I hate public transit. With a passion.
But, I hate traffic even more. And, commuting. So, how do I fix these two problems?
Here's the idea-you can buy a commuter car (like a Scion xA) or you rent one through a service similar to ZipCar. It could be a straight gas car, or a hybrid, or electric. For some people, perhaps a truck or panel van built on a similar or longer frame. You can drive it around all day, or park your rental car at a garage that uses an automated conveyor system to keep the cars under wraps. Maybe even automated washing...
So, to get home...you drive it to a depot, near the train tracks. And, this is where I have a problem, I can't figure out how to do it fast and easy and reliable...
You drive your car onto the train, which locks wheel locks down, and you get out of your car-the train would have a commuter section where you could go to Starbucks, rest, use your laptop, etc, etc. If your car was electric or a hybrid, the car's battery would recharge while you were on the train.
You would have a smart-key with an alarm, which would ring as you approach the station where you wanted to get off. You would pay for the ride by automatic deduction from your credit card or a monthly bill, like the FastPass system used on Bay Area bridges. And, it would take people off the freeways, and give them options in their mass-transit commuting.
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2 comments:
Eh, I dealt with the irritation of commuting by walking, but that doesn't work in the winter months, where it's genuinely dangerous to walk on back roads in twilight or outright darkness. Back to the pointless commute until daylight savings time comes back...
BTW, I only save about twenty-thirty minutes by driving. Construction means I spend twenty minutes on a three-mile trip that takes me about forty to fifty minutes to walk, assuming light & absence of kamikaze rednecks in riced-out light trucks.
Sadly, I live in Berkeley, and work in San Francisco.
(And, I'm a Republican, no less...people look at me in wonder...)
Driving would take about an hour to ninety minutes, and that assumes that I can find parking that is less than $20/day. Public transit only takes fourty-five minutes or so, but some of the people have the lovely smell of eau de bum.
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