Home > Lawrenceville.Talk > Archives > 2006 > September > 13 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWould cash persuade you to take public transit?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m a transit snob. Gas could be $9.99 a gallon and I wouldn’t leave my precious vehicle at home.
What’s lunchtime if I can’t hit a fast-food drive-thru for a trans fat-laden meal? Hey, I like my lunch handed to me through a small window by people who hate their jobs.
My motto: I wouldn’t use public transportation if you paid me!
Then I received a card in the mail from the Clean Air Campaign about the Cash for Commuters program.
The card said, if you try a commuting alternative to driving alone, we’ll pay you.
That’s why I’m writing this blog from a Gwinnett County Transit bus. Talk about irony, huh?
I don’t even want to tell you how good this is. How relaxing my bus ride is from Discover Mills in Lawrenceville to MARTA’s Lindbergh station nearly downtown. I read. I write. I sleep. I no longer maneuver the nightmare that is the 316 and I-85 merge on my own. I’m no longer a transit snob.
I don’t even want to tell you about the plush seats. Or the little foot rests. Or the seat backs that recline. My commute is like flying in business class every a.m. and p.m., except I’m riding on a Gwinnett County Transit express bus on I-85.
No coffee though. No drinking. No eating. And just like the airport, no weapons. But unlike the airport, in a few months I’ll get money for using public transportation. Would Hartsfield-Jackson hand out free cash? Not on your life!
The Commuter Rewards Cash for Commuters program invites people driving alone to try an alternative commuting method for 90 days. If you switch to teleworking, carpooling, biking, walking or taking mass transit, you could earn up to $180 for trying one of these environmentally friendly alternatives for a couple of months.
I almost don’t want to tell you all this because right now my bus is half-empty and fully relaxing. I don’t want a mob scene at the Park ‘N Ride lot. So I’ll also tell you that, unfortunately, you’re going to pay $3 each time you leave Lawrenceville on the express bus. Still, it’s way cheaper than the gas pump has been for months.
I know there are plenty of Gwinnett County transit snobs because I was one. And 91 days from now, I might be one again so I can drive around at noon sampling a few new restaurants for lunch.
But public transportation actually takes less time than if I drove. I’m actually shaving 30 minutes off my commute. An entire free hour each day has been found just by riding a bus!
So right now I look at you sadly from my bus window while you’re stuck in a lane on I-85. While I’m being chauffeured over in the HOV lane, I pity you. Then I push the little button that reclines my seat back and close my eyes and forget about watching you suffer on the highway.
There always seems to be an empty seat next to me if you want to give it a try.
Do you love driving to work alone? Or could a cash incentive convince you to leave the car at home?
Permalink | Comments (17) | Categories: Jacqueline Bullard
Comments
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By Charlie
September 13, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this
For most people, taking transit is impractical. According to the Marta website, taking transit would add around 1 hour and 20 minutes EACH WAY to my commute. I wouldn’t even do that once.
By Michael H. Smith
September 13, 2006 12:11 PM | Link to this
Please don’t tell me who pays the $180. Mass transit is welfare from the get go – “as is�. Now Ms. Bullard you forewarn me of another reward given at taxpayer expense to entice more people to become government dependant mobility drones! It’s a sad commentary on these empty buses when you got to “bribe� someone to take a taxpayer subsidized ride on one of them.
Look here Jacko, I for one am on this independence kick. Yeah I love my freedom, liberty, and the beloved right to tell government to take that proverbial hike right out of my back pocket. Tell you what there Jacko, when “the people and the politicians� behind this riding the bus love affair are forced to take the bus EVERYWHERE, EVERYDAY…. maybe, just maybe, you can bend my ear a little on the vain glories of Mass Welfare Bus Transit, until then nothing doing.
For Mr. Freedom lover alternatives do exist. Hey, life should be all about the liberty of making choices — Conservative ones of course. And of course, that would leave Mr. Bush and his régime “out of pocket� with there big oil base. For item one Jacko, America should be energy independent. To SUV or not to SUV should not be the question to obtain Clean Air Ms. Bullard. Plenty of technology exists presently to make cleaner, cheaper and in some cases to a large extent renewable fuels to power no matter what size vehicle one so chooses to drive. Oh yeah, and these clean renewable fuels could power those empty buses too.
Yes Gorge Bush, there really is a “magic wand� but it isn’t in Iraq!
For item two Jacko, mass bus transit really doesn’t serve “THE MASS�. For the vast many their travel agenda is diverse. No set patterns, no simple points A to points B to and fro destinations. Then, what happens when emergencies arise? When you got to go somewhere fast and no bus is available? And that place just so happens is somewhere off the bus routes?
Is it an expensive taxi ride or you’re stuck with nothing, no ride? Is there a “Flex Car�* service – as in many other metro areas – in place to accommodate the inadequacies of the present Regional Mass Bus Transit idealism as purveyed? (*for the curious go Google Flex Car). The bus alone will not serve our mobility needs, we are too diverse and too complex a society.
For item three Jacko time just might be on your side after all. Which is your only argument that gives me reasoned pause to consider your mass hype on this taking the bus genre. An itch beneath my skin says folks like me hate spending their precious time sitting in traffic like road-kill on some stinking stretch of asphalt going nowhere fast – The I-85 parking lot by way of mention for one. Even independent mobility freedom diehards like me can’t overcome the wasted time and endured aggravation arguments.
Incorporating a verity of mobility alternatives into a doable regional system of more private sector involvement with less dependence on government subsides is the ticket. The Brain Train, Flex Car and yes, even Ms. Bullard’s lauded Bus will all have to play a role in resolving the mobility problems we suffer. Fact is we can’t build enough roads should we so desire to truly enjoy life liberated from traffic congestion.
By Deanna Smith
September 13, 2006 2:12 PM | Link to this
I love commuting! I don’t do mass transit, but I am a member of Carpool C721. The four of us commute from Canton to Alpharetta, and now I only drive once a week, on average. My gas has been cut to 1/4 of my previous cost, plus maintenance and mileage are reduced. My carpool mates are great! Chris and Ryan are like a comedy club every day. We can eat and drink in each others cars, no problem. Everyone is on time or gets left behind. It’s like valet service every day! Chris says it’s like getting a raise in pay. We’ve become good friends. I too was leery of carpooling, due to the lack of emergency vehicle if my kids get sick. But it has not been a problem so far, and I have a guaranteed ride home card if it happens. I wish I had started sooner. Try it once and you’ll never go back!
Happy Commuting!
Deanna Smith Canton, GA
By katie
September 14, 2006 6:14 AM | Link to this
No, cash would not make me take public transit. I go to work from 4:30-2:30 and carpooling is not an option. I like my freedom to come and go as I please and do not want to wait for buses. Marta does not go to the city I live in and public transit is unsafe. I like my freedom and will continue to drive myself where ever I want to go.
By Kathy
September 14, 2006 8:34 AM | Link to this
I have ridden the Gwinnett Transit System since the first day…. they have had their difficult times, some days I had to stand nearly everyday on the ride home due to not enough buses. I don’t know which bus you were on, but the ones I ride have no empty seats, they are full to capacity. The buses are compfortable for the most part and overall the express bus routes are the best thing Gwinnett has done in many years. The local routes I think are a waste of taxpayer money, I have never seen a local bus have more than 5-10 people on it. I wished Gwinnett had purchased larger buses like the ones I see from Cobb County.
By Ajamu
September 15, 2006 11:28 AM | Link to this
What makes a city as large as NYC work is its mass transit infrastructure. Hundreds of thousands of workers every day use the buses and trains to access their jobs and these are the ones who live 15-25 miles outside of the city. Atlanta as a metro area has way more cars on the road than does New York on a daily basis though NYC metro area is at least triple that of the ATL in population. Even Los Angeles has a light rail system that runs parellel to the freeways. Like it or not commuters it is inevitable that metro Atlanta will build more rail systems and have many more buses in the near future. When that happens the Hummer will stay home and the Escalade will be parked at the park ‘n ride.
By Resident
September 15, 2006 12:09 PM | Link to this
I used a Gwinnett bus this past Wednesday around noon because of car trouble. I was the only one on the bus the entire trip, which was 3/4 of the route. I live right next to the bus stop and see the buses daily. People just aren’t using them.
By Resident
September 15, 2006 12:13 PM | Link to this
In one breath you say you never see more than 5-10 people on a Gwinnett bus (my own experience) and in the next, you say they need larger buses because you have to stand often.
I live right on the Gwinnett bus line, in front of a bus stop and I NEVER see anyone use it. I had to use it this week due to car trouble, and I rode 3/4 of the route as the only passenger.
By Resident
September 15, 2006 12:14 PM | Link to this
In one breath you say you never see more than 5-10 people on a Gwinnett bus (my own experience) and in the next, you say they need larger buses because you have to stand often.
I live right on the Gwinnett bus line, in front of a bus stop and I NEVER see anyone use it. I had to use it this week due to car trouble, and I rode 3/4 of the route as the only passenger.
By Resident
September 15, 2006 12:14 PM | Link to this
In one breath you say you never see more than 5-10 people on a Gwinnett bus (my own experience) and in the next, you say they need larger buses because you have to stand often.
I live right on the Gwinnett bus line, in front of a bus stop and I NEVER see anyone use it. I had to use it this week due to car trouble, and I rode 3/4 of the route as the only passenger.
By Sara
September 15, 2006 9:38 PM | Link to this
I love Gwinnett busses. They are so confi and always clean. Getting money for seating on red buses it’s great! Thanks for the info. I’ll call Clean Air Camp.
By MC
September 15, 2006 11:16 PM | Link to this
“Public transit is unsafe.”
Is it, now? Name a single incident in which somebody died on MARTA without actually walking onto the tracks.
By MC
September 15, 2006 11:17 PM | Link to this
“Public transit is unsafe.”
Is it, now? Name a single incident in which somebody died on MARTA without actually walking onto the tracks.
By MC
September 15, 2006 11:18 PM | Link to this
“Public transit is unsafe.”
Is it, now? Name a single incident in which somebody died on MARTA without actually walking onto the tracks.
By dwhite
September 19, 2006 9:07 AM | Link to this
I live in N.Ga. and commute to Atlanta every day, 114 miles round trip. I would LOVE to use Gwinnett and Marta transit, except, unlike Cobb, the schedules just don’t match. You arrive at 5pt. just in time to miss your bus or train. Also, Gwinnett does not come far enough north. Perhaps they should put a park and ride at Hamilton Mill. They should also take a look at going into the Doraville station. Not everyone has a need to go all the way downtown, and the bus servide from Midtown and Lindburgh is limited. I, for one will the the first person to commute, if only I could make connections….traffic in this town sucks.
By Kathy
September 19, 2006 12:39 PM | Link to this
Dear Resident, I’m sorry you misunderstood my statement, when I stated that I stood most everyday I was referring to the commute on the EXPRESS buses going to and from downtown. I stated the local buses were a waste because I do not see them being used. Nor do I use them for local transit.
I hope this makes it clearer for you that I was not contradicting myself.
By anonymousella
September 19, 2006 2:09 PM | Link to this
i ride marta 5 days a week, and have for the last four years. pay me to ride transit? that’s precisely what MARTA is doing for me. if i drove to work, i’d save an hour a day, but i’d spend $10 more per month on gas, and an extra $80 - $120 per month to park downtown. that’s to say nothing of the wear-and-tear saved on my car.
my commute takes about an hour instead of 30 minutes each way (20 min drive + 25 minute train ride + 10 min walk to the office). but that’s time spent reading and getting a little more exercise. bonus: i’m no where near as frazzled or aggravated once i reach the office,.