350 word version
New to Centre County I was surprised
by the limited scope that bus services offer around Penns Valley. After riding
for a year aboard the efficient, but thinly spread system, fellow passengers
shared some observations.
They said our commissioners have long
sought to expand these ride services. But studying feasibility tests, the managers
don’t believe this will work because commuters enjoy the freedom of driving
their cars and have tight schedules. Driving one’s car may give a sense of
independence, but I wonder how many commuters have conducted self-comparative travel
studies?
For instance, how much do you think you
spend on vehicle maintenance, tires, tolls, bodywork, upkeep, fuel, depreciation,
insurance, violations, parking tickets and meter fees? What about folks who
drive drunk and hurt someone? That decision can prove more costly than the
value of a new car.
Besides these much unconsidered
factors, folks who don’t ride buses miss out on other enhancements: Riding the
bus helps ease road rage. Neighbors get to know each other better and discuss
community issues. We listen to educational recordings and music. We conduct
business and hold undistracted phone calls, while cloud watching transported-daydreamers
contemplate curious mindbenders, concoct riddles and share fitting bus witticisms.
Spring brings photo ops with
wildlife watching. Just last week two passengers shared stories about their
smiling spring bear encounters. These options give riders broad opportunities
to smooth out and balance our characters, with wholesome fun more apparent now then
compared to when we drove home alone.
Bus services now even provide
convenient aps, which indicate if they’re running on time. They discount seniors,
children and the disabled. On rare breakdowns, fresh drivers soon appear with relief
buses or vans. In a social experiment for their new rapid transit system Provo,
Utah’s Transit Authority increased their ridership five-fold in the first
month. Riders generally become comfortable with using buses after simply trying
them out a few times. When more folks here decide to become part of the traffic-jam
and pollution solutions, the higher bus demand will then open expanded routes
with frequenter stops.
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