Why Public Tranportation is not a right but a necessity

You know what? 'What?' my five faithful blog readers ask in unison.

The San Antonio Via Bus trip planner is an out and out liar! Do you know how I know this, my blog reading quintett? I know this because this "Via trip planner" is the reason that I was a little over twenty minutes late for my first day at my new job.

I left the house at 6:30Am, bus fare in hand. The 648 bus which leaves from my house got me to the transit center on time. The bus that I was supposed to tranfer to also arrived on time, so I was feeling pretty good about the whole 'take the bus thing'.

Soon after I entered the 551 bus, I learned the full extent of the Via trip planners betrayal. See, the trip planner never told me what stop I needed to off at. It did, however, tell me that I would reach my destination at 8:10Am.

Well, at 8:10 am we did NOT reach my destination, we reached a park and ride 10 minutes away by car from my work place. Everyone on the bus was getting off, so, I got off with them and went to the information book at the park and ride center. The woman at the booth told me that I had to get on another bus which would not come until 8:30. This bus would drop me off right in front of my workplace twenty minutes AFTER I was schedualed to come in to work.

There wasn't a whole lot I could do at that point. I called work, told them that I would be late, appologized profussely and settled in for a very nerve wracking bus ride. See, I did not trust the Via bus system to get me where I needed to be. I eventually made it to work, however, my faith in public transportation is severely shaken.

Not ALL public transportation, mind you. This would never have happened in, say, New York City. And it CERTAINLY never happened in London. No, I have a problem with public tranportaion in cities where public transportation as well as pedestrians are looked upon as second teir.

See, in a sad, lonely, car filled place called Texas, the only people who take the bus are homeless, old, work at Mcdonalds or a combination of these things. Thus, it is an afterthought system for "second class" citizens. In Texas, where everyone drives his own pick up, no one really thinks about what happens if said over large vehicle were to spontaneously combust? More than that, what if someone who physically can not drive wants to get somewhere? What if someone simply does not want to drive but preferes to sit and read while others do all the work? Are all these people to be informed by a horribly mismanaged transportation system that they are, in essence, after thoughts? Is someone worth less because he or she does not own a car? Is this the new face of segregation? Will men in pickup trucks next be seen in white sheets running down pedestrians and shouting about 'Vehical Pride'? Discuss....