The Commute [Part I]

Well, it had to happen at some point. And, I figured that Monday was an apt occasion for a posting on how we all get to work. After much pondering, I've realized there is far too much material upon which to comment for one posting, so we're going to have a multi-part series on commuting. Now that I've spent my first few weeks on my new commute here in the District, I thought I might share some observations about my transition from the land of convertible mobile offices (aka: cars in Los Angeles) to the nervous, live-by-the-factory whistle, industrial-era grind of the East Coast.

First of all, let's get this out of the way: I lived without a car for most of my residence in SoCal. That's right. It can be done. I didn't die. The world didn't end...and I actually ended up enjoying my life more without one. I credit WeHo for most of this....more on that later.

Buses

Wow...seriously people. What are your problems with city buses? I really thought this was an L.A. thing, but the attitude out here is almost as bad. People only seem comfortable commuting via car or rail. If you've lived in/spent considerable time in Manhattan, DC and several other Eastern cities, you may have realized that buses are often a faster option. I realize there's something far more romantic about taking a train or subway, especially in DC and L.A. where buses regularly blow oil out the back and light on fire. No, I'm not kidding. But, buses are practical, necessary and often much more inexpensive forms of transport for any quality city.

Wow, Monday sure as hell put me in a dark mood.

L.A. and DC have a very sad bus situation, mostly due to severe underfunding. I used to ride the #2/302 down Sunset Blvd in L.A., which we would refer to as the "Nanny Line." Seriously, 90% of the daily ridership were domestic laborers for exhausted, overworked housewives in Beverly Hills and Bel Air (In case you're wondering...yes...I'm being very sarcastic here). The Sunset line was so overcrowded that, during peak hours, riders would have to watch at least 3 or 4 buses pass their stop without stopping because they were packed to the gills.

In the District, the disparity in service between the Metro Rail (subway) and the Metro Bus, is especially sad because, as is almost always the case in the District, Congress controls transit funds. What does this mean? Congress is usually much more willing to dump billions into the Metro Rail because it's geared toward the suburbs in places like Virginia (where many of the...ahem...Republicans actually live). But, they put practically nothing into the bus system. Honestly, Metro Buses look like after market purchases by the District from developing countries.

So, the message here is to support your local bus service. It definitely presents its challenges (the aromas, the breakdowns, the village crazies who've identified you as their new BFF, etc). But, until a broader, more diverse ridership is invested in the bus system, it'll never improve.

Yea...you thought this blog was going to be all fluff, didn't you? Ha!