A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT

I jinxed myself yesterday by saying I wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to get on the bus today. I give myself a little credit for trying, though.

Last night I printed all the bus schedules of any routes I thought I might need to get me from Albany to my dental appointment in Colonie, and then from Colonie to my job back in Albany. The issue wasn't getting to Colonie; that was the easiest part. It was that I couldn't figure out how to get from the office on Central Ave. to Rt. 155 to the State Office Campus to walk the rest of the way to my job; and somehow manage to do it all by 11:30 a.m.

I had a guilty moment in the car thinking about it, but decided the inconvenience of getting to work on time (you know what I mean) was part of the whole equation. Maybe small-city public transportation can't be one's sole source of transportation, especially if one's operating community is established based on car travel.

I could have just overlooked something on one of the maps, but for the sake of argument, let's say I didn't. Is it that we've gotten so used to car travel that we've created communities too dispersed to get around quickly? Is it that it smaller municipalities don't have the money or the space to create a more tightly knit transportation system? Or am I just an idiot that can't read a map? (If you know my tendency to read maps backward, don't answer that.)

So that was day one. I'm sorry I don't have more to report; however, what kind of bloggist would I be if I didn't leave with a little public transportation history? With that said, some notes:

• An article that appeared in TIME Magazine in 1984 proclaimed "Mass transit is on the move." Author, Susan Tifft, reported a trend in cities like Baltimore and Atlanta to create new subways and light rail systems, explaining the trend's roots stemmed in part from the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. (Tifft)
• Interestingly, the article suggests that part of the reason light rail and subway systems were gaining popularity was prestige. Jack Gilstrap, executive vice president of the American Public Transit Association, said, "When businesses decide where to locate, they look for a city that works well. Good mass transit is both evidence and a symbol of that." He also stated that mass transit reduced traffic congestion, encouraged commercial growth, and helped control pollution. (Tifft)
• Some cities that relied mostly on buses for mass transit rerouted many of them to subway stations, lessening rush-hour congestion. (Tifft)

The subjects of the two articles are different, but contrast that with a current TIME Magazine article in which International Energy Agency (IEA) chief economist Fatih Birol cautions that:

• Economic development will raise global energy demands by 50% in a generation. (Walt)
• Not enough is being done to prepare for the increase (Walt), and
• The burden is not likely to be temporary. (Walt)
• Birol suggests, "If you want to lower prices you have to slow down oil demand growth in China and India, use cars more efficiently, use biofuels, and also convince producing countries to pump more oil." (Walt)

In 1984, the Oil Embargo was discussed as an isolated incident with rippling effects through local communities. more emphasis was put on what communities and local governments could do to control pollution and maintain energy costs. In 2007, we're on the verge of another oil crisis, the problem is global, and emphasis isn't being placed on lifestyle changes, but on (bio)technological changes. In 1984, cities were encouraging people to ride the rails to conserve fuel. In 2007, economists are encouraging people to drive more efficient cars. It leaves me wondering if efforts to use fuel more efficiently in 1984 plateaued, stifling progess; or if local solutions proposed in 1984 were insufficient in preventing another crisis.

Sources:

Susan Tifft. "Mass Transit Makes a Comeback." TIME Monday, January 16, 1984. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921487-1,00.html

Vivienne Walt. "Oil Prices: It Gets Worse." TIME Wednesday, November 07, 2007. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1681362,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom