Originally Posted by
CptjohnC
Definitely way more bikes on the suburban streets around me now than there were in 2007. And tons more scooters/mopeds and such. Oddly, though, the increase in fuel efficient cars and decrease in excessive SUVs has gone into decline, presumably caused by US fuel staying under $3/gal.
Of course, I'd also like to see mass transit doing better, but the price around here is actually fairly high, relative to alternatives (including driving). I could take transit for $10/ day, plus the cost of getting to the station (Bus- $1.50ish, park- $4.25 or bike- hundreds and hundreds of dollars, in retrospect ;-)) or I could park near my office for $12-13, and save about 25-30 minutes from my total commute. We need to stop subsidizing drivers, and transfer those subsidies to more sustainable transportation alternatives, at least in/near urban centers.
With the government running mass transit it will always be a failure in suburban settings.
I would LOVE to use mass trasit to get to down town Atlanta in the evenings and weekends but the fact is the schedule on the express that would get me there in 45 minutes shuts down at rides in at 7 pm and rides out at 8pm durring the week and doesnt run at all on the weekend. That leaves making about 6 buss changes through two different systems and a bunch of stops making it a 2+ hour trip that can be done by car in 20-25. Its a wash on fuel savings at this point as the user fees would exceed the fuel burned in my cars leaving me to decide if 1.5 hours of my time is worth more then a $5-8 dollar parking fee at 50% of the places I go and free at the other 50%.
There is talk about high speed line from Chattanooga to Atlanta that would stop 3.5 miles from me but I would prefer that be build by the private sector NOT the government. That way it can be run economically and not be run in the red at the tax payers expense.