[PRCo] Re: patservicecuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07

Mon Feb 5 11:28:42 EST 2007

Hi Fred

Those on this list are not the average person.  The average person does not 
know what transit options are available.  And when it comes to foreign 
travel, they take with them their US experiences - which often means renting 
a car.  But Fred knows that he can stay in a Newark hotel and that PATH 
exists to take him to NYC.  And the rest on this list have similar "unusual" 
knowledge.  That's one of the reasons I like Fred's travelogues - they touch 
on the transit options.

A couple from church visited San Francisco and complained how much they paid 
for parking at Fisherman's Wharf.  I replied that Carol and I didn't have to 
pay for parking when we visited this tourist site.  We bought Muni day 
passes and rode the streetcar.  At this, his eyes kind of glazed over - like 
I don't understand how you can visit and not have to use a car.  Suspect 
most have had similar experiences

John

>From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
>Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 19:13:30 -0500
>
>And once you got that truck, it's bloody hard to go back to the bus
>isn't it....
>
>I used to use the bus too ... every where I went.   But when that car
>is right outside the door, it's hard to ignore.   The exceptions have
>been instance like staying in the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark and
>wanting to go into New York City ... in that case you know it's a
>whole lot easier to walk six blocks to the Lackawanna or
>Pennslylvania stations and take the train into the big city and live
>the damn car sit in the parking lot.   I react the same way if I'm
>going from Lancaster to New York or Lancaster to Center City
>Philadelphia, or Dawntawn Pittsburgh.   But aside from the largest
>cities, it's pretty hard for me to leave my car at home anymore.
>
>On Feb 4, 2007, at 4:44 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
>
> > This past Christmas I broke down and bought myself a Christmas
> > present.................a truck. I did not have a vehicle for
> > nearly one year. So I used GCRTA to go everyplace..........the
> > grocery store, the bank, the mall, work, etc. Bear in mind that I
> > have always worked the "Extra Boad". Therefore, every day is a
> > totally diffenent run assignment. I am happy to report that, at
> > least in Cleveland, public transit still works well. I was always
> > able to get to work at any hour of the day, any day of the week.
> > Living downtown helped. Only on one occasion did I have to call a
> > taxi. This was one morning when the 6-Euclid bus due at the Euclid/
> > 32nd stop at 3:57am never showed. Otherwise you can get around
> > Cleveland pretty well. However, now that I have the truck I have
> > not resorted to the bus, car (lrv), or train. I have learned two
> > things from this: 1) I know what our customers go through in order
> > to use our services and I want to give them a decent transit trip,
> > and, 2) We need
> >  to keep a very high level of service, safety, passenger amenities,
> > etc if we want customers to stay with public transit. The new level
> > of "freedom" they attain will keep them in the private vehicle if
> > we (public transit providers) do not do all necessary to keep them.
> > Time to get off the soapbox. I made gumbo and the aroma is calling
> > me to the kitchen. Later gang !
> > Herb Brannon
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----
> > From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > Sent: Sunday, February 4, 2007 12:50:41 PM
> > Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
> >
> >
> > It's the convenience of letting someone else deal with rush hour
> > traffic.
> > Most small towns don't have rush hour traffic.    But even
> > Harrisburg has
> > rush hour congestion and parking is limited.  So I am happy to let
> > the bus
> > driver deal with it.
> >
> > And transfers on small systems are horrible because of the
> > headways.  So if
> > the factory job is not located in the center city, a car becomes
> > much more
> > attractive.
> >
> > Another factor:  how many young people today experienced the joy of
> > being
> > bused to school?  And getting access to a car eliminated being tied
> > to the
> > school bus schedule.  Suspect many never want to go back to
> > reminders of
> > their school bus experiences.  It has become a tough sell.
> >
> > While the feds will assure you that there is no difference in modal
> > split
> > between bus and rail for new start funding purposes, and that bus is
> > cheaper, don't believe them.  They lie.
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> >
> >> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
> >> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> >> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> >> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
> >> Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 08:10:36 -0500
> >>
> >> I don't think it is that Herb.   I remember the Chief Dispatcher at
> >> Conestoga Transportation Co. telling me back in the 1970s about a
> >> special bus service they established to serve the women who worked at
> >> Shick's razor factory and several other plants in the same industrial
> >> plant.   Their drivers noted that the passengers disappeared after
> >> they received the second pay checks and when they inquired of the
> >> other passengers where Suzy or Martha was the answer was universal,
> >> "They now have enough money to buy a car."   Factory runs no longer
> >> pay.   It's the services to dentists, doctors, lawyers and malls for
> >> the indigent and retired and under 16 that seem to have become the
> >> mainstay of public transit, at least in the small towns and in the
> >> suburbs of the larger cities.   Some management types will use
> >> transit because it is easier than finding a place to park downtown.
> >> But the factory worker doesn't, even if the factory still exists.
> >>
> >> On Feb 3, 2007, at 7:39 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
> >>
> >>> Too bad. I guess since there are no factories remaining everyone
> >>> works bankers hours? Or so the PAT management believes. We still
> >>> have 14 routes w/ 24-hour service.
> >>>
> >>> Herb Brannon
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message ----
> >>> From: Joshua Dunfield <joshuad at cs.cmu.edu>
> >>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> >>> Sent: Saturday, February 3, 2007 5:29:30 PM
> >>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Herb Brannon wrote:
> >>>> Interesting to note that 24-hour service is beginning again. When I
> >>>> worked at PATransit 24-hour service was offered on both the 42/38
> >>>> and 35
> >>>> car lines as well as many bus lines.
> >>>
> >>> Unfortunately, 24-hour service died in the first round of cuts,
> >>> around 2003
> >>> if memory serves.  When it started in '01, one of my friends (who
> >>> grew up in
> >>> Stockholm) told me that "Pittsburgh is becoming a real city!"
> >>> Well...
> >>>
> >>> Best,
> >>> -j.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Check out all that glitters with the MSN Entertainment Guide to the
> > Academy
> > Awards®   http://movies.msn.com/movies/oscars2007/?
> > icid=ncoscartagline2
> >
>
>
>

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