Thursday June 16, 2005
I'll let Herself tell you all about the problems she had last night. I don't mind her calling me at an ungodly you-won't-get-back-to-sleep hour at all. But it is the reason I am dragging my ass slightly today.
Public Transit Considerations: I know there are all kinds of people, some of whom I know and some I know and love, who are adamant that public transit should be chosen over personal automobile operation whenever possible. As a theory this is great. In practice, at least in a city under supplied with the equivalent of Toronto's subway or Montreal's metro, it just doesn't work if your time is valuable.
For instance, while it is true that the bus ride from my place to Carlingwood took about a half-hour and driving the Jeep from the same points would take about the same time (factoring in finding a parking space to be fair), to compare apples to apples would require factoring the waiting times for buses. At this point, the Jeep would win hands down. Except during rush hour, but I wouldn't attempt such silliness unless it was unavoidable.
My conclusion: Public transit only works and is defensible in cities where roads have become so congested that driving is much less efficient and more exasperating than the transit system (of which Toronto and Montreal are examples, while Ottawa remains out of this class).
Therefore: Public transit in Ottawa will only become more popular and economically viable to the majority of residents when it is more efficient and less exasperating than driving yourself. In particular, the transit schedules do not support time-shifted working hours. They seem to be designed to serve the government and commercial office staffing needs. Nurses, doctors and other shift workers (or flex-time tech workers) find themselves with the choice of driving or adding significant time to their commute. Depending on their schedules transit may be entirely out of the question.
This is one of those times that needs an "if you build it, they will come" approach. When changes are made to reduce or alter transit (bus) schedules and routes here in Ottawa the familiar refrain trotted out as justification is that the usage doesn't offset the cost of operation. Poor service results in poorer service results in a further drop in utilization. The corollary would be ... you can reverse it for yourself.
Besides, my experience as a bus rider in Ottawa this past year is that the majority of buses operate much too "jerkily" and navigate street corners far too fast for comfort when traffic is light. Check it out - the riders look like Weebles most of the time.
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