Josh Hallett blogged about his experience on the public transportation system in his part of Florida.
The fact that taking a few buses for a day merits a detailed examination of the experience says something about our dependence on the car (or SUV, or minivan, or pickup truck).
I've spent a few years busing it to university and work, riding my bike and walking. But the majority of my school and work life has involved a vehicle, usually driven solo.
Hallett's experience is not surprising. Trying to fit his consulting travel around the transit system resulted in hours of unbillable time spent waiting in bus depots. Most public transit systems are designed to move large numbers of people during rush hour from the suburbs to downtown, or to industrial parks and college campuses. Movement from one suburb to another is sometimes easy, but often it involves a circuitous route. Setting up meetings, then trying to force fit the transit timetable to match your schedule will usually result in wasted time, which Hallett admits when he writes up his experiment.
In the end, a collision involving the bus he was waiting for caused him to miss his connection, which set off a chain reaction of delays. The result was a four hour bus ride home that would have take about 35 25 minutes by car. (See all of Hallett's postings about his experiment.)
(The "Joshworthy" category this is listed under is an inside joke. See the posting and comments on Hallett's Hyku Blog.)
Wow my own category :-)
Posted by: Josh Hallett | November 30, 2005 at 03:48 PM