via thebusbench.com

Bus Bench’s post on religion and public transit provoked some thoughts of mine.

As a noob to the Buddhist way (not even quite sure which type of Buddhism I will follow), I have often found myself wondering what would Buddha do as I get repeatedly cut off by inconsiderate or dangerous drivers? Bus Bench asks what would Jesus drive?

If Buddha or Jesus lived in Vegas, I think they would certainly take the bus. (I frankly will take the bus in any other city except Vegas. It frightens me.)

Ms. Molyneux says:

“The big key in sustainability that is missing is the reach out to the community component. When you take public transit you have a potential for an even larger sustainable community, at least in Los Angeles…What if the Buddha just talked to his disciples? What if the Jesus only talked to his disciples? What if Buddha and Jesus never talked to anyone except for the people who could pay them or went to college with them or hung out in the same social circles as them?”

A growing problem with the sustainable crowd is that sustainability is becoming a sign of affluence. Raley’s has its own organic section, in a far off corner of the store where milk costs three times as much. If I’m in the regular, poorer parts of the store (and poor is really relative here), I have to walk all the way to the other side of the store for Silk Soy Milk. I didn’t realize that soy milk was so hoity-toity.

But as you can see – these sustainable folks are saying “we’re different from you” and even “we’re better than you.” They make clear divisions between themselves and the community at large.

An electric car wouldn’t bring someone closer to the community – it would only give you more status in an already limited definition of their community.

So who are we as commuters?

Posted via web from EcoStreets on Posterous

Jake S told me that bus passengers often get conned out of money for bus fare by the drunk-and-homeless.

If this has happened to you or someone you love – tell me how it happened in the comments.

It sure does discourage me from taking the bus around the university. It should be a safe place, or the safest place, to take the bus.

I was rooting around the RTC website for inspiration for more how-to videos, and found that they don’t have a map for their bus pass vendors. Well, here you go! Enjoy.

What else can you do?

- Let Google know that you want the “Add Destination” option on public transit searches. Currently, it’s only available for car searches. This option allows you to add stop between your main route so you can plan a more efficient trip.

Make your idea known here: Google Maps Suggestions

- Write a letter to RTC Southern Nevada asking for cell phone text alerts of bus arrival times. That way, you can take your time at the store, coffee shop, or where ever you happen to be without worrying about missing the your bus. Also, you’ll neve be stranded at a stop again because of bus malfunctions or traffic congestion.

RTC Southern Nevada
600 S. Grand Central Pkwy.
Ste.. 350
Las Vegas, NV 89106
Phone: 702-676-1500
Fax: 702-676-1518

So here is my attempt at some flash fiction based on a real accident. Every so often I’ll troll the headlines in Vegas papers for crashes and other automobile news to create a piece of flash fiction. I give myself 30 minutes to come up with a story. Please enjoy!

Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, 9:05 a.m.

“Ok so like last night I call up Jason and I’m like ‘Omigod hi Jason!’”
“What’d he say?”
“He was like ‘Hi Jen’”
“And you said?”
“I said hi again. We like said hi for like five minutes, haha!”

“Hey driver watch it! You almost hit that SUV!”
“He smells like the Double Down.”
“What do you know about the Double Down?”

“Ew, that place smells like bacon and tequila.”
“Jennifer! What did Jason say?”
“Oh yeah, so…SHIT!”

“Jen? Jen? JENNY?! Omigod, she’s bleeding! Someone help!”

“Here, tie this strap around your arm to your ruler.”
“Wha? What happened?”
“The bus crashed and your arm got caught between the seat and the wall.”
“Shit, dude. Thanks Doogie.”
“Shut up, dude. I’m gonna help the others.”

“She’s bleeding from her head…she’s, she’s not saying anything.”
“What’s her name?”
“Jennifer. Is she going to be ok?”
“I…I don’t know. The paramedics should be here soon.”
“Didn’t you help that other guy?”
“Yeah I did ok but I’m not a doctor. I can’t…I can’t bandage head injuries.”
“Ok, ok. Sorry. What should we do?
“Wait and don’t panic.”

Original Article

Several universities in the U.S. charge students a nominal fee per semester or year for a free ride on public transportation.

U.C. Berkeley’s fee is $59 per semester to ride the bus and train in and around the university area. Students can take the AC Transit line and the BART to San Francisco, Fremont and Stanford. With what they call the “Class Pass” students also get discounts on other public transportation services in the Bay Area.

According to a Fall 2005 survey, almost 90 percent of students chose to get the Class Pass (which is free but not automatically handed out). Of those surveyed, 31 percent took public transit with a majority walking to campus. But it’s not because they live on campus – more than half of students surveyed lived off-campus.

What’s more, a little less than half have a car that they use primarily for shopping and recreation. Which means that students are actually choosing to use alternative modes – walking, biking, and busing.

Although there aren’t any specific figures, an April 2009 publication from the parking and transportation department at the university estimated that over 90 percent of students and 50 percent of faculty and staff took alternative transport.

The Class Pass program was established in 1998 and was voted on in 2006 to continue for another seven years.

UNLV can take notes from Berkeley on how to, first of all, conduct a survey (the research department offers cash prizes for respondents) and go about implementing a program to promote sustainable transit.

I’d also note that what people say versus what they’d actually  do can be worlds apart. When you ask a student, “Would you take the bus if it were free?” they may say no, but once you actually give them that choice, they’ll start thinking economically. Read “Nudge” by Thaler and Sunstein to learn about the glorious contradictions within each of us and how we can be nudged to do the right thing.

The subsidized fee for students is one of many options that UNLV has at its disposal to encourage students, faculty and staff to start taking alternative transit. What other ways can you think of?

Publications Cited
UC Berkeley Fall 2005 Student Transportation Survey (external PDF)
UC Berkeley Current and Future Sustainability Programs

Bogotá, Colombia, is a city of almost 8 million inhabitants. Very limited urban planning and a historic lack of infrastructure development resulted in public transit woes. Getting around in Bogotá can be tough, but the city has done a great job in recent years in improving public transportation and making the city more navigable.

Here are some ways that people get around in Bogotá.

Read the rest of this entry →

UNLV Transit Hub Study Part 1

There’s no question that a lot of people live and work around UNLV. Looking at the numbers of the RTC’s study, without a doubt this is a busy core. And it’s not just people driving around, it’s also people walking around, biking around, and getting off in front of the university.

Students commuting to UNLV tend to live to the southeast stretching out to the 215 South. It’s a wonder then why there hasn’t been more development transportation wise in this direction. There is 200 space Park & Ride lot just south of the airport, but that’s already within five miles of the university. And we all know how long it takes the buses to travel five miles (link).

Those are all interesting facts, but the success of the proposed Transit Hub, wherever it shall fall, is the implementation of the Maryland Parkway BRT plus other Park & Ride facilities in the southeast. In another study, the Mission Group proposed this layout for the BRT and Park & Ride facilities (from the Fixed-Guideway Transit for the Las Vegas Region Presentation) :

ACE BRT plan

(Interestingly, this study recommended a light rail system but the RTC went with bus rapid transit instead because of price concerns. For an awesome analysis of BRT versus Light Rail, see Yuri Popov’s, physics professor at University of Michigan, post.)

And of course, the success of both the Transit Hub and BRT line depend upon a revitalization of the corridor – i.e. Midtown UNLV. But with the dissolution of the Clark County Redevelopment Agency, everything is very much up in the air.

The next stop is the Maryland Parkway BRT study. Please forgive the delays, but you see, I am but one person reading through thousands of pages.

I was walking and talking with a planner at the city, Marco Velotta. He said that day he parked his car at the Park & Ride facility by the airport then hopped on the bus to work, in the heart of “old downtown.” In the morning, that’s a 20 minute commute for a 5 mile commute – that could take 15 minutes in a car. Going back in the afternoon, takes about an hour and a half.

This is the unfortunate wall for many denizens to take public transit – it takes too damn long and it’s too damn hot to wait under the hot sun for a bus that you pray will take you to where you want to go.

It’s a huge sacrifice of time and energy. Not only is it impossible to buy tickets at the majority of bus stops, but there are no schedules printed on the signs. Some stops don’t even have a shelter to at least soften the blow of 115 degrees of raw sun. And the frequency of buses could mean waiting 5 minutes or 50.

I drive to work. There isn’t a bus stop near me. I don’t even know that buses come by here. And by the time they’ve built the Park & Ride on Durango (5 minutes from my house), I will be cruising the metro in DC.

So I will gladly give whomever takes the bus to work everyday a hearty handshake- whether it’s because they have no other way of getting around or because it’s a conscious decision. They deserve it, really. They’re the ones saving this dust bowl of a city tons of carbon monoxide emissions, not me.

The new Park and Ride transit facility groundbreaking on Durango and US 95 was held on Wednesday, June 24th.