Introduction:
This much is certain: Port Authority of Allegheny County will cut 15% of its service June 17, and if several other things do not happen, an additional 10% will be cut in September.
Translation: The sky fell. I told you so, too. Boy, did I. Here's the story behind the story.
Part One: Fifteen years of falling sky.
I am damn tired of saying to fellow riders "The sky is falling" concerning transit cuts. I've been saying it for far too long to too many fellow riders, and pleading with elected leaders to fund transit properly, and to transit officials to do something differently. How long? 15 years. Fifteen years!
Chronology: In September 1992, I testified at public hearings Port Authority held prior to the November 1992 and March 1993 service cuts. This led directly to my joining the Allegheny County Transit Council, the area's citizens' board. In May 1993, I was hand picked by Port Authority top brass to assist in resolving another funding crisis. By the end of 1994 I was ACTC president, at which time I learned a lot of the political side of the annual funding crisis. In early 1995, my home phone number, among others, was printed on tens of thousands of fliers distributed to bus riders to get them fired up about that year's funding crisis.
In 1997 through 2001, ACTC members lobbied Harrisburg annually to resolve funding shortages caused by underperformance of the PURTA tax, passed in 1991 to assist public transit. In 2001, ACTC's patience was tested again when a fare increase was necessary to close a budget gap. In 2002, when it took another fare hike and a hiring freeze to do the same, Save Our Transit was formed, and I was part of it from the first meeting.
I've since been on six of S.O.T.'s 12 trips to Harrisburg, driving the van myself a couple of those times. I've carried picket signs in downpours, windstorms, and near-zero temperatures. I've lobbied Governors Casey, Singel (acting), Ridge, Schweiker and Rendell; Senators Wofford, Specter, and Santorum; and many, many state senators and representatives, and congressmen and women, or their aides, from both my own district and others -- even a few candidates. I've spoken to community groups. I've built websites. I've worked phone chains. I've pounded pavement and ridden thousands of buses, talking to people.
Other people have done more or done it louder than me at various points, but I don't know anyone who's been at it every one of 15 consecutive years. I am damn tired of sounding like Chicken Little and Johnny One-Note, and of being viewed as "Everyone's out of step but Johnny". Well, dammit, Johnny is right, and has been all along.
Part Two: What really needs to be done
There are only three ways out of this dilemma.
Spend more, that is to say, TAX our way out. This isn't going to happen any more in 2007 than it did any of the last 15 years. We can't change the minds of 300 legislators in Harrisburg, especially not if Port Authority itself is giving itself up for dead. We've been clamoring for a dedicated funding source, which would certainly help, but as the events following the 1991 "fix" showed, things change and the source can dry up, so even that is not a sure-fire answer.
CUT our way out? Politicians love to say they created jobs. Well, what good is a job if you can't get to it? Cutting our way out is the way Port Authority is going to go, but it is not the right thing to do.
In addition, a large anti-transit crowd out there is also fond of saying Port Authority is mismanaged and the whole crew should be scrapped. I know better, and know that even if you did that, the new crew would face the same funding issues and alternatives. Also, just so you know, privatizing, partitioning and out-sourcing (i.e., "private-public partnerships") are the same thing as cuts.
No, the only viable, sustainable way out of this mess is to GROW our way out. We need 50,000 more warm bodies to start paying fare regularly who are not now doing that.
To get those people on, we need better rider information technology. It has to be easier to figure out how to use the bus system. There need to be ways to place riding instructions in people's laps, in wholesale quantities, and involuntarily, maybe even unwelcome if need be. Anyone looking for a precedent need only envision a detour sign on a highway. Are they welcome? Never. Are they necessary? Always. Do they work? They'd better. Well, the same needs to happen with transit information. It is simply not being done now, and needs to be. Waiting for people to ask for it is only going to continue the status quo of watching the system shrink.
Helping it shrink is going to make it even harder to sell the idea of transit as a viable option.
I've raised hell enough. It's now time to raise the sky.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
A look back at why I entered grad school (written 11/1995)
The following diary entry from November 30, 1995, on the eve of my formally initiating the process to enter Pitt's Master of Information Science and Technology program, still provides a useful summary of where I intend my life to be going today.
At the time, while home PCs were common, the Internet was only beginning to be put to commercial use. Search engines like Google existed, but there wasn't all that much to search. Personally, I was only about five months into a new job, and though happy to be working and liked the work, I did not feel that it fulfilled my idea of what my life's work was to be.
I've edited out several paragraphs of historical perspective, picking up just as I'm defining to myself what I think my life's work really is.
*
[...] The 1980s flew by without my being involved in [the development of search engines, research databases and computing technology in general], and only vaguely aware of developments. The first half of the 1990s flew by with me being painfully aware of how little I knew and how little I could know. Even a technologist like Roger [co-worker at my previous job] spent all of his time just keeping up with trends. I can't do that; at least I can't see myself doing that. What's the point? I want to use technology, put it to use to help them live their lives better.
[In other words, I did not see it as necessary to spend time understanding each new whiz-bang development.]
Yeah, that's the ticket. If my view of life is valid, then we're here to do useful things with the time we are given. We can acquire lots of material goods (or bads, depending on viewpoint) prior to taking up space under a slab of marble, but it's what we do with our lives that's important. I can't see myself merely helping other people buy stuff [a vague reference to what my employer's purpose was]. That's crap. The only way I'll be remembered on this earth -- the only way any of us will be remembered -- is to make the living of life better.
Just last week were the obits of two inventors who made life better -- one developed the pocket calculator, the other the process for rolling aluminum foil. They were each mostly remembered for that one thing, but in each case, their whole lives were devoted to making life easier or better. Teaching. Nurturing. Mentoring. They didn't just invent one cool widget then sit back and collect the royalty checks. I aspire to do what they did, in my own way. [Nor is it necessary that their names be remembered; it is sufficient to know that the invention had a positive influence.]
As I enter my later 30s, I find myself, as ever, very aware of my "ecological footprint" -- the sum of all the impacts upon this planet that my existence causes. I am, in essence, renting space here from Mother Nature, as we all are, whether we care to admit (or even realize) it or not. And, as any landlady will point out, the place had better be in as good a shape when I leave it as it was when I got here. Taking that one further, one Boy Scout rule is to leave the camp in better shape than how I found it.
This does have application to career plans. I see it as my role in life to instruct others in this point of view: "Yes, people, live your lives, live them happily and comfortably, but remember that you don't own a damn thing, you just rent it, you just get to keep it for a while, then somebody else gets it -- and eventually the ultimate somebody gets it back."
I want to apply my knowledge to help humanity live within its means. I want to be in a situation where I can carry out this vision. I want to have the capacity to devise something that would reduce everyone's ecological footprint, the equal of aluminum foil or the pocket calculator.
Mankind now thrives on information. Actually, what mankind thrives on is two things: information, and raping Mother Nature by consuming all manner of irreplaceable resources to make toys we'll trash today, maybe tomorrow. The specifics vary, and I can't really change the latter, but I can do something about the former. With better information, our lives would be as fulfilling as they are today, without so much need to RMN.
Thus, a personal goal: Get my mind such that it can tackle great information problems. If I can do this, the rest -- position, offers, pay, prestige, ability to influence -- will follow.
Could I or anyone profit from my vision? Hard to say. I do have this scheme for helping people identify transit as a viable option for meeting everyday transportation needs. It's a writable program. If I can envision it, it can be done. Port Authority of Allegheny County needs it. Every metropolitan transit system in the world needs it. But here in Western Pennsylvania, the need is especially important, so much RMN occurs, because of an ingrained lack of the sort of information such a program would provide.
I cannot hope to put an end to suburban sprawl by writing a computer program that would make bus riding easier. However, if I was in the right place, and if the right things were said to the right people at the right time in the right way, there might be a lesser need for sprawl.
Similarly, I cannot hope to put an end to strip-mining Appalachian coal. But I wonder how much less RMN would be necessary if there was a 40-fold increase in recycling of steel and aluminum cans, glass and paper? Less mining, less smelting, less pollution, less landfill space, etc.
At the time, while home PCs were common, the Internet was only beginning to be put to commercial use. Search engines like Google existed, but there wasn't all that much to search. Personally, I was only about five months into a new job, and though happy to be working and liked the work, I did not feel that it fulfilled my idea of what my life's work was to be.
I've edited out several paragraphs of historical perspective, picking up just as I'm defining to myself what I think my life's work really is.
*
[...] The 1980s flew by without my being involved in [the development of search engines, research databases and computing technology in general], and only vaguely aware of developments. The first half of the 1990s flew by with me being painfully aware of how little I knew and how little I could know. Even a technologist like Roger [co-worker at my previous job] spent all of his time just keeping up with trends. I can't do that; at least I can't see myself doing that. What's the point? I want to use technology, put it to use to help them live their lives better.
[In other words, I did not see it as necessary to spend time understanding each new whiz-bang development.]
Yeah, that's the ticket. If my view of life is valid, then we're here to do useful things with the time we are given. We can acquire lots of material goods (or bads, depending on viewpoint) prior to taking up space under a slab of marble, but it's what we do with our lives that's important. I can't see myself merely helping other people buy stuff [a vague reference to what my employer's purpose was]. That's crap. The only way I'll be remembered on this earth -- the only way any of us will be remembered -- is to make the living of life better.
Just last week were the obits of two inventors who made life better -- one developed the pocket calculator, the other the process for rolling aluminum foil. They were each mostly remembered for that one thing, but in each case, their whole lives were devoted to making life easier or better. Teaching. Nurturing. Mentoring. They didn't just invent one cool widget then sit back and collect the royalty checks. I aspire to do what they did, in my own way. [Nor is it necessary that their names be remembered; it is sufficient to know that the invention had a positive influence.]
As I enter my later 30s, I find myself, as ever, very aware of my "ecological footprint" -- the sum of all the impacts upon this planet that my existence causes. I am, in essence, renting space here from Mother Nature, as we all are, whether we care to admit (or even realize) it or not. And, as any landlady will point out, the place had better be in as good a shape when I leave it as it was when I got here. Taking that one further, one Boy Scout rule is to leave the camp in better shape than how I found it.
This does have application to career plans. I see it as my role in life to instruct others in this point of view: "Yes, people, live your lives, live them happily and comfortably, but remember that you don't own a damn thing, you just rent it, you just get to keep it for a while, then somebody else gets it -- and eventually the ultimate somebody gets it back."
I want to apply my knowledge to help humanity live within its means. I want to be in a situation where I can carry out this vision. I want to have the capacity to devise something that would reduce everyone's ecological footprint, the equal of aluminum foil or the pocket calculator.
Mankind now thrives on information. Actually, what mankind thrives on is two things: information, and raping Mother Nature by consuming all manner of irreplaceable resources to make toys we'll trash today, maybe tomorrow. The specifics vary, and I can't really change the latter, but I can do something about the former. With better information, our lives would be as fulfilling as they are today, without so much need to RMN.
Thus, a personal goal: Get my mind such that it can tackle great information problems. If I can do this, the rest -- position, offers, pay, prestige, ability to influence -- will follow.
Could I or anyone profit from my vision? Hard to say. I do have this scheme for helping people identify transit as a viable option for meeting everyday transportation needs. It's a writable program. If I can envision it, it can be done. Port Authority of Allegheny County needs it. Every metropolitan transit system in the world needs it. But here in Western Pennsylvania, the need is especially important, so much RMN occurs, because of an ingrained lack of the sort of information such a program would provide.
I cannot hope to put an end to suburban sprawl by writing a computer program that would make bus riding easier. However, if I was in the right place, and if the right things were said to the right people at the right time in the right way, there might be a lesser need for sprawl.
Similarly, I cannot hope to put an end to strip-mining Appalachian coal. But I wonder how much less RMN would be necessary if there was a 40-fold increase in recycling of steel and aluminum cans, glass and paper? Less mining, less smelting, less pollution, less landfill space, etc.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Why I, an anti-smoker, am against the US Senate tobacco control proposal (Feb. 27, 2007)
Current mood: ![]()
worried
This week the U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions holds hearings on S. 625, "The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act", which authorizes Food and Drug Administration control over tobacco products. A good thing? No, it isn't. Here's why.
You've all heard the saying about "a fox in the henhouse"? With S. 625, the foxes designed the henhouse. That's right; S. 625 was co-written by representatives of the tobacco industry, Altria Group (a.k.a. Philip Morris USA) in particular.
The long version is far too long for a blog. The short version is this:
- It discourages methods known to be effective for smoking reduction.
- It discourages use of less dangerous tobacco products.
- It protects market share for the largest company (Altria) and most established brand (Marlboro).
- It encourages the current myth that smokeless tobacco products are every bit as deadly as cigarettes.
- It would effectively prevent development of any new nicotine delivery products that might be safer for both users and those around them.
Of course, no tobacco product is safe to use, but smokeless kills only the user, not everyone else nearby. Relatively speaking, smokeless is far safer, with only 1 in 100 of its users being killed (eventually) by resultant cancers and such, whereas for cigarettes the figure is one in two; at the same time, no people nearby are harmed by smokeless products. S. 625 would, though, strengthen warnings on smokeless products.
The "saying" I've been saying for 20 years is just as true on this one as on any other tobacco issue I've run across in that time: "Anything the tobacco industry is for is bad for everyone else." That's not to say that there is nothing good to be found in S. 625 -- there is -- but to dwell on that is to praise the color of paint on the fox-designed henhouse.
This week the U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions holds hearings on S. 625, "The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act", which authorizes Food and Drug Administration control over tobacco products. A good thing? No, it isn't. Here's why.
You've all heard the saying about "a fox in the henhouse"? With S. 625, the foxes designed the henhouse. That's right; S. 625 was co-written by representatives of the tobacco industry, Altria Group (a.k.a. Philip Morris USA) in particular.
The long version is far too long for a blog. The short version is this:
- It discourages methods known to be effective for smoking reduction.
- It discourages use of less dangerous tobacco products.
- It protects market share for the largest company (Altria) and most established brand (Marlboro).
- It encourages the current myth that smokeless tobacco products are every bit as deadly as cigarettes.
- It would effectively prevent development of any new nicotine delivery products that might be safer for both users and those around them.
Of course, no tobacco product is safe to use, but smokeless kills only the user, not everyone else nearby. Relatively speaking, smokeless is far safer, with only 1 in 100 of its users being killed (eventually) by resultant cancers and such, whereas for cigarettes the figure is one in two; at the same time, no people nearby are harmed by smokeless products. S. 625 would, though, strengthen warnings on smokeless products.
The "saying" I've been saying for 20 years is just as true on this one as on any other tobacco issue I've run across in that time: "Anything the tobacco industry is for is bad for everyone else." That's not to say that there is nothing good to be found in S. 625 -- there is -- but to dwell on that is to praise the color of paint on the fox-designed henhouse.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
redesigning Port Authority's bus service (Feb. 25, 2007)
While Port Authority of Allegheny County plans to eliminate over half of its bus routes in a cost-cutting move, I am aware of an independent plan that will actually provide better service with the cut-back service hours than is currently provided with full service.
The key to all this is in changing several key assumptions about how service is implemented. What we have now resembles a bicycle wheel -- one hub (Downtown) with many spokes, i.e., bus routes, going out to the farther reaches of the county. Some routes have lots of service; many have sparse service; plenty of them have less or no service on Saturday, and plenty of those have less still or no service on Sunday.
The independent plan would not simply cut routes, it would reimplement ALL service. There would still be several routes going Downtown, each with very heavy service, but the majority of routes would not go Downtown. Instead, they would provide at least one bus an hour, seven days a week, to every significant corner of the city and county, transporting them to hubs outside the city, usually a shopping mall, where one can transfer to a Downtown-bound bus.
Areas that already have heavy demand, the three dozen routes that form roughly half of all service hours today, would see no significant reduction, and may in fact see a service increase, but only on their heaviest used segments. On the outer reaches, hourly shuttles do the work. Weekday express routes continue to exist, though not as many as at present.
Transfer fares would be simplified, employing the one-fare/two-hours principle being put forth as one of the fare proposals. You pay to ride the system for two hours, whether you ride one bus or six. In my opinion, Port Authority should have made that change many years ago.
The only downside I can see to it is that it would be a major change, and everyone would be confused. That can already be said, however, about the current cutback plan. Indeed, the current operation has too much complexity, with very few routes adhering to one routing pattern and running with clockwork regularity. More than a couple of routes employ 10 or more routing patterns; a couple use more than 20. Not so in the independent plan -- one route, one pattern, once an hour (at least), every route, seven days a week, and many of them well into the evening.
Clockwork scheduling. Simplicity in routing. Service to just about every neighborhood, with a five-minute walk or less for a healthy adult, maybe 10 in the farther-flung areas. And all this with fewer buses than we have now.
It's definitely worth considering. Stay tuned for more.
The key to all this is in changing several key assumptions about how service is implemented. What we have now resembles a bicycle wheel -- one hub (Downtown) with many spokes, i.e., bus routes, going out to the farther reaches of the county. Some routes have lots of service; many have sparse service; plenty of them have less or no service on Saturday, and plenty of those have less still or no service on Sunday.
The independent plan would not simply cut routes, it would reimplement ALL service. There would still be several routes going Downtown, each with very heavy service, but the majority of routes would not go Downtown. Instead, they would provide at least one bus an hour, seven days a week, to every significant corner of the city and county, transporting them to hubs outside the city, usually a shopping mall, where one can transfer to a Downtown-bound bus.
Areas that already have heavy demand, the three dozen routes that form roughly half of all service hours today, would see no significant reduction, and may in fact see a service increase, but only on their heaviest used segments. On the outer reaches, hourly shuttles do the work. Weekday express routes continue to exist, though not as many as at present.
Transfer fares would be simplified, employing the one-fare/two-hours principle being put forth as one of the fare proposals. You pay to ride the system for two hours, whether you ride one bus or six. In my opinion, Port Authority should have made that change many years ago.
The only downside I can see to it is that it would be a major change, and everyone would be confused. That can already be said, however, about the current cutback plan. Indeed, the current operation has too much complexity, with very few routes adhering to one routing pattern and running with clockwork regularity. More than a couple of routes employ 10 or more routing patterns; a couple use more than 20. Not so in the independent plan -- one route, one pattern, once an hour (at least), every route, seven days a week, and many of them well into the evening.
Clockwork scheduling. Simplicity in routing. Service to just about every neighborhood, with a five-minute walk or less for a healthy adult, maybe 10 in the farther-flung areas. And all this with fewer buses than we have now.
It's definitely worth considering. Stay tuned for more.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I've seen 15 out of 240 movies (Feb. 20, 2007)
Current mood: 
amused
SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 105 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 movies on this list. Copy this list mail, go to your own myspace account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the movies you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun!
(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
() Grease
() Pirates of the Caribbean
() Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
() Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
() Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
() Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Total: 1
() The Princess Bride
() AnchorMan
() Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
() 50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 1
() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
() American Pie Naked Mile
Total so far: 1
() Harry Potter 1
() Harry Potter 2
() Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
() The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 2
() Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
() Signs
() The Grinch
()Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
() I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 2
() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
() Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
() KING KONG
Total so far: 2
(x) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far: 4
() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
() Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
() Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 4
() The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
() Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
() Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 6
() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
() Ocean's Eleven
() Ocean's Twelve
() Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator
() Predator II
() The Fog
(x) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 7
() Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
() Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 8
() Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
() Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
() Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
() The Terminator
() The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 9
() X-Men
() X2
() X-3
() Spider-Man
() Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
() Shrek
() Shrek 2
Total so far: 11
() Swimfan
() Miracle on 34th street
() Old School
() The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
() The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 11
() Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
() Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
() Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
() Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
() Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
() Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 11
() BASEketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
() Elf
() Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 11
() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
() Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 14
() High Tension
() Club Dread
() Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
() Hook
(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days Later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 15
() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() The Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 15
() Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
() Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
() Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
() Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
() Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
() Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 15
() The Matrix
() The Matrix Reloaded
() The Matrix Revolution
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal
() Red Dragon
() Hannibal Rising
Final Total: 15
Now ......
put "I've seen __ out of 240 movies" in the subject line and repost it
amusedSUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 105 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 movies on this list. Copy this list mail, go to your own myspace account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the movies you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun!
(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
() Grease
() Pirates of the Caribbean
() Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
() Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
() Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
() Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Total: 1
() The Princess Bride
() AnchorMan
() Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
() 50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 1
() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
() American Pie Naked Mile
Total so far: 1
() Harry Potter 1
() Harry Potter 2
() Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
() The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 2
() Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
() Signs
() The Grinch
()Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
() I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 2
() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
() Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
() KING KONG
Total so far: 2
(x) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far: 4
() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
() Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
() Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 4
() The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
() Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
() Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 6
() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
() Ocean's Eleven
() Ocean's Twelve
() Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator
() Predator II
() The Fog
(x) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 7
() Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
() Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 8
() Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
() Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
() Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
() The Terminator
() The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 9
() X-Men
() X2
() X-3
() Spider-Man
() Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
() Shrek
() Shrek 2
Total so far: 11
() Swimfan
() Miracle on 34th street
() Old School
() The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
() The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 11
() Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
() Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
() Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
() Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
() Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
() Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 11
() BASEketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
() Elf
() Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 11
() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
() Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 14
() High Tension
() Club Dread
() Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
() Hook
(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days Later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 15
() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() The Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 15
() Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
() Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
() Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
() Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
() Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
() Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 15
() The Matrix
() The Matrix Reloaded
() The Matrix Revolution
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal
() Red Dragon
() Hannibal Rising
Final Total: 15
Now ......
put "I've seen __ out of 240 movies" in the subject line and repost it
Monday, March 28, 2011
Shoveling driveways, chipping ice off cars (Feb. 15, 2007)
Current mood: 
chipper
I guess I should count myself lucky, not feeling particularly sore after spending most of Wednesday shoveling out all or part of five driveways. We had about five inches of snow on Tuesday, followed by a quarter-inch of freezing rain, followed by another two or three inches of snow by mid-day Wednesday.
My next door neighbor, who works down the road less than a mile, needed to go to work at 7 a.m., but the overnight freezing rain made it impossible to get into the car at all, let alone try to clean it off in any short amount of time. Since our car was under a carport, we (I) drove her to work. Later in the morning, though, it took three of us to bash and chip our way into that car, and though I wasn't keeping track, I was told it took us most of an hour to do so.
Chipping one's way into a frozen over car is a bit of an art form. The tool of choice was a wooden shovel handle. The trick is to break the ice, to make it "spider web", without breaking any glass, wearing out or breaking any tools, or scratching any paint. My method was to hammer at the ice with the handle, but not so hard as to do any damage to the car, just a strong tap. I wasn't trying to break the ice, just spider it, then move along a couple of inches and do it again. I concentrated on the separation between driver door and roof line, making sure I went around the entire outline of the door. Once I had fractured (but not removed) the ice all the way around the door, I hammered kind of sideways, using diagonal blows, until some of the fractured ice started to chip off. From here on, I changed tools to a regular ice scraper, but using more or less a pulling motion rather than scraping, aiming for an inch or so into the ice pack, away from the space, pulling toward the space.
Eventually this worked. I was making better progress solo than the two others were together. I hip-checked the door, spider-webbing the ice on the door itself, allowing access to the door handle. With the pole of the shovel handle I busted my way all around the door until I saw paint. From there, I was able to pry the door open. With a couple of good hard slams, a whole lot of ice came off.
With the car now running and the heater on full (recirculating so as to warm up the interior faster), it was only a matter of time before we got the whole rest of the car cleaned off. I did ensure, though, that all the mirrors were clean. Mirror glass is a lot more delicate than window glass, so my ice-chipping motions were no stronger than what one would use to crack an egg. Steady, slow, woodpecker style, with the corner of the plastic scraper, off it came.
Since my neighbor is from a warm-air region, I took pains to explain that just because you could see out one window and the mirror, you really weren't ready to travel just yet. All that ice must have added 300 pounds to the weight of the car. With traction iffy at best, the last thing one needed was the momentum of all that extra ice weight to try to stop or get around a corner. Steering itself was difficult, even with good tires. That said, we cleaned all the ice off the car -- hood, roof, body panels, lights, grill, the works.
With the car cleaned off, we then went around the neighborhood doing driveways. Motorized tools were useless, with that thick ice layer mixed in.
Before I describe my strange method for snow shoveling, you have to understand my snow-clearing background, learned from growing up in the Buffalo NY snow belt region. It was fairly common when clearing a driveway to have to move snow above and beyond a snow pile taller than you. Since the amount of snow to shovel was frequently measured in feet rather than inches, there is just no way one can do it the way most people operate a shovel, leaning over and lifting with one's back muscles. It's absolutely necessary to be able to shovel for hours on end, all the while sending snow up and over the aforementioned taller-than-you pile. Snowblowers were helpful early in the season, but not after you got beyond the five-foot level. They could get up that far, or over far enough, but not both.
What I do is stand in a lunge, feet maybe shoulder width apart, but one a full step ahead of the other. One leg does the lifting, the other acts as a pivot, and the snow goes directly over my head, straight back, up and over. I cannot see where the snow is landing, though I do verify that whatever wind is present is working with me, not against me. Arms (bicep muscles in particular) do a lot of work; my back does nothing. Depending on the need, I can send snow eight feet up and/or ten feet sideways, or both. Small shovels work far better than large ones. Snow shovels are next to useless except to plow with. But over and over and over and over, using no back at all, the driveway snowpack disappears.
It probably helps that I was the original 98-pound weakling. I was five-seven and 115 when I graduated from high school, by which time I'd logged hundreds of mornings clearing our driveway. There's no way I could clear snow the way the big guys did, using their backs. Not to brag, but here I am, rapdly closing on age 50, and I cleared the bulk of the one driveway today, 15 feet across and 80 feet long, of that ice and snow pack. Hour after hour, just plugging away, knowing how to lift only what I can, and sending it just as far as needed, using just the right size shovel, but doing it thousands of times. I wasn't even that cold, and I was never out of breath.
I'm a little stiff now, nine hours after hanging up the tools for the night, but not sore. I am, however, a little homesick for Buffalo. My sister tells me there's four level feet in the yard back home.
chipperI guess I should count myself lucky, not feeling particularly sore after spending most of Wednesday shoveling out all or part of five driveways. We had about five inches of snow on Tuesday, followed by a quarter-inch of freezing rain, followed by another two or three inches of snow by mid-day Wednesday.
My next door neighbor, who works down the road less than a mile, needed to go to work at 7 a.m., but the overnight freezing rain made it impossible to get into the car at all, let alone try to clean it off in any short amount of time. Since our car was under a carport, we (I) drove her to work. Later in the morning, though, it took three of us to bash and chip our way into that car, and though I wasn't keeping track, I was told it took us most of an hour to do so.
Chipping one's way into a frozen over car is a bit of an art form. The tool of choice was a wooden shovel handle. The trick is to break the ice, to make it "spider web", without breaking any glass, wearing out or breaking any tools, or scratching any paint. My method was to hammer at the ice with the handle, but not so hard as to do any damage to the car, just a strong tap. I wasn't trying to break the ice, just spider it, then move along a couple of inches and do it again. I concentrated on the separation between driver door and roof line, making sure I went around the entire outline of the door. Once I had fractured (but not removed) the ice all the way around the door, I hammered kind of sideways, using diagonal blows, until some of the fractured ice started to chip off. From here on, I changed tools to a regular ice scraper, but using more or less a pulling motion rather than scraping, aiming for an inch or so into the ice pack, away from the space, pulling toward the space.
Eventually this worked. I was making better progress solo than the two others were together. I hip-checked the door, spider-webbing the ice on the door itself, allowing access to the door handle. With the pole of the shovel handle I busted my way all around the door until I saw paint. From there, I was able to pry the door open. With a couple of good hard slams, a whole lot of ice came off.
With the car now running and the heater on full (recirculating so as to warm up the interior faster), it was only a matter of time before we got the whole rest of the car cleaned off. I did ensure, though, that all the mirrors were clean. Mirror glass is a lot more delicate than window glass, so my ice-chipping motions were no stronger than what one would use to crack an egg. Steady, slow, woodpecker style, with the corner of the plastic scraper, off it came.
Since my neighbor is from a warm-air region, I took pains to explain that just because you could see out one window and the mirror, you really weren't ready to travel just yet. All that ice must have added 300 pounds to the weight of the car. With traction iffy at best, the last thing one needed was the momentum of all that extra ice weight to try to stop or get around a corner. Steering itself was difficult, even with good tires. That said, we cleaned all the ice off the car -- hood, roof, body panels, lights, grill, the works.
With the car cleaned off, we then went around the neighborhood doing driveways. Motorized tools were useless, with that thick ice layer mixed in.
Before I describe my strange method for snow shoveling, you have to understand my snow-clearing background, learned from growing up in the Buffalo NY snow belt region. It was fairly common when clearing a driveway to have to move snow above and beyond a snow pile taller than you. Since the amount of snow to shovel was frequently measured in feet rather than inches, there is just no way one can do it the way most people operate a shovel, leaning over and lifting with one's back muscles. It's absolutely necessary to be able to shovel for hours on end, all the while sending snow up and over the aforementioned taller-than-you pile. Snowblowers were helpful early in the season, but not after you got beyond the five-foot level. They could get up that far, or over far enough, but not both.
What I do is stand in a lunge, feet maybe shoulder width apart, but one a full step ahead of the other. One leg does the lifting, the other acts as a pivot, and the snow goes directly over my head, straight back, up and over. I cannot see where the snow is landing, though I do verify that whatever wind is present is working with me, not against me. Arms (bicep muscles in particular) do a lot of work; my back does nothing. Depending on the need, I can send snow eight feet up and/or ten feet sideways, or both. Small shovels work far better than large ones. Snow shovels are next to useless except to plow with. But over and over and over and over, using no back at all, the driveway snowpack disappears.
It probably helps that I was the original 98-pound weakling. I was five-seven and 115 when I graduated from high school, by which time I'd logged hundreds of mornings clearing our driveway. There's no way I could clear snow the way the big guys did, using their backs. Not to brag, but here I am, rapdly closing on age 50, and I cleared the bulk of the one driveway today, 15 feet across and 80 feet long, of that ice and snow pack. Hour after hour, just plugging away, knowing how to lift only what I can, and sending it just as far as needed, using just the right size shovel, but doing it thousands of times. I wasn't even that cold, and I was never out of breath.
I'm a little stiff now, nine hours after hanging up the tools for the night, but not sore. I am, however, a little homesick for Buffalo. My sister tells me there's four level feet in the yard back home.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
My testimony on Port Authority's service and fare proposals (Feb. 9, 2007)
February 8, 2007
Port Authority Fare and Service Proposals
345 Sixth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527
This will serve as my written testimony concerning the proposed fare hike and service cuts. There are three separate parts to this; please consider each separately, as each one is relevant, each is significant, and none has anything to do with either of the others.
The three parts are:
1. Fare-change proposal: Go with the flat-fare proposal.
2. Remedy for two lost routes: Suggested 11D extension along Gass Rd to replace 11F and Camp Horne 16B
3. Comments concerning lost sales, and what should be done to remedy this.
Part One: Fare proposal.
Absolutely, definitely, go with the flat-fare choice, as proposed. This really should have been done a long time ago, at whatever rate of fare. Many riders require two, three, or even more changes to get to and from work, each direction.
I can show how, under the current fare structure, a recent trip taking my two children to an Oakland medical appointment did truly cost a minimum of $20 in fares. Under the flat-fare plan, it would have cost $6, at most $12.
In essence, this changes the idea of paying fare from "paying to ride one bus" to "paying to use the system for two hours" – a long overdue improvement.
Part Two: Suggestion to remedy two lost routes.
As proposed, the 11F West View is to be discontinued, as is the Camp Horne Road extension of the 16B Brighton. Meanwhile, the early morning 11D Perrysville does not service West View Plaza. Since the stores of West View Plaza, as well as those near the Camp Horne extension, are places of work as well as shopping, it makes a good deal of sense to provide service both to and from them, on at least an hourly headway between early morning and late evening.
Specifics: For certain outbound 11D Perrysville trips, proceed to West View Plaza (WVP) as is done now, but not end the route there. Instead, exit WVP via left onto the Center Avenue access road, left onto Center Avenue (now 11F routing), right on Cornell, left on Highland, right on Gass Road, straight onto (becomes) Ben Avon Heights Road. Stay on this road to Home Depot and Giant Eagle. The distance from WVP to Camp Horne Road is 3.0 miles. (See diagram on last page.) Inbound would be the reverse.
Reasoning: Anyone living in the Gass Road area served by the 11F would not be stranded, mid-day, and inner-city residents needing to get to work at either of the Giant Eagle stores or Home Depot could do so. Gass Road residents who worked or wanted to shop at the Camp Horne stores would actually be able to do so whereas they cannot do so now. Inner-city residents near the 16B needing to get to work could transfer near Federal and North to an 11D, or use the (now-500) 16C to West View and transfer there, depending on their proximity to either other line. On the headsign, it may help to designate these trips 11D/F Perrysville-Gass Road / To Camp Horne Road.
Part Three: Lost sales.
By "lost sales", I refer to the massive ridership loss to private automobiles over the last 25 years. In brief, I've determined through my own research into U.S. Census records and other government sources that roughly 80,000 more Allegheny County households own two cars than did so in 1980, and roughly 30,000 more own three or more than did so in 1980. In that time, Allegheny County's population has changed comparatively little.
A car, any car, every car, costs thousands of dollars per year to own and operate. Just in insurance, one pays close to or in excess of the cost of an annual transit pass subscription. (I myself pay $661.30/year for car insurance, comparable to the current $660 Zone 1 annual pass cost.) Add to that the cost of gasoline (10,000 miles / 20 mpg = 500 gallons x $2.50/gallon = $1,250), maintenance (easily $1,000, whether oil changes, a new muffler, or fuzzy dice to hang from the mirror), monthly payments (easily $250/month x 12 = $3,000), not to mention parking (for many this is free), and you're looking at well over $5,000/year for most any car, for most any owner.
When compared side-by-side with transit in this way, then transit is the clear winner. Why pay $5,000/year for transportation when $60 to $75/month (x12 = $720 or $900) will get you around? So why do so many more County households have two, or three or more, cars? Because they don't know how to use transit! More to the point, it does not occur to them to use transit, and so they don't put any money into the system, instead spending five to ten times as much to own and maintain multiple automobiles.
This matters greatly! If each of those now-two-car households purchased an annual Zone 1 pass, Port Authority would annually have over $52 million more to work with. The now-three-or-more-car households' purchase of an annual Zone 2 pass would annually put nearly $25 million into the transit system. That $77,221,100 is not going into the transit system each year! Those "lost sales" very nearly equal the forecast $80 million deficit!
What to do? Pretty much what I said at the September 9, 1992, Ross Township hearings on that year's transit cuts, and the 32-point list of suggestions accompanying my June 2, 2002 testimony on that year's transit cuts: Make it easier to use the system!
The single greatest reason People Who Do Not Ride Transit do not ride transit is because they do not know how. Beyond that, the learning curve is extremely steep, and unforgiving. You can't just give them info and hope they'll figure it out. Your business depends on getting them on board, getting them where they're going, and having them smile at the end of the journey.
What I would do is make transit information an order of magnitude more accessible – inescapably, embedded, maybe even unwelcome (in the same manner that detour signs on a highway are unwelcome, but they must be there, and they must work, else you land in the river because the bridge is out). Make it impossible to get or give directions anyplace without also having the transit option available. Every store, every apartment building, every company's how-to-get-here directions, every advertisement for a public activity, should be equipped with transit directions that are easily enough understood.
I know how to do this! I personally live with only one car, which my wife has most of the time, so I must get around by bus. Even as an experienced rider, it still requires a lot of figuring out to conduct my daily errands by bus. Ultimately, it saves me thousands of dollars annually, money I use to improve my family's quality of life. Ask me for help!
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Stuart M. Strickland
Proposed 11D/F Camp Horne Extension shown in blue (W. View Plaza shown in red)
Port Authority Fare and Service Proposals
345 Sixth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527
This will serve as my written testimony concerning the proposed fare hike and service cuts. There are three separate parts to this; please consider each separately, as each one is relevant, each is significant, and none has anything to do with either of the others.
The three parts are:
1. Fare-change proposal: Go with the flat-fare proposal.
2. Remedy for two lost routes: Suggested 11D extension along Gass Rd to replace 11F and Camp Horne 16B
3. Comments concerning lost sales, and what should be done to remedy this.
Part One: Fare proposal.
Absolutely, definitely, go with the flat-fare choice, as proposed. This really should have been done a long time ago, at whatever rate of fare. Many riders require two, three, or even more changes to get to and from work, each direction.
I can show how, under the current fare structure, a recent trip taking my two children to an Oakland medical appointment did truly cost a minimum of $20 in fares. Under the flat-fare plan, it would have cost $6, at most $12.
In essence, this changes the idea of paying fare from "paying to ride one bus" to "paying to use the system for two hours" – a long overdue improvement.
Part Two: Suggestion to remedy two lost routes.
As proposed, the 11F West View is to be discontinued, as is the Camp Horne Road extension of the 16B Brighton. Meanwhile, the early morning 11D Perrysville does not service West View Plaza. Since the stores of West View Plaza, as well as those near the Camp Horne extension, are places of work as well as shopping, it makes a good deal of sense to provide service both to and from them, on at least an hourly headway between early morning and late evening.
Specifics: For certain outbound 11D Perrysville trips, proceed to West View Plaza (WVP) as is done now, but not end the route there. Instead, exit WVP via left onto the Center Avenue access road, left onto Center Avenue (now 11F routing), right on Cornell, left on Highland, right on Gass Road, straight onto (becomes) Ben Avon Heights Road. Stay on this road to Home Depot and Giant Eagle. The distance from WVP to Camp Horne Road is 3.0 miles. (See diagram on last page.) Inbound would be the reverse.
Reasoning: Anyone living in the Gass Road area served by the 11F would not be stranded, mid-day, and inner-city residents needing to get to work at either of the Giant Eagle stores or Home Depot could do so. Gass Road residents who worked or wanted to shop at the Camp Horne stores would actually be able to do so whereas they cannot do so now. Inner-city residents near the 16B needing to get to work could transfer near Federal and North to an 11D, or use the (now-500) 16C to West View and transfer there, depending on their proximity to either other line. On the headsign, it may help to designate these trips 11D/F Perrysville-Gass Road / To Camp Horne Road.
Part Three: Lost sales.
By "lost sales", I refer to the massive ridership loss to private automobiles over the last 25 years. In brief, I've determined through my own research into U.S. Census records and other government sources that roughly 80,000 more Allegheny County households own two cars than did so in 1980, and roughly 30,000 more own three or more than did so in 1980. In that time, Allegheny County's population has changed comparatively little.
A car, any car, every car, costs thousands of dollars per year to own and operate. Just in insurance, one pays close to or in excess of the cost of an annual transit pass subscription. (I myself pay $661.30/year for car insurance, comparable to the current $660 Zone 1 annual pass cost.) Add to that the cost of gasoline (10,000 miles / 20 mpg = 500 gallons x $2.50/gallon = $1,250), maintenance (easily $1,000, whether oil changes, a new muffler, or fuzzy dice to hang from the mirror), monthly payments (easily $250/month x 12 = $3,000), not to mention parking (for many this is free), and you're looking at well over $5,000/year for most any car, for most any owner.
When compared side-by-side with transit in this way, then transit is the clear winner. Why pay $5,000/year for transportation when $60 to $75/month (x12 = $720 or $900) will get you around? So why do so many more County households have two, or three or more, cars? Because they don't know how to use transit! More to the point, it does not occur to them to use transit, and so they don't put any money into the system, instead spending five to ten times as much to own and maintain multiple automobiles.
This matters greatly! If each of those now-two-car households purchased an annual Zone 1 pass, Port Authority would annually have over $52 million more to work with. The now-three-or-more-car households' purchase of an annual Zone 2 pass would annually put nearly $25 million into the transit system. That $77,221,100 is not going into the transit system each year! Those "lost sales" very nearly equal the forecast $80 million deficit!
What to do? Pretty much what I said at the September 9, 1992, Ross Township hearings on that year's transit cuts, and the 32-point list of suggestions accompanying my June 2, 2002 testimony on that year's transit cuts: Make it easier to use the system!
The single greatest reason People Who Do Not Ride Transit do not ride transit is because they do not know how. Beyond that, the learning curve is extremely steep, and unforgiving. You can't just give them info and hope they'll figure it out. Your business depends on getting them on board, getting them where they're going, and having them smile at the end of the journey.
What I would do is make transit information an order of magnitude more accessible – inescapably, embedded, maybe even unwelcome (in the same manner that detour signs on a highway are unwelcome, but they must be there, and they must work, else you land in the river because the bridge is out). Make it impossible to get or give directions anyplace without also having the transit option available. Every store, every apartment building, every company's how-to-get-here directions, every advertisement for a public activity, should be equipped with transit directions that are easily enough understood.
I know how to do this! I personally live with only one car, which my wife has most of the time, so I must get around by bus. Even as an experienced rider, it still requires a lot of figuring out to conduct my daily errands by bus. Ultimately, it saves me thousands of dollars annually, money I use to improve my family's quality of life. Ask me for help!
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Stuart M. Strickland
Proposed 11D/F Camp Horne Extension shown in blue (W. View Plaza shown in red)
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