Originally Posted by
indyfabz
I took the bus to work today. Philly has a pretty extensive commuter rail network to bring people into town from the 'burbs. That is a legacy of once having two major railroads headquartered here. (The Pennsylvania Railroad then Penn Central and the Reading. However, more and more jobs have moved to the 'burbs and in locations that do not allow for a reverse commute by public transit, especially rail.
Last time I tried to take a bus to work, I was living in Orlando FL in the 90s. I WANTED to like the idea. I lived on the far east side of town, office was in the northwest suburbs.
"Wow, wouldn't it be great if I could just sit back and read a newspaper while drinking a coffee and let someone else do the driving." Right??? Wrong.
Problem was, Orlando's buses operated as a "hub and spoke" system. Everything went through downtown. Fine and dandy if you live in the 'burbs and work downtown. But if you want to go from one 'burb to another, first go downtown, then stand around waiting for a bus to go to the other.
Home <-> office was typically 20 minutes by car each way. By bus would have been 2 hrs+. I'd like to "save the planet" as much as the next guy... but I'm not going to give up 4 hrs of my life every day to get there;
Edit: I'd
*LOVE* to see Bike + Public Transport (Bus, Rail, River Barge**, whatever) as a viable option. I've been watching this closely since the 1970s. Seems that we, as Americans, as a whole, have gotten worse rather than better on this.
** = Bicycles on the Canby ferry, not far S of Portland Oregon...
