the bus choice

It's hardly news when everything at Asheville Transit works as it should, but that's what happened this morning. I got on trusty bus #9 on Brevard Road, we rode into town together, and I got to work on time.

I haven't had much time for busriding lately. It does take more time than driving. (Example: this morning I intended to catch the #9 bus, because that requires less walking. I had to be ready at 8:05. Alternative: I could walk about half a mile up to Haywood Road with my heavy bag to catch bus #1; in that case, I would need to be ready at 8:20. If I drive my car, I need to get ready by 8:40). This is played out again and again. If I worked today and drove my car, I could be home by 5:15 or 5:20. Riding the next bus home would mean arriving at home closer to 6:00. It's frustrating. What is a five or ten minute trip by car becomes a half-hour or so trip by bus, and then you figure in the waiting. As Tom Petty sang, the waiting is the hardest part.

I avoided riding the bus all week for one reason or another, mostly because I wanted to go to the Y or I had some other activity planned, and it all made the bus choice (at least in Asheville) impractical. Getting the boy out to his camp location in North Asheville and then whisking myself to work? I haven't tried it yet. Car scenario: leave the house at 8:30, drive him to camp, drive to work. Bus scenario: leave the house at 7:15 (ouch!), walk half a mile, hop a bus to downtown, transfer to a bus going north, kick the boy out of the bus at camp, then ride the bus back to downtown to the job.

By contrast, today was easy. Easy like Saturday morning.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.