I rode the bus yesterday... the 12:08 #9 fronm West Asheville. It was on time (or reasonably close) as it arrived near the end of my street on Brevard Road. The bus was nearly empty on the way into town. I think I was the third on, and there were eight by the time we crossed the river. That was fine by me. Some lady had a big plastic bag with a singing toy inside. Ooh, I hate singing toys. I hate toys that make noise. I like musical instruments, and I like some videogames, pinball machines, etc. But talking dolls and junk like that, uh. That just gets under my skin and makes me want to leave the area. Thankfully, I had the iPod.

The return trip was a different story, though. Shortly after three, Walter and I hailed the #9 as it arrived on Clingman Ave. The bus so full that we sat apart. That's fine by me; I'm glad that people are riding the bus. Does Asheville Transit keep statistics on ridership, broken down by hour? I'd be curious to see those. Sherry rode the bus yesterday also, to and from work, and described a full bus on the morning ride.

Walter, Sherry, and I all managed a carfree day yesterday. Hooray!

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette

I have noticed a curious habit of one of the bus drivers. This is on the 8:30pm route that goes down Haywood Rd. toward Deaverview. The first time it happened, we left the station on time, then when we got to the Ingles stop a few people got off, including the driver. I thought, hmm, what's up? Then I smelled cigarette smoke and I caught on that the driver was taking a cigarette break. I waited for a few more minutes, got tired of waiting, and especially got tired of breathing cigarette smoke, and got out and walked the rest of the way. My normal stop was a block or so up at the corner of Brevard Rd.

I had almost forgotten this anomaly when I rode the night bus this week. But sure enough, when we got to Ingles, no one got on or off, but the driver stopped the bus, got out, and started his cigarette break. This time I was fast on the uptake and hopped right out and walked the rest of the way.

I guess the driver has time to kill because he is ahead of schedule, but this cigarette break seems weird. It's really the only unprofessional behavior I've seen since I've been riding the bus. (Behavior on the part of the drivers I mean!)

bridge open again

News item, per the Citizen-Times: the Brevard Road bridge over I-240 is open.

contain yourself

I rode the 10:35 #1 in from Ffax/Hay. today, and if the ride was uneventful from a logistical standpoint, it was made interesting through a nice conversation I had with Ron. Thanks, Ron. I'm glad you were on the bus today.

Otherwise we just were a metal box full of people, shoulder to shoulder, jerking and bumping our way into downtown.

Word on the streets is that Asheville Transit buses stopped running early on the day before Thanksgiving, with no posting. Some riders reported that drivers told them on the way into town that service would end early. Another rider told Sherry that he had no idea that service would end early, and he arrived at the bus station late Wednesday and had to call someone for a ride. That is messed up.

Here's a rip-- the Brevard Road bridge over I-240 is closed. Yep, closed. It's been half-closed for two weeks now, and the A C-T reports that the bridge is completely closed but will reopen soon. This is my usual bridge for car access to I-240. While I don't travel over the bridge on a bus route, likely #9 will avoid my neighborhood entirely (both incoming and outgoing) because the bridge is part of the quickest route between my area and the Biltmore Square Mall. That means I will ride #1, and walk half a mile to get to a bus stop. So be it.

A great day for a drive

We walked outside to meet the bus this morning, in the snow and cold. Cars were creeping along Brevard Road. That was for the best-- the road was almost covered with ice. When we reached the stop, a nice pedestrian woman asked us if we were planning to catch the bus. We admitted to that, and she told us that she called Asheville Transit to find out that the buses were not running. We went back to the house. I phoned them twice (busy signals both times). We got into my car, and I drove downtown.

The roads were indeed slippery, particularly Brevard and Haywood Roads. I-240 was not so bad. I expected the streets downtown to be worse, but the few that I used were safe. I did not see any wrecks.

Oh, and I saw an older guy standing near the corner of Haywood and Brevard Road. He was hoping to go south on Bre., which was not my direction. This fellow put out a hitchhiker's thumb when he saw a Mountain Mobility van coming his way. The van just kept going.

To quote the Mountain Mobility website: "Our mission is to provide transportation services responsive to the needs of Buncombe County residents."

Ouch.

All this leaves me wondering about Asheville Transit's inclement weather policy.

Packed Like Sardines and Rambling About Owls

Yesterday we were packed like sardines into the #1 10:35a.m. bus. People were standing in the aisles and those of us who were sitting were touching, whether we liked it or not. It strikes me that there are very few public situations where we are this close to strangers. It's especially rare for us small-town people...crowds are few and far between.

Before I got on the bus, there was one young man at my bus stop. He kept me informed about when the bus should get there. "5 minutes till the bus; 4 minutes till the bus; 3 minutes till the bus..." You get the idea. Just before the bus came, he got a new idea for a conversation topic and showed me a dollar bill. He said there was an owl in the corner and that symbolized some evil something or other...it involved secret societies and satan and sacrifices and what not. When the bus came, this guy got on first and sat in the front. Mercifully, the bus hadn't filled up yet and there were seats in the back, which is where I gratefully headed.

Today it is so cold, I was glad to carpool in rather than standing outside in 20 degree weather. I will ride the bus home, though. If I catch the 5:30 I won't have to walk all the way down Brevard Rd. I can already see that riding in the winter is going to take some gritty determination.

rain, on top of it all

We waited for the 8:08 #9 this morning in a steady rain. Nearby there was a huge puddle in the road. Each car would drive through the puddle, which would spray water up onto someone's front yard. It would drench that entire front yard, over and over again. I am so lucky that the bus stop is not beside that puddle.

News From the Asheville Transit Authority

This looks like it is new news on the Asheville Transit website, although there is no date on it.

NEWS
Asheville Transit Receives Green Training
The Asheville Transit System (ATS) has been selected by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to receive special training to green operations. The FTA hired Virginia Tech faculty to work with ATS staff in developing a complete Environmental Management System (EMS) using the 14001 Standard of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The 14001 Standard is a toolbox of management techniques to minimize harm to the environment. “This training will lay the foundation to make ATS one of the greenest transit operations of its size,” said Mariate Echeverry, Interim Transit Manager for ATS. “We are going to look at every aspect of the way we conduct our operations to minimize the impact on the environment, and run more efficiently.”
Asheville is one of 7 transit systems to be included in the FTA-funded training. The other seven are the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Maryland Transit Administration, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Miami-Dade Transit, and, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority.

Whatever Float They Boat

Overheard on the bus ride home last night:

A young man and (I'm guessing) his younger brother. There was a mention of some clubs we had passed.
Little brother: "They like to be bit!!!??"
Older brother: "Whatever float they boat!"
The next phrase I heard was "massacre-ist"!

Then the guy sitting across from us, who had been laughing randomly on and off for quite awhile, was trying very hard to make friends with a pretty young woman...he told her how beautiful she was...how wonderful her skin was. He found out all about where she worked. He asked if she'd had a good day at work. She at first said yes. Then she remembered she had fallen and chipped a tooth. Somehow she did this while trying to photograph a baby. (Personally, if I had fallen and chipped a tooth at work, baby or no baby, there would have been no way it would have slipped my mind and I definitely would not have said I'd had a good day!!) He finally told her his stop was coming up. He got up and stood up in the doorway well ahead of time and did a silent dance to the beat of his own drummer.

stretching out

#1 bus this morning, arriving downtown at 10:55. I got on near the corner of Fairfax and Haywood. Near the back of the bus, there was a bum-looking old guy sleeping one off. He was lying across two seats, and his belongings covered a third. I was the last one off the bus. Nobody woke him up. A few people tried.

I wonder if the driver woke the guy up, or what.

Later, I saw him in the bank. He was counting his money.

Kudos to Asheville Transit Drivers

Hail to the Bus Driver
The passengers applauded as the aeroplane touched down,
But no-one claps the driver of the bus to Blanchardstown.
He pulls up to the bus-stop, but there’s no-one there reacts,
He doesn’t get the kudos that the airline man attracts.
So next time that the fifty five pulls into Heuston Station,
Let’s give the poor old driver a magnificent ovation.

by Peter Goulding
http://petesholidaypoems.blogspot.com/2007/08/hail-to-bus-driver.html

I was trying to find a little ditty to celebrate the bus driver and found this one with an Irish flavor.

I realized I hadn't really said anything in praise of the Asheville Transit drivers yet in my blog. But since I've been riding the bus, the drivers have been great. Always professional, competent, calm...

So thanks, Asheville transit drivers! Kudos and a "magnificient ovation" to ya!

the credit crisis

There is bad news for public transit in the most recent edition of USA Today.

You can read the whole article here.

After you've read that, I highly recommend that you take a look at Bus Chick's angle on the subject. Be sure to read Bus Chick's October 24 post.

A Quiet Rainy Friday on the Bus

Very quiet on this bus this morning. I wasn't ready til 8:15, so I dashed out the door in the drizzle. I took an umbrella, but still felt surprisingly light. I was sure the Brevard Rd. bus had already gone by, since it was so late. Just as well. I wanted to walk up to West End Bakery and get a muffin anyway. I can then catch the #1 bus right across the street. As I was walking, at 8:18, the Brevard Rd. bus passed me. Told ya before, it's really variable!

So the rain had all of us quiet this morning. The only flurry of sound was when we started into Pisgah View, I saw someone running for the bus. No one else saw her, not even the driver!! This was so exciting for me...I pointed and said, "Hey, (sputter, sputter)"...or something like that. Fortunately a young man looked, and then yelled: "Someone's trying to catch the bus." So an older lady in a green raincoat and carrying a red umbrella caught up with us. And all was quiet again.

After I got to work I realized why I had felt so light this morning. I didn't bring the leftovers that I had intended to eat for lunch! Fortunately, Ken (it's his day off) and Walter were coming into town, so they brought them to me!

Who Says Americans Won't Ride Mass Transit? (article)

I saw this article from Salon posted on a bus-riding blog that I just found. Here's the link:

http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/10/23/mass_transit_america/index.html

The blog I found it on is called Bus Chick, Transit Authority. Isn't that a great name! The link to that blog is in the list of blogs at right. (She's in Seattle).

Blizzard Tech Guy, Loud Pater Familias and a Soggy-Bottomed Purse

This is Thursday and I haven't driven my car at all this week. Monday was the first time that I rode the bus at 8:30 at night and walked down Brevard road by myself in the dark. But it was okay. It looks like I can also ride the bus tomorrow. So, a full week of bus riding. Woo-hoo!

We missed the Brevard Road bus on Tuesday. We got out there around 8:08 I think. We always shoot for 8:00. We saw it going past just as we got out of the house. This bus is really variable. Sometimes it is there by 8:08. But sometimes, like Wednesday morning, it was 8:18! Anyway, missing it isn't such a big deal, because we still have plenty of time to walk up to Haywood Rd. and catch the #1 at 8:35. The only drawback, when we do that, is that we are a few minutes late to work.

Each group of passengers gives the day's bus ride a different flavor. Tuesday evening's ride was loud, mainly due to BlizzardTech guy. He is a regular rider and has a very sonorous voice. It's really quite a beautiful voice. Unfortunately, what he chooses to talk about is usually pretty annoying. Tuesday he spent most of the ride complaining that his nipples were sore because someone had twisted them. (His off button needed to be twisted!) Anyway, I wish someday he would break out into an uplifting speech (or an a cappella solo) of some sort. He was rapping one time, but again, the subject matter left a lot to be desired.

The other morning we were regaled by a loud Pater Familias. We learned that he has 8 kids. The youngest, who is 18, goes to Asheville High, where Pater Familias had been called in recently to take care of something. He also has 8 grandkids. One of the little kids on the bus came and sat by him and Paterfamilias kept insisting: "Get yo thumb out yo mouth."

The same morning of the Paterfamilias, one of the young women hauled her toddler onto the bus, carrying him by one arm.

A few of the rides this week have been totally quiet. I still haven't gotten to the point where I read during the commute. Maybe the novelty will wear off soon, but so far it is fun to people watch and to overhear (otherwise known as eavesdropping--but when people are yelling is it really eavesdropping?)

And finally, this morning, I was walking down the street. My leg started feeling a little damp. It turns out that my water bottle was leaking inside my cloth purse and dripping out onto the sidewalk. It's the middle of the day and my pants are still damp. My purse is still wet. All the junk inside my purse is damp. All the little receipts and papers that litter my purse are wet beyond recognition!

Purple Transit: LaZoom at LEAF

Well, even though we aren't taking public transportation to get to LEAF there are at least two of us in the car and once we get there we are riding the shuttle from the Owen Middle School parking lot on out to LEAF...not exactly mass transit...nor is it public transit, but better than a bunch of cars with one or two people in them all converging out at LEAF. Their shuttle is none other than our own LaZoom, the big purple bus (biodiesel!) that we see downtown all the time. We watched LaZoom being conceived and researched at the library so feel sort of like godparents or maybe aunts and uncles! It's like a festive lounge inside.

Almost Off the Wagon, Into the Car

Oh boy. This week has not been much of an alternative transportation week for me. On Monday, I felt rotten and it was my late day at work, plus I went in even later because of feeling bad. So I drove. This was the first time I had driven alone to work since I started this experiment!

Tuesday we both rode the bus. Wednesday, we did carpool in together, but I had to shop after work for my job this year at LEAF. So Ken took the bus home, while I burned gas. Thursday I was off work to spend the day with my daughter, Kimzey! That was wonderful, but we did have some places to go by car that weren't on the bus route. Animal Haven, to see the pigs, for one thing! (That's Kimzey in the picture!) Then, to burn the final few gallons of gas, I drove to Marion to pick up my son, Nathan. This morning, Ken and I drove in together, but I'll be leaving at 1:30. To use more gas.

Speaking of driving, I really hadn't been used to driving much in town for a month or so, and it seemed crazy yesterday being behind the wheel in what seemed like lots of traffic. Stopping, starting...where did all that traffic come from!?

I have high hopes that next week will be more normal and that I will be back to bus riding most of the days.

bus for LEAF?

The LEAF festival is this coming weekend, near Black Mountain. Will The Asheville Transit buses be making trips to the shuttle stops for LEAF?

LEAF can be a fun weekend, but as day visitors know, parking at LEAF can be very difficult. I bet there will be hundreds if not more than a thousand Ashevillians making a day trip to LEAF.

So, what's the plan? Drive to LEAF and use the shuttle? Or take a city bus out to the shuttle point, then pick up the (free) LEAF shuttle? I think a bus trip out to LEAF would be nice.

Bit of Biker News from The New York Times

Buried in the Bailout Bill is a teeny benefit meant to encourage people to ride their bikes to work:

"Starting next year, employers who provide bike parking, bathing facilities, tune-ups, or other support for bicycle commuting, can deduct up to $20 a month per participating employee from their own taxable income..." http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/buried-in-the-bailout-the-bicycle-commuter-act/

It ain't much. It's really tiny. Maybe even trivial? But as the writer says, it's an acknowledgement and a step in the right direction.

Now for more bike lanes and more careful, responsible, non-hostile automobile drivers!

A Rainy Day on the Bus

Yesterday evening's ride home was interesting. It was rainy and messy. I couldn't leave work early, but I wanted to try to get the 5:30 bus so I wouldn't have to wait half an hour for the next one. At 5:30, I hurriedly scrounged an umbrella from Lost and Found. When I got out to the street, I discovered that the one I had grabbed was in tatters. I ran back in with it, dropped it in a trash can and tried again. The second one had a big hole in it, but even though it too was trash can fodder, I was determined to make it work. I saw the bus pulling in just as I got to the station. I was relieved, but a bit wet, especially the bottoms of my pant legs and this dampened my mood.

When the moms and kids got on from the daycare center, there was at least one young mom in a very bad mood. There were a lot of loud, sharp reprimands to the little ones. I can certainly identify, because when my kids were little, I had my frazzled moments. I probably never yelled this at my 3-year-old, however: "Wipe yo' damn face." I might have thought it, but never yelled it. When they got to their stop, the mom hoisted her son up by the neck of his jacket (scruff of the neck springs to mind) and yanked him off the bus. She told her other little one to jump.

We zoomed on down Haywood Rd. Suddenly, I was knocked in the head. "Sorry lady," the young woman behind me said, lurching over me to hit the yellow "next stop" strip. I said, "You could have asked me to hit it for you." I doubt she heard.

I wonder if all rainy days on the bus are like this?

cars and buses

Yesterday I drove the car. I saw no way around it; the boy had a scouts meeting at 6:00. I picked him up at 5:45, and whisked him straight to the meeting. Whilst he met, I ran in North Asheville. After that, we went straight home.

Today's another story. After putting the boy on the school bus at 7:30ish, I walked home, got my act together, and made it to the bus stop at 8:10. The bus was late! I wish I could have known! In my haste to leave, I may have left some unfinished bidness in the house. Today was my first day to flash my County ID. I stepped up onto the bus and showed the ID. The Asheville Transit bus driver knew exactly what was up. He waved me onto the bus without even a pause.

Sherry is catching a ride home.

I'm happy about this: I will get my sports fix tonight. Then I will either bum a ride or run back to the west side.

Weather has been so nice lately. I wonder if our busriding habits will fall off during the winter. I hope not, but I expect that the prospect of standing outside in 20/30/40 F weather sounds a lot more pleasant than it is.

I heard about this nonprofit on NPR today. See what you think.

Three Weeks and How's It Going?

It's been 3 weeks now, so I think it is time for some reflection about how my experiment is progressing. I'm pleased to say that, as far as work goes, I have succeeded so far. I've managed to ride the bus or carpool every day. Adapting to the bus schedule has become much less chaotic!


Leisure activities on weekends are harder. For instance, I wanted to see Obama in Asheville this Sunday. I would gladly have ridden the bus, but there is no bus service on Sunday. So I did drive to that. I parked a mile away, but still, I drove my car into town. I also combined two shopping trips with it. I would have combined one more, but Amazing Savings is not open on Sunday. I am having serious Amazing Savings withdrawal, but I'm probably saving money by not rushing out every few days to Amazing Savings to see what I can buy to save money!

Having my consciousness raised about how much I use a car is a real drag. I really don't like to think about it. At the same time, I am happy to be using public transportation. I just wish it were a little more convenient. For me, it couldn't be cheaper, now that I can flash my county ID and get a free bus ride! So that's great!

Here is a link to an Asheville bus entry on a blog that Ken found: http://hightechsurvivor.blogspot.com/2007/06/better-than-no-bus-at-all.html

relaxed Friday

It's been a good week for getting around. The van has been idle in the driveway since Sunday (Desperate Housewives airs on Sundays).

First, the bus riding: Tuesday and Wednesday were bus-riding days. I'm getting the hang of riding #9 from Brevard Road. It's a shame there's not a bus stop near the house, but the drivers are always very nice, and they stop for us.

I've used the Corolla a bit, but not to get to work. Tuesday I drove it a few miles to a ride-share. We meet at a spot, then carpool down to Fletcher to play some volleyball. We would play in Asheville, but Asheville Parks and Recreation saw fit to cancel the league games here. On the one hand, driving to Fletcher burns a lot of gas. On the other hand, we managed to pack nine adults into two vehicles. I put about six more miles on the Corolla just going back and forth to the carpool spot.

Oh yes, here's another 100+ miles I had forgotten about... Sherry and Nathan went to Franklin yesterday. They took the Corolla. Well, it's better than driving the van.

I'm happy to have the day off today.

I put perhaps another six miles (I'm guessing) on the Corolla today. I was invited for a panel discussion at Erwin Middle School. Surely there's no way to get to EMS without driving (I've never seen a runner on New Leicester Highway. I value my health and life too much to run that road). I drove out there and back. It was a lot of fun.

Speaking of running, I went out for a run in West Asheville around noon. I usually run early in the morning, but today looked like a good day for a later run (temp this morning was 37 F). The temperature at 11:30 was fine, but the traffic, geez. I did not remember the traffic being so bad in WA that time of day. Please, if you see a runner in the road, treat him like a cyclist. Give him a wide berth. If he's on the sidewalk or in a crosswalk, realize that he's a pedestrian.

Drivers usually ignore the crosswalks on Haywood Road, particularly the one near Burgermeister. Folks, this is a state law. Drivers must stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Having said that, Pedestrians, hear me: don't plan on ANY drivers stopping at the Burgermeister crosswalk for you-- for practical purposes, it may as well not exist.

I walked up to Haywood Road (I am blogging this from the West End Bakery--the Chocolate/Ginger muffin is tasty), where I can combine a lot of errands. It's a crisp, sunny day--ideal for a walk, a perfect fall day. It's sunny and cool. The trees on Vermont Ave. still have their leaves, but not for long. All in all, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Do you live in a neighborhood? I recommend you take a walk through it.

Be careful in the crosswalks.

Thanks, Buncombe County!

Good news for Buncombe County employees! Starting next week we can ride the bus for free. I'm like a kid at Christmas, even though I just spent $15 for an October bus pass. I'll consider that $15 a donation for a good cause.


So if any Buncombe County employee on a bus route reads this blog, I challenge you to try riding the bus a few times and see what you think. Have a positive attitude and give it a chance! Also, if you're not a Buncombe County employee, why not start asking your employer if he/she will provide you with a bus pass! A nice, relatively inexpensive perk that is socially responsible!

I am leaving carbon footprints all over the place today, as I am driving for the first time in awhile. I am off work and am going to visit my Mom in Franklin. I hope I can find gas. I tried at Sams, which had regular, but when I got to the pump, I found out my membership is out of date and I don't really want to renew. I'll get back on the bus tomorrow.

burning that gas

Saturday:

Yesterday, we set out to buy groceries. We really tried to see if it could be done via bus. Amazing Savings? Only if you're willing to walk 1/2 mile to the store, and 1/2 mile back to the bus stop with your groceries. For us, that would have meant three bus passes to get there, and three bus passes to return home (I bought eleven passes for seven dollars). Mind you, we would also have to take a bus to downtown (a twenty or thirty minute trip that would take ten minutes in the car), and another bus to Sweeten Creek Road. Needless to say, any savings that we might realize at the store would be offset by the cost of the bus tickets @ 6(7/11)= $3.82. I know that tickets for children are available at reduced cost, but I had none on hand. I'm not about to estimate the time required for such a trip. Three hours? Four hours or more, probably.

We swung by Earth Fare next, but the best path happens to be via the river and then up Craven Street. Luckily we were in no hurry. We stopped for at least five minutes, probably ten minutes, for a train. I enjoyed looking at all the boxcar graffiti, but honestly it would have been very annoying had we been in a hurry.

Sunday:

For entertainment in the morning and early afternoon, we walked over to Vermont Avenue for their annual (?) block party. We don't live on Vermont, which is one of the prettiest streets in West Asheville, but we live close enough that we could sneak in. I highly recommend the annual block party. If your neighborhood doesn't have one, start one. Cakewalk! Bag toss! Ping pong! Live music and a bicycle parade! I laughed; I cried. Well, I actually didn't cry.

The Asheville Transit Authority does not run buses on Sundays. So, with a child due to return to his mother's house at 4 PM Sunday, what's a man to do? I cranked up the Toyota and headed over to Montford.

I'm blogging from Asheville Pizza and Brewing on Merrimon Avenue; after the evening here, I will drive home.

After all, while most of the Asheville gas stations are out of gas, I still have half a tank. For the time being.

Watching the Hummers

We walked in the rain a lot yesterday. But it was warm and we had an umbrella, so I loved it. While walking down Brevard Rd. a man in a huge RV stopped us and asked for directions. During this gas crisis I wonder if he was even getting 10 miles to the gallon. Then when we were waiting at the bus stop we watched a Hummer go past. A wonderful car to have when gas is scarce!

We didn't go totally carless yesterday. Ken did get in his car last night and go a few miles to buy a tv antenna so we could watch the Obama/McCain debate. We had walked to the thrift store earlier to try to get an antenna there, but no luck!

We are driving some today but consolidating several trips into one. My car hasn't been driven since at least last Saturday. Not sure we even drove it then.

Workless and Carless

No work today but we are still going to try for a carless day. We have walked up to the bakery. Will ride the bus to pick up Walter from school.

Yesterday for the first time I walked home from work. I had to stay till 6 and didn't want to wait for the 7:30 bus. The walk was 3 1/2 miles, and I got home before the bus would have gotten me there.

Why Don't "Conservatives" Conserve?

Lean times at work today. Only those staff who could get to work without driving were supposed to come in. So there are just 3 of us in the department today. (One person did use a car, but rode in with someone who worked downtown.) Then, we are closed for the rest of the week, at least through Monday.

We discovered that the bus will stop for us on Brevard Rd. even though there are no official bus stops. Very good to know!

Walter actually rode the school bus this morning. When he's with his mom he has been walking with her to school. (I have asked him to write a guest blog for me...don't know if that will happen, but I'm hoping!)

I bought an October bus pass this morning when I got to the transit station. My ticket to unlimited comings and goings for the month. I will flash it proudly.

On the way in I was thinking back to the beginnings of the Bush presidency when Dick Cheney had those secret energy task force/ policy meetings where the public was not allowed to know who was there...and of course we assumed there were no alternative energy people there, just oil company cheerleaders...It was also around the same time period that Cheney said that conservation is fine as a personal virtue, but shouldn't be the basis for an energy policy. But you know what, I do think it should be one of the foundations of an energy policy. Sustainability should be another foundation.

As to conservation: I really don't care if you are virtuous or not, we all need to conserve energy and not act like we are the only people on this Earth. If we develop habits to conserve, then we conserve...We might not like it, but the right and moral thing gets done. The way things are now, what got done from the Bush/Cheney policy is that oil industry tycoons and stockholders got richer and richer and richer. For years and years I didn't think much about conserving. I drove too many miles...I just didn't think about any alternatives to jumping in the car. Finally the price of gas and a shortage of gas has made me try to conserve. Habits are hard to break.

Why are conservatives called conservatives if they don't believe in conservation?

Counting Cars

This morning was CALM getting ready to catch the bus. And I hadn't planned the night before. I just got up earlier! I'm learning, slowly.


We were early to catch the bus this morning and the bus was about 10 minutes late. The paper finally ran an article (of sorts) about riding the bus. It was a little blurb reporting that buses were late today because lines of cars filled with people trying to buy gas are blocking the streets. I believe it, because that's what I saw when we were riding home last night. Cars were even blocking an intersection near one of the gas stations.


Since we were early, I counted cars while I waited at the bus stop. I stopped when I got to 120. In my unscientific count, there were 100 cars with just 1 adult in them; there were 20 cars with more than 1 adult. I have to say that two weeks ago, I was in a car with just 1 adult. But I am trying to change my habits. I really thought, with everyone panicking about a gas shortage, that I would have seen more carpoolers. I did see more people on bicycles. And there was actually another person at the bus stop with us.

Here are some things on my wish list for Asheville:

A transit system with more options--longer hours, buses more frequently, more bus stops.
Buses that use alternative fuel
A county-wide transit system
More sidewalks
More bike lanes and bike paths
Citizens and leaders who believe in making alternative public transportation a priority.

To Panic or Not to Panic

To follow up from Friday.

I have a wonderful boss and a wonderful co-worker and they both said, "Leave 10 minutes early to catch your bus." So I did! Everyone I emailed regarding a ride at the last minute responded, but none were going my way at the right time.

Back to carpooling Monday morning. I planned, planned, planned the night before. Ironed my clothes. Made my lunch. Put some items in the car already. Still, I had to put my contacts in at the Y and bring my breakfast with me...Sigh...a sad scramble.

The gas situation seems to be worse instead of better. Long lines at the stations that do have gas. Many do not have gas in the Asheville area. Waynesville and Franklin had gas this weekend at much lower prices than Asheville.


Today's carpooling was a little calmer. Partly because I planned the night before...partly because the clock in the living room that I thought was 5 minutes fast had been set to the correct time and I didn't realize that I needed to be panicking!


Speaking of panicking: Panicking seems to be the order of the day. Many stations are out of gas; there have been fights at at least one station; otherwise calm people are scrambling to top off their gas tanks...Our local paper runs articles about all this panicking, but has yet to run an article about conserving, carpooling, riding the bus, bicycling or walking to work. (Or if they have run this article it hasn't been on the front page and/or I haven't seen it.)

It is scary to think of not being able to get to where you want/need to go. We need "green" alternative transportation methods so badly. Does anyone really believe that gasoline supplies are going to last forever...that "drill, drill, drill" is what our energy policy should be? (Actually I'm afraid lots of people believe this.)

Spilt Milk Angst and Flexibility Woes

So, if you were driving down Brevard Road this morning at 8:21 am, you might have seen me trotting to the bus stop, piece of apple pie in one hand, travel coffee mug in the other, trying to have breakfast on the run. My hair was NOT brushed and my contacts were NOT in and the food didn't taste as good as it does when I'm sitting down! I was afraid I might not make it to the bus stop in time, but turns out I had 4 minutes to spare! I brushed my hair when I got there. Couldn't quite get my contacts in though.


As the bus started pulling away, a young woman came running from the grocery store with a bunch of filled grocery bags. The driver picked her up. She scrambled onto the bus and said, "You could have helped me." I wasn't sure who she was talking to. I thought maybe someone she knew on the bus. After she got off at her stop, her milk had leaked onto the next seat. (A nice person helped with her bags getting off the bus.) Then I started feeling guilty. Had she been talking to me in particular? Of course any of us should have jumped to help her. But she didn't seem to be struggling...she seemed to be managing...but then I thought, man she had already bought groceries this morning before I had even brushed my hair. I will be more aware next time. (She had eggs in the bags too. I hope they made it home.)

The bus filled up again.

Now for the flexibility problem: I need to stay at work till 6pm this evening. A bus going my way leaves at 6pm. It would take me 10 minutes to get to the bus stop. The next one does not leave until 7:30. Sometimes I wouldn't mind hanging out in town for 1 1/2 hours, but since this time I didn't arrange to have anyone to hang out with, I'm not too thrilled with the idea. I emailed some folks from the Share the Ride site to see if it would be possible to get last minute rides out of town...so far no luck, but hey, I still have an hour or so before the hour of reckoning!

It's the end of the work week and I have met my goal for the week...through carpooling and Asheville Transit. It took some adjustment...but I am looking forward to next week!

Still Striving...

Today was a carpooling day. This getting up earlier and planning has not gotten easier yet, but I am trying not to whine about it! I have to try to actually PLAN at night. Like make the lunch I'm taking to work. I should pick out and iron my clothes the night before, but I am not organized enough to think about what I'm wearing the next day. What if I pick something out at night and then am not in the mood for it the next morning?!

I didn't have time to put my contacts in this morning, so I ran out the door with the case in my hands. By the time we got to the Y, I thought I had lost them but found them in the back seat. I only had 15 minutes at the Y to actually do anything, but, hey, I got a great shower!

Our parking deck is awful right now. All the workers on it are wearing masks. I did not have a mask. Riding the bus is nice this week so we don't have to deal with the parking deck construction.

I put two new links on the blog. Strive Not to Drive NC and Blue Ridge Commuter Connections. I'm curious if carpoolers really are able to connect on the Strive Not to Drive site.

Carless Day

No live chickens or goats on the bus ride in today. But there was a live cat in a carrier. On the ride home from work I learned that if a guy yells out the window to his brother that he is visiting his PO today, that probably means parole officer, not post office!

Seriously, though, another quite pleasant experience riding the Asheville bus. I almost missed it getting home from work but caught it in the nick of time. Riding the bus involves a lot of walking, I'm finding out. And a heck of a lot of planning, which is not my strong suit. I didn't go straight home and will have a mile and half walk back home, unless I pay another dollar (which I won't). The walking is good for me and it's a beautiful day.

The bus was full both ways today. I had to stand part of the way. I am celebrating this, as it shows that the buses are well-used!!

Here is the link for the Asheville Transit Authority in case anyone is interested.
http://www.ashevillenc.gov/residents/transportation/city_bus/

Here you can see fares, schedules, etc. I learned that some employers participate in a Passport Program so their employees ride for free. I don't believe Buncombe County does this yet, but maybe we could rally Buncombe County employees to persuade them to join.

Beginning

Because of the latest gas crisis (Hurricane Ike, prices in Asheville going way over $4/gallon and many stations with no gas at all) I've decided to make a more conscious effort to conserve gas and to think about how I get from here to there. I'm starting this blog to record my efforts and thoughts.

So, yesterday, Monday, September 15, 2008 I resolved to try to avoid going to work with just one person (me) in the car. That narrowed my options to carpooling, riding the bus, walking or riding my bike. I got a jump start on my resolution on Sunday, when I worked at the West Asheville Branch library, and was able to walk there. (1 1/2 miles). Walking downtown to my normal job, however, would be a bit trickier. So Monday was my late day at work. I decided to ride the bus. I caught it at around 10:30 and got into town at 11. The bus stop is right beside a gas station; this station had no gas at all. I was the only one at the bus stop.

The bus was almost full, which made me happy! Some cute little kids on it. One older black man who had 4 bags of groceries from Ingles. Some people who obviously knew each other yelling back and forth. A basically pleasant experience.

After work, I walked to Asheville Pizza and met Ken and Walter. We ate and all rode home together. My other option, of course, was to ride the bus home. Then I would have had to walk home in the dark (approximately 10 minute walk). Not sure how I feel about this possibility.

I have to confess that this is only my third time riding the bus in Asheville and I've lived in Buncombe County a long time. I'm not proud of my lack of public transport use. One of my excuses is that for a long time I lived where there was no bus service. Another excuse is that I am a pretty typical middle class American in that I like to have the freedom to jump in my car and go wherever I want without thinking about it. So now I'm thinking about it...

Today Ken and I rode in to work together, dropping Walter off at school on the way. The only extra effort on my part was getting up a little earlier. All for a good cause! After work, we'll ride to the Y together, then I'll drop Ken at volleyball and he'll get a ride home later. Then I'll go to some grocery stores that are on the way home...

Tomorrow has the potential to be a carless day. We'll see...