A "transit-riding superhero" * Turns 40 Thursday

Yup, I'm turning 40 in a couple of days --I was shocked reading All Over Albany last week to find that my 40th is within just a few days of the 40th birthday of a Capital Region celebrity of sorts. I think I'm old enough now and I'm certainly bold enough now to ask for a few gifts. Do what you can, for me, k?

[*Note: the title "transit-riding superhero" is thanks to the very good folks at All Over Albany]

Wish List - Drivers

Hey Drivers,
This is coming from someone who really enjoys driving. You're operating a vehicle, moving from one place to another so please...

1. Share the road with bicyclists. I think we have enough ghost bikes in our region.

2. Respect pedestrians. About a month after I started my no-driving experiment, I came within inches of being hit while crossing a Central Avenue intersection with my daughter (we were on our way to a bus stop and then to a rental car company to pick up a car) . The driver who was making a left turn onto Central at a green light was extremely apologetic. He got out of his car, and ran across the busy street (almost getting hit himself) to be sure we were ok. However, not all drivers are as concerned about pedestrians' well-being.

3. Along the same lines as 2, above. Turning on red (right on red or left from a one-way to a one-way), is not a free pass to simply slow down to 5 or 3 or even 1 mph and slowly coast through an intersection. The light is still red. Red still means stop. Completely stop. Oh, yeah... and before you pull ahead, be sure the coast is clear.

Wish List - CDTA

CDTA, I feel like I'm your big sister, two years older than you, I'm holding your hand and pulling you along. While, I certainly have a long list of wishes for you -- below are the top 3 items on my wish list.

1. Improve the abysmal Sunday service . It looks like you recognize the need for improvements as Monday's article about your proposal to re-vamp Schenectady's service pointed out,

" 'There are certain routes on our system that don't stop after 6 or 7 p.m., and some don't run on Sundays,' said spokeswoman Margo Janack. 'People who may want to attend religious services, people who want to shop after work at night or catch some entertainment somewhere -- they may not be able to do that by bus because the service doesn't extend that far or run for that long.'

The current hours also often fall short for people who work night and weekend shifts."

Eureka! You do see that those of us without cars need to get around on Sundays too! Yes, funding is tight, but this is the state's Capital Region and it is certainly reasonable to expect good transit service seven days per week, at least once per hour in each direction from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

2. Post schedules at all stops and shelters so we know when to expect a bus. It seems that a year ago there were many more schedules posted. Recently, sleeker shelters were installed and nobody bothered to re-post schedules. If funds aren't available in your budget to pay staff to do the posting, this seems like a project that could be accomplished by volunteer bus riders and/or partnerships with volunteers from local non-profits.

3. Follow up with riders' complaints. I know I've called the customer information line to complain at least one time since the posting of the Complaint Process flow chart dated September 2007, provided my name and phone number and said, "I'd like someone to call me back with information." I never received a phone call back. In addition to the flow chart, you also state in the How To Ride section of the site, "We will investigate your complaint and report back to you in writing within 10 working days." Do what you say.

Wish List for Regional Planners, Politicians and other Transit-related Decision Makers

Hey folks, it's great that Albany is now working on our first-ever Comprehensive Plan, and excellent that the TU has started the Capital Region at a Crossroads series and blog -- now let's get something done. Here are my suggestions:

1. Make life easier for those that tread lightly on the environment: (i) give us bike lanes across the cities and throughout the region, (ii) enforce sidewalk shoveling ordinances in the winters to keep our sidewalks clear of snow and ice, and (iii) invest in sidewalks in areas where there are none.

2. Be good to my younger sibling, CDTA. Invest in transit and transit-oriented development - let's face it - transit is part of the solution for today's fiscal and energy realities. And bring me something faster than buses to get from city to city to city to city, and from the cities to some of our beautiful outlying areas.

3. Let's start a non-profit car sharing company. I really think non-profit is the way to go -- check out why Austin went non-profit with Austin Car Share and even little Ithaca, NY launched a non-profit car sharing company this past June!

... and maybe I'll see you on the bus.

Hello, Dolly!

In case you didn't read all about it, the TU sent a few good reporters out on assignment to give our bus service a whirl. The article stirred considerable response including Pantaloons' excellent workaround when things don't go as planned (read the post then scroll down to the comment- it's worth it) thanks to All Over Albany , a number of reader responses on the TU Crossroads blog, Roger Green's Zen and the Art of Bus Riding, a CDTA Board member who gave the newspaper a piece of his mind (available for your viewing pleasure on the CDTA website - the July 30 meeting - about 32 minutes into the meeting), and some rather lively discussions on the bus -- imagine that!

What was I doing during all of this hubbub?

Soaking it all in, of course.

One of the very first responses I had to the article was a strong agreement with Margo Janack and Carm Basile, two CDTA spokes-folk. From the original article:

"Mainly, Janack and Basile wanted to know this: Why didn't our bold investigators just pick up the phone and call the authority's Customer Information Center before heading out?

The number, they note, is listed in the phone book, posted at bus stops, printed on schedules and displayed on the Web site."

Exactly. 482-8822. I love that number. Calling the CDTA information line when I'm on my way to a bus stop, waiting at a bus stop, and even on a bus has helped me many times.

It was a few months ago when I overheard a conversation between bus riders about service. One said to the other something like this, "Oh, when I didn't catch that bus I spoke to Dolly and she told me ...."

I chimed in, "What?"

My fellow rider responded, "Oh, Dolly -- on the information line. She's worked there forever."

I try to be personable. To get to know people. To at least take note when I'm on the phone with an operator that they too are human. But, I had never retained the names of the helpful people on the other end of the customer information line in my memory bank. Probably because most of the times that I've called, I've been rather frustrated.

Since that day, I've paid closer attention when my call is answered, and sometimes, I too speak with Dolly.

The other day, I was running late. So late, that I didn't even check the bus schedule before leaving the house because I just didn't want to know. I dropped my daughter off at camp, and headed towards Western Avenue. As I was walking across Main towards Madison, it happened again.

I saw a bus driving west along Western Avenue -- and I thought a really bad word to myself. I had missed a bus.

My mind started to work, "Now I'm probably going to have to wait a while or maybe it'd be faster to walk over to Washington Avenue and catch that line. Wait... could it be possible that was not the bus line I even wanted?? Sometimes there is that other line that runs up Western..."

I didn't want to go into my bag and start fumbling through the bus schedules. It was just too much work. It also slows me down. I decided to call for help.

Dolly answered.

"Oh, hi Dolly -- I've got a couple of questions."

First I asked her if that bus I missed could possibly be the one I really didn't need, the Number 11.

"No," she said without a pause, "The Number 11 doesn't even run this time of day."

Ok... so, when is the next Number 10?

"They run every 20 minutes."

Ok. I knew that, really. They tell me every time I call. It can be hard to keep it all on the front burner though. Well, not for Dolly.

What about the Number 30... going towards Washington Avenue from Western? She checked. That bus rarely runs, and I had missed it. I asked when the next Washington Avenue bus was.

Dolly told me, and I realized I'd be cutting it too close if I tried to walk over there.

The twenty minutes (by this time, much closer to 15 minutes) would go by quickly if I waited on the bench at the stop on Western and Allen and read my newspaper.

I couldn't help myself, "Thank you Dolly, you're a doll!"

She laughed. Poor woman, she probably gets that ALL THE TIME.

Finding a good match

My friend once shared some words of wisdom that she got from her grandfather.

They went something like this, "You know you've found the right person to marry if he makes your life easier!"

I've kept that in mind over the years... haven't gotten married as relationships have always seemed to complicate my life; never have they made things easier.

Then came August 1, 2008. The go-live date for Google Transit in Albany.

Already GT is on the right track.

Saturday morning when I was pondering getting to the gym to take a class that I really do enjoy, GT gave me a couple of bus options. The shortest option: about 40 minutes of travel time; he also gave me the option to walk: about 50 minutes of travel time. Not much difference. And that was just to GET to the gym. Then there was the hour of class time, and the travel time back home which I didn't calculate on GT because he hasn't quite worked out how to present that info as cleanly as the sometimes-tedious, rather cumbersome CDTA Trip Planner does.

I assessed the one-way information Google Transit gave me.

I made a decision.

Not to be to cliché, but yes, I changed my mind.

I decided to make good, productive use of that 40-50 minute one-way travel time by doing something at home on my very long list of things to do.

After the 40 - 50 minutes passed by, I put on my running shoes, stretched, and went for run (ok, a jog) around the gorgeous lake at Washington Park. Ran for a good 44 minutes right back to my doorstep, with no added travel time home.


Google Transit made my life easier. I'd say we're off to a very nice start.

CDTA now links to Google Maps (you can actually get to Google Transit as an option in Google Maps) directly from their site as well as to Google's how-to video. Good partnerships make happy travelers.

I'm not rushing into things with GT though; that's never a good idea. He only got to town a few days ago, and we're just getting to know each other... but, hey GT was only in beta on Saturday, which means it can only get betta, right?

Getting to the Fair

One of the many things I've grown to love about living in Albany during the summer is hitting the Altamont Fair. I love traipsing through the mud (somehow there's always mud), putting my kid on rickety rides and visiting the all those stinky, happy and sometimes noisy (did you ever visit the poultry barn? zoinks. they are loud!) farm animals. There were years when I drove a car there (including one I'll never forget, where I got stuck in traffic like I'd never ever seen in upstate NY and my car over-heated), and there were years where I took the bus, sat back and relaxed, and enjoyed the ride... and it was free.

Then there was last year...when I didn't make it to the Altamont Fair because there was no bus service. Period.

I've been waiting to learn whether buses would venture to our tri-county fair this year, and before going to sleep tonight I decided to have a gander at the Altamont Fair website... to my surprise there was news. Good news. I then ventured over to my friends at CDTA to confirm... and to try to clarify this part of the announcement on the Altamont Fair site:

Purchase a CDTA Day Card for only $3 that provides one day unlimited use and includes round trip service from Crossgates Mall to the Altamont Fair.

Hmmm... does that mean the only way they'll take me on the shuttle is if I purchase an additional $3 pass for myself and each kid I have with me even if I already have a 7-day monthly pass for myself and Summer Fun Pass for my daughter? I sure hope not.

The CDTA press release was issued on Monday 7/21, I don't think there was coverage in today's TU. It's after 11 p.m. now, so I won't get my answer calling the CDTA customer information line at this hour. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the professionals over at the TU will do more than reprint the details of the press release, and let us know if our passes will be usable. I hope to see some fleshed out news when I pick that paper up off my porch in the a.m. , and if not... it'll be time for a bit of research from one of us on the bus.

Sunday Sampling

My sister lives in the neighborhood where we grew up. She rides her bike all over the city and she loves it. I was on the phone with her Sunday evening as I was walking down to Lincoln Park pool to go for a swim -- hoping I would beat the incoming thunderstorms -- and I did. It was a glorious swim.

My sis asked me why I didn't try bike riding around Albany, she was thinking it would clearly save time getting around - she's right of course, though I keep thinking about all those hills in this town. I also spared her the details of my fear of things like this horror that happened to Roger, or worse... and say, "yeah, I know lots of people who do ride their bikes around here, I should invest in one!"

CDTA has a system map - available in old-school hard copy style or on the website where you can zoom, click and get schedule information. It's very colorful, and fun. When I look at that map, I have visions of a robust system carrying satisfied riders throughout our region.

Then I remember that while there are lots of routes, when you subtract those that are only commuter routes, then subtract those that only run on weekdays, then subtract those that don't run on Sundays - the colorful lines traveling throughout the region look rather drab on Sunday.

Yes, there's still some service.

I looked at the CDTA buses listed in Albany - there are 35 on the list, even though one or two of them don't actually go into the city of Albany. Of those 35 "Albany" bus lines, there are a whopping ELEVEN that actually run on Sundays.

How bizarre is it that over at the TU's Capital Region at the Crossroads blog people are arguing about the viability of light rail and the general use of public transit by suburban-minded folks, while there are plenty of people in city neighborhoods who don't have basic transportation available to them seven days per week? If you live in the up-and-coming Delaware Avenue neighborhood, you can walk to the movies or take a stroll for ice cream, but you can't catch a bus on the main drag on Sundays.

Here's the short list of "Albany" buses that actually run on Sundays:
The 1 (Central Avenue from downtown Albany to Colonie Center)
The 7 (from downtown Albany to Glenmont Wal-Mart)
The 8 (called "Arbor Hill" this route connects the South End and Arbor Hill and has a little stint on Washington Avenue between Main and Quail streets)
The 10 (Western Avenue bus from downtown to Crossgates)
The 11 (UAlbany Shuttle -- non University folks are allowed on the bus)
The 12 (Washington Avenue bus - from downtown to Crossgates and on Sundays takes you to Wal-Mart at Crossgates Commons)
The 13 (New Scotland Avenue - from downtown Albany to Slingerlands Price Chopper)
The 14 (Rensselaer/Third St./ Amtrak - goes from downtown Albany all the way to Averill Park-- hmmm, looking at the route for Sundays looks like this line overlooks Averill Park on Sundays, but at least you can get to Amtrak from Albany by bus on a Sunday)
The 22 - (Albany/ Troy via Watervliet)
The 55 (Albany- Schenectady via Route 5 - aka Central Avenue/ State Street)
The Shuttlefly (Colonie Center, Albany International Airport and Route 7)

Now, if you're going to be out past oh, 6:45 or so... your choices for bus service narrow even more leaving only these six lines running...1, 8, 11, 12, 22, 55.

Thinking back to my conversation with my sister, getting a bike on the road could lead to more productive Sundays for me, and bike lanes to make riding throughout the city more safe, might get me out on the bike sometime. I sure hope Albany's first comprehensive plan maps out some bike lanes.

School Buses, Crossroads and Three Kids on the Bus

Yesterday, the TU published a letter from a Clifton Park fellow who's thinking creatively. He proposed suburban folk run errands on yellow school buses throughout the day to save personal gas money and also contribute to their towns' tax bases. An interesting concept, and one that has apparently been tried before...in fact, here's a study published in 1999 on that very topic.

Capital Region suburbanites choosing yellow buses over their personal vehicles doesn't strike me as something that would actually happen. Let's see what kind of dialog is explored via the TU's Capital Region at a Crossroads series and blog.

Speaking of buses, I bought my nine year old daughter a CDTA Summer Fun Pass for the 2nd year in row. $17 for two months of rides is quite a deal if your child will be getting around via public transportation. Though the kid prefers car rides, when Mom's the parent in charge, the choice is bus or foot travel.

Friday, I picked her and two friends up from camp at 1:00 p.m. I gave them multiple options for afternoon activities: going swimming at Lincoln Park pool or Mater Christi pool, walking to the transitional baby Pine Hills branch of APL and filling out their reading records for the Summer Reading Program, spending some time at the NYS Museum, visiting a park, or taking a "bus adventure" -- they all voted for the very nebulous "bus adventure." My only plan in place for this was purchasing 2 $3 day passes for the friends, and taking them on at least 3 rides to be sure I got my money's worth -- anything else about the adventure remained tbd.

Highs and Lows of the Adventure

• A Walk to the Muddy Cup from camp to fuel up on coffee, where I run into a friend I've been meaning to contact because of her wealth of information about one of my too- many- volunteer-projects. The kids and I hang out on the comfy Muddy couches for a while.

• Catch a bus for a quick ride home to drop off lots of camp bags. Purchase the 2 $3 passes for the rest of the adventure.

• The girls keep themselves occupied with hand-clapping chants and games while we wait and wait for the Number 4 heading downtown. I wish I'd brought something to read! When the bus arrives, I give a quick tutorial on how to use their passes. A friend of mine is already on board-- we chat about parenting, work and summer happenings.
  

• Get off at Lark and Washington for Destination Number 1: Crisan for must-have gelato. (Thank you All Over Albany for introducing this fabulous spot to us!)

• One of the kids is hopeful that a book she ordered is finally at the Main Branch of APL. We walk over to the library, and while the ordered book is still "on order" the three kids find a spot on the floor in the corner of the children's room-- each set of eyes glued to a book they've found on the shelf. It seems nobody remembers that the plan was a bus adventure, which is just fine with me. Eventually, we head downstairs and they pick a dvd to watch for the evening's sleepover. We find ourselves still at the library for last-call-at-the-checkout-counter, leaving a few minutes before 6 p.m., just as a Number 2 is pulling up to the Washington Avenue Armory bus stop.

• I know these kids have never taken the Number 2, making the new-ness an adventure in itself. I give a quick re-cap on how to swipe a bus pass. As a mom, I do have an ulterior motive -- my kiddo has a birthday party to attend the next day, so taking the Number 2 to the last stop serves the practical and the adventurous.

• The walk from the bus to the re-designed Colonie Center is the safest walk I've taken from a street bus stop to a mall since I started this Capital Region bus riding thing last May.
  

• Typical mall experience. My kid has to go to the bathroom -twice in 10 minutes, one of her friends is "starving", my daughter and I can't agree on where to purchase the birthday gift, we're accosted by the people who sell dead sea skin products, and the other kid really wants a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. We settle our issues, and I decide we're buying dinner at Friendly's, and we'll grab a piece of cheesecake "to go" on our way back to the bus.

• All is well at Friendly's, while the service is slow. 2 kids decide they'll get ice cream after dinner, the other one holding out for her cheesecake.

• I check the time. 7:53. I check the bus schedule. Next Number 2 pulls out of Wolf Road at 8:15... and after that there isn't another Number 2 until 9:50 -- too late for me and three young girls to be taking the bus. To catch the 8:15, we cannot walk out of Friendly's after 8:03. The waitstaff hasn't yet taken the ice cream order.

• I have both the 1 and the 55 schedules with me, yet, I have no clue about whether either of them stop at the Wolf Road side of Colonie Center, CDTA's customer information line has been closed for 53 minutes and I don't want to "wing" trying to catch a different bus line just so they can indulge in mediocre ice cream and cheesecake. (I called the helpful customer information line on Saturday and learned the Number 1 stops at the Wolf Road side, but not the 55 -- that, you still need to catch on Central Avenue.)

• I'm surprised to find these kids, who are not used to scheduling their lives around a bus, are incredibly good sports about the change and will wait until next time for the ice cream and cheese cake. I feel like a responsible grown-up since they already had Crisan's amazing gelato.

• Same bus driver on the Number 2 back downtown, remembers us and remarks, "You still have your crew." The kids have become pros at swiping those passes.
  

• We manage to get downtown in time to run the very short block and 1/2 and catch the 8:40 Number 3 at the "Quail and Central" stop. In truth, we're running to the stop where the driver takes a break on Quail between Bradford and West Streets, and our run adds to the adventure.

• We get home well before 9 p.m. -- perfect timing to watch that dvd borrowed from the library.

At the end of the day, I spent more money than I'd hoped to, the kids had fun, and nobody complained that we were taking the bus. All in all, a fine adventure around Albany.

Will Car Sharing come to the Capital Region?

I've got a friend who throws ideas around with me... most of the time we talk Albany City politics and quality of life issues facing the folks in our neighborhoods.

Sometimes though, our conversations head in an entrepreneurial direction, we dream that American Dream. We consider ways we might strike it rich.

When our conversations sway toward making money, my friend's husband affectionately refers to us as "Lucy and Ethel". He's got a point, we probably aren't destined to be big money makers.

Now, here's an idea for a business that Lucy and Ethel are not going to start, but somebody really should.

Open a car sharing business in Albany. (To learn about car sharing, click here or here)

Click here for a guide to help you get started.

Between all the college students, the price of gas, and those of us who don't have cars -- car sharing is a business that has got to be lucrative. I mean look at this headline from a Zipcar press release:

In Wake of High Gas Prices and Low Car Sales, Zipcar Grows 100% During Past 12 Months

New Survey Shows Americans Ditching Cars at Record Pace

Read the whole release by clicking here.

Car sharing would also be an innovative service to contract to non-profits who serve people without cars, but who need a car for errands from time to time.

Car sharing, however would not be a viable option to get folks to work every day at those places where public transportation is currently lacking, places like...
CDPHP and Gutptill's Arena.
For that, we still need better public transportation planning and the funding to support it!

And you probably wouldn't want to drive the car you're paying an hourly rate to use to drive to the Altamont Fair and leave it parked there while you play for hours. Will CDTA provide service to the Altamont Fair this year? Last year, the fair nixed bus riders with a last minute no-service announcement... so far this year, I've heard no news of whether buses will be taking folks to frolic at the fair.

But hey, our friends in our "sister city" of sorts, Austin, Texas have got it right... they have an organization called: liveable city: Quality of Life for All of Austin that unanimously passed this resolution in 2006 for a pilot car sharing program. (I recommend reading the resolution in its entirety, they make a good case for a non-profit car sharing pilot program in Austin.) It looks like Austin CarShare is doing well, and is non-profit; leading me to think if you want to make your million, don't open a for-profit car sharing business in our region because a non-profit will be more likely to stay local, provide lower prices and serve the community better!