Version of class warfare that affects me...

[Archae]

Those who look down on people who can't (or won't) own a car.

Not pointing any fingers here, naturally, since I've never seen any anti-public transportation rants on DU.

But on a local radio program here, they yet again had a caller griping about the "waste" of empty buses.
(Of course, the caller never mentions the buses I've been on at peak hours where I end up having to stand since it's so full...)

And public transportation money is ALWAYS getting chopped, usually to fund giveaways to the rich.

[Jed Dilligan]

1. I bet it's the paratransit people lobbying to cut buses

they can charge riders' insurance 15 bucks a ride or more, they don't want to be undercut by public buses.

[CornField]

2. A bit off subject, but if you are looking for a charity gift

Homeless/family/women's shelters are always in need of bus passes. In my part of the woods, I can buy a monthly pass for $30. There's no name attached to it, so anyone who needs to hop on the bus can take the pass and do so.

[niallmac]

3. It affects everyone who breathes air.

Here in Boise we have a HUGH air quality problem due to rampant growth, auto emissions and wood burning stoves etc. An inversion is going on now. The city or state is so self conscious about it we sort of fudge the particulate numbers. Never get a 'peak' number just a 24 hour average number.
Mass transit? Light rail was being talked about by our previous mayor until he was caught up in a scandal. So, now traffic problems threaten
commerce and growth. We have a bus system that actually uses propane gas engines. We just do not have enough buses. A 15 minute wait bus system would
attract dyed in the wool car lovers to cheap less stressful transportation but financing that many buses and salaries would be hugh also.
It's what needs to be done IMHO. Meanwhile the area daydreams about the next big highway project.

[filthyrichkleptocrat]

4. Were bus service perfectly convenient for me I'd still drive.

My car is almost a part of me, like a big powerful extension of my pee pee.

[blogslut]

5. I killed my car last winter

Since then, I got me one of those little 20MPH electric scooters. It's great for me because I live in a pretty small town. When I go to the grocery store, I just put my purchases in my backpack and go. If I need to buy lots of stuff or go to the big town twenty miles away, I take a transit provided by the wonderful people of the United Way. Our town is too small for buses or taxi services.

I get hostile looks from folks and some try to run me off the road but I'm used to that behavior having ridden a bicycle for years.

Funny part is, I'm getting more and more people that tell me I'm smart to travel the way I do. Older folks mostly.

I may never get my car fixed.

*edit* typos

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. I don't drive. Does that count?

You would be amazed at how people respond to that. They look at me like I am a complete and total idiot and then ask why.

I like to tell them something outrageous, like I am prone to violent fits.

[1932]

7. That's so stupid. That's like saying the lanes of highway going the

opposite direction that aren't clogged during rush hour are a wast of money and we shouldn't spend money keeping them maintained.

People who take buses don't go random directions. They're commuters too. In the morning, most are headed towards the city center and in the evening most are trying to get home.

And you can't get buses to the other end of the route magically. You actually have to drive them back to their starting point.

I read somewhere that over the course of week, the average bus gets mileage of something like 100 mpg/person (airplanes get about 35 mpg/person over a full week).

I can't help but think that someone who'd call in to a radio show and say something so stupid probably actually knows the truth or was manipulated by someone who knows the truth and the root motivation is to destroy public transportation to make life harder for the powerless so that the powerful can get wealthier.

[zanne]

8. In small cities like mine....

Transportation barely exists anymore. When I take the bus, sometimes there is only one or two other people riding with me. And they've cut down the number of routes, so I have to walk practically a mile just to take a bus! I don't drive, because I have a medical condition makes it impossible without hand controls. I'm also poor, so I can't buy the hand controls. I also realize that some people look down on bus riders, so some people will either walk or find rides with friends to escape that stigma.