Public transit auth.)
It costs $1.25 for any single one-way trip, plus $0.10 if you need a transfer.
The bad part is that if I drive, it’s about a 35 mile one-way, which in normal traffic conditions takes me about 45 minutes door-to-door. If I take the bus, with transfers, it takes about 80 minutes.
But, the savings are extraordinary. Even in my Civic, where I get almost 40 mpg highway (and it’s almost all highway for me), today, that one-way drive costs my $4.00 in gas.
Still, the bus is a hassle, and my time is valuable.
Plus sometimes I like to go places at lunch time, and most times I’d prefer to drive.
Depending on what times you ride (assuming you are not a senior citizen) 31 day passes are $50-$104 in my neck of the woods. My work place will help with a discount, and it may be something to look into if you work at a large company. If you have flexible hours, you can arrange to go on off hours and get a less expensive pass, but most cannot. Service around here is not all that reliable time wise and sometimes you can be stuck for 30 or more minutes waiting (not fun if it is 32F and raining). Strikes (although relatively rare) can leave you high and dry for months, and there are some routes that I would not want to take when it is dark out. We moved to a location that had a bus route that was canceled and left us with nothing for a mile in any direction.
Most people know the draw backs of cars, which are often greater, but buses can have their own issues. Fortunately, trying out the bus is relatively cheap (even compared to startup cost of biking equipment) and is a nice back up even if you chose another mode for primary transportation.
I remember riding a bus up toward New England some years ago, like a Grey Hound or Peter Pan. The bus was overcrowded, the traffic was horrible and we were stuck for hours. One of the passengers made his way forward to the talk to the bus driver, who only told the man he didn’t know either when we would arrive, and to sit back down. As the man, who wasn’t happy, was heading back to his seat, the bus driver had to slam the break, and the man sprawled in the aisle. People were asking him if he was all right. As he got up, dusting himself off and I am sure feeling a similar sense of humiliations galore, he said out loud with a grim smile: “Oh boy, my lawyer is going to love this!!!” Always struck me as an odd thing to say.
The bus costs $1 each way for adults, with a free transfer that you can use multiple times within 2 hours. The adult monthly pass is $33.
But they don’t go where I want to go when I want to go. And driving is faster. I can get to work inside of 20 minutes if I drive, but it takes about 45 minutes on the bus because I have to transfer. There’s free parking at work (for cars - the bike rack was stolen several years ago and they haven’t replaced it.)
In KC, the bus is $1.25 each way with 2 free transfers that are good for 2 hours - so if you bus to a shop it’s usually free to get back if you don’t have to transfer (I live 2 blocks from 2 different bus lines). The monthly pass is $40. Parking in our downtown is about $75 a month, and it’s rare the employer that has free parking. Our bus, thanks to the higher gas prices, averages 25-40 riders each way (it was only about 15 each way before gas went above $3 a gallon). My ride is 65 city blocks (excluding all the terraces, places and other sub-blocks stuck between each numbered street) and takes about 35 minutes with traffic (driving in traffic would take about 25 minutes). I get to read, listen to my digital recorder to learn tunes, play video games, and in general feel much more relaxed than driving in traffic.
The savings are huge - no gas costs, no extra auto maitenance costs (fewer oil changes, tire changes, less wear and tear to the engine, etc.), decreased insurance costs (that’s why your insurance asks how far you drive the car to work each way), etc.
Our busload is a little community. I just called to check up on a fellow rider who just had surgery for bone cancer. We look out for each other, and everyone who becomes a regular has said the same two things:
I’ll never go back to driving on my own if I can take a bus - it’s so much more relaxing.
Now why didn’t I think of that! I’m certain I could have hit the jackpot in the mental pain and suffering department.
A stolen bike rack. That just seems weird to me. Why not make it worthwhile and wait until it was full of bikes and then take it?
We’ve had a light rail system here for about six years but it goes so few places in the valley that I’ve actually never been on it. Now we have a commuter train coming in from the northern counties but once you get into the station in Salt Lake, you have to switch to a bus or light rail to get any closer to work. I can’t imagine it’s very convenient for most people.
A bus is $1.50 here. You can get a monthly pass, which is unlimited rides, but I’m not sure what that cost is.
My son has to ride the city bus to high school. He gets a student pass (free) and has to pay 25 cents each way. That “deal” is only good on buses to and from his high school, not other routes.
As I’ve said before, all the “normal” bus routes here go north / south and none go east / west. So to go somewhere that’s 6 miles east from our house would take at least 2 hours - you have to first go downtown, then transfer back out.
In Chicago, if you pay with cash, $2. no transfers.
If you put money on a transit card (available at the bus terminals and subway/el stations) its $1.75 and transfers are 25 cents.
Plus there are bonus cards that you can purchase that provide $2. discount on every $20. of purchased $1.75 rides.
(My nephew gets one for his teen age daughter and he tells me he can go on line and see exactly which bus and subway/el routes she’s taken daily and at what times.)
Cash reduced fare $1. (85 cents rail) no transfers.
Reduced fare transit card 85 cents and transfers are 15 cents.
Age 65+ ride for free with a special ID.
I ride the bus a lot. Once I get on the bus I feel safer than driving in my own car. (My car was rear ended 3 times in one year by drivers talking on cell phones).
The buses here have cameras on them and the drivers don’t hesitate to call the police.
The buses run on the street in front of my house, one bus in each direction every 10 minutes (I stand in my living room watching them pass as I practice fiddle using them as an auxilary clock)
but talking about how undependable the buses run is a standard topic by riders.
There are three bus lines near where I live because it is near an attraction. The cost is 50 cents, $1, and $1.25.
In general mass transit needs population density to be viable. Most Americans, if given a choice will live in a bigger space, with more open areas. The two factors fight against each other, and other than San Francisco and a few east coast cities, mass transit doesn’t work well in America.
I don’t think a Vespa would save any money considering the total cost of ownership, insurance, upkeep. How many years worth of gas does the cost of buying a Vespa translate into for a two or three mile commute? Let’s estimate the savings at 50 cents worth of gas each day for that short commute. That’s 8,000 days worth for the Vespa’s MSRP $4,000, or about 25 years to get the money back. This only works if a person is willing to ditch their other vehicle, or has a long commute.
Other options are walking or biking. If the 35 blocks means less than two miles, walking is a good option, perhaps taking the bus one way. The average person can walk three miles an hour, five mph if they are dedicated hikers. Bicycling is easy at this distance, though finding a safe route, having a place to change and store the bike at work are factors.
