AT LEAST IT WAS CARPOOLING

I switched it up a bit today. You'll never guess what I did. That's right. I took the 10 to work. I was getting bored with walking to the 12, and though I took the 9 and the 12 with plenty of time to get to work by 8:30, I worried too much about being late for it to be worth my while. So this morning, instead of walking out to Washington, I decided to ride up Western and cut across Brevator to the State Campus.

It started out as a great plan, putting me in the vicinity of my building with both plenty of time to get there, and still allow me to get in about twenty minutes of walking, which I'm beginning to really enjoy.

Just as I was realizing how much I enjoyed walking, though, one of my coworkers saw me, pulled up, and offered me a ride. Partly because I don't know her that well and didn't want to offend her, and partly because I really wanted to get out of work earlier to walk to class, I accepted.

As I got in the car, I told her, "You know, this is cheating. I'm doing an experiment about riding public transportation."

She said, "Well, think of this as a cab." Secretly, I loved that she never asked why walking wasn't cheating, too.

So this morning I took one bus and one "cab," got to work fifteen minutes earlier, and then yes, walked from work to school, which took about an hour (with a five minutes stop for coffee at Mobil, which is kind of ironic when you really think about it).

I'm assessing this experiment as I go along. I really want public transportation to be more efficient than walking, though I know it'll never be as efficient as using my own car. Depending on when I catch the bus after I leave work, though, it takes anywhere from thirty to forty minutes to get there. I guess I don't really mind the extra half-hour or so of walking if I skip the bus altogether. It's better for my body, and better for the environment. I'm still weighing those benefits against time and money. I think I'm coming to the conclusion that the "best way" to get around really comes down to more than dollars. While I can predict where that leaves me, I can't predict where that leaves the real or imagined future comeback of public transit. Perhaps that's why, now, so much emphasis is being placed on fuel-efficient cars and not limiting current fuel usage. I don't think most people are up for making those kinds of lifestyle changes; and I think policymakers, scientists, and technology experts know it.