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Surveying Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
Norman_Oklahoma replied 3 years, 11 months ago 41 Members · 130 Replies
- Posted by: @paden-cash
Here in Norman we had CART (Cleveland Area Regular Transportation)
Up in Seattle; they have the South Lake Union Trolley…
Sorry; if I offended anyone
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will! @dougie
Not me. I’ve seen the shirts promoting Friends University of Central Kansas which is in Wichita. Gotta watch those Quakers. 😯
For some reason Friends University–Kansas City does not offer shirts for dyslexics.
@andy-bruner Unfortunately the bus schedule in my county is not aligned with the shooting hours at my trap range.
- Posted by: @holy-cow
@dougie
Not me. I’ve seen the shirts promoting Friends University of Central Kansas which is in Wichita. Gotta watch those Quakers. 😯
For some reason Friends University–Kansas City does not offer shirts for dyslexics.
And in Texas you have the Sam Houston Institute of Technology. (grin)
Andy
- Posted by: @mike-marks
@paden-cash I live in a metropolis and it costs roughly 10 million dollars a year to run the system beyond fare revenues, advertising income, etc., with about 20 million riders per year @$2.50/ticket, probably closer to $2.00 average because of discounts for seniors, discounted monthly passes, etc. That works out to about a 50? subsidy per ticket, or 25% of a ticket’s price. Assuming the Latino lady that works at Carl’sJr. 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year is buying two tickets/workday (out and back) that works out to 500 tickets for about $1,000 total, so the 25% subsidy is $250, obviously not enough to buy her a car to get to work. Of course she would instead buy 12 discounted monthly passes for $720 total to save some dough, which jacks the subsidy up to $500, still not enough to buy a beater car.
I’m perplexed that the city doesn’t just jack up the ticket price to $3.00 which would cover the present subsidy and make the whole operation revenue neutral. Other dense cities with robust subway/rubber tire transit (NYC & SanFran) subsidise their system @ about 50% of a ticket’s price, so they’d have to double ticket prices (which aren’t much different @ $2.50-$2.75) to break even, but $5.00 for a metro ticket may be a bridge too far.
I got stuck with no car for a month and used transit to get to work, shop, etc. Truly a life changing experience, what took 10-30 minutes turned into one or two hour slogs, mostly waiting at transfer stations and hoofing it with a backpack. Tried the bicycle thing a couple times but it’s dangerous, you end up sweaty, it’s kinda hilly around here and you can’t carry a week’s groceries. Public Trans isn’t viable because PVs are much faster, aren’t a lot more than transit costs if you’re frugal, and make you master of your domain <g>.
When I worked for the City of Toronto, it would take me about 55 minutes to take the subway and then bus transfer to get to work. I once tried it with a car–the commute took just under 50 minutes. This was from downtown to North York. However, a few things to keep in mind:
-I was unable to read the newspaper or review work papers while commuting
-TTC cost at the time was $120/month (or $3 each way for 20 workdays–$6 round trip); round trip in gas cost was $3.90 at the time
-the TTC cost was less if I ever used it more than 40 times in a month (ie. it was spread out over more)
-no insurance, car, maintenance, or parking fees for the TTC
-groceries are much easier to get now what with Uber, delivery, Amazon, or car sharing (ie. Zipcar)
I only got a car once I became a crew chief and the company was willing to reimburse me for using it ($0.50/km in ~2008). This pic also shows the advantage of public transit:
https://urbanist.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83454714d69e2017d3c37d8ac970c-800wi
For any large metropolis, promoting public transit has the often unaccounted effect of opening up more room on the highways for commercial traffic. It frees up major routes from simple human transportation to commercial/professional. Toronto’s public transportation is FAAAAR from a world leader (in fact, we often lament how poorly run we think it is).
Now, compare that to London, Ontario–completely different story. London only has buses and they have had snafu after snafu. Just an embarrassment. Some municipalities run things better than others, just like any other company.
To me, the tipping point is when you get kids. Just easier to chuck them all in the minivan than organize around public transportation. Single or just married adult(s)? I’d be hard-pressed to find a reason to own a car in a major city if I didn’t need one to actually do my job.
That’s great when your workplace happens to be conveniently located near a rapid transit hub. Or is it the rapid transit hub that was built to be convenient to the workplace?
Portland has a very well developed LRT system. I live 15 miles, door to door, from my office. My home is within a close in suburban area (about a mile from Nike world headquarters, where some 20,000 people work). It’s a 20 minute drive in light traffic but often over an hour real world. I’ve never actually tried to do it via public transit but I know that it would involve a 1 mile walk to get to the nearest transit pickup point and at least 2 changes of train/buses to complete the journey. If I could do it in under 2 hours one way I’d be surprised. Oh – that walk? There is no sidewalk – not even a road shoulder along the most direct route.
Now, If I worked for the City of Portland once I got that mile walk behind me a single train would take me to within a few blocks of work in about 10 minutes. How about them apples?
OH….did I mention about the nut who slashed 3 riders on the train, killing 2 of them?
@norman-oklahoma
I worked for a company in Seattle. One of the perks, of working there, was a free transit pass. I could ride any public transit, anywhere in the region, no cost to me. It was part of an incentive plan, given to downtown businesses, to get them get their employees to ride public transit.
I drove 3 miles to the train station; about 10 minutes. It was a 41 minute ride to Seattle, and I walked 6 blocks to work. I had to walk past the open door mission, but that wasn’t to bad. I also walked past 2 Starbucks, and a few other places that offered similar fare.
I had to catch the first train, or I wouldn’t be able to find a parking spot. That was the worst part of the commute. Other that that, it was my favorite commute, while working for someone else. I could read, nap, or engage a conversation with some very nice people.
I hate traffic; I have a friend that leaves at 4:00 am, if he’s working anywhere north of Puyallup, then he sits in a McDonald’s and waits until it’s light enough to work. Screw that; I usually leave around 9, most of the traffic is cleared out by then and I try to finish up before 2. My friend does mostly construction layout, so I can’t really blame him.
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will!@norman-oklahoma
Yes, it does largely depend on where you live. I was going downtown to, well, downtown. Suburbs to downtown are a whole different story. Often suburbs are overlooked. Usually, any suburb in SW Ontario is req’d to have a sidewalk on at least 1 side of the road to encourage people to walk, child safety, etc. If you do not have a sidewalk, it basically kills taking the bus as you have noted. That’s a planning issue with the municipality. They can reap what they sow in that regard. It’s not for everyone. I currently live so far from “civilization” on a farm that a personal vehicle is my only practical choice. We would, however, consider getting rid of one family vehicle if we lived inside the confines of a large city.
Many municipalities are trying to encourage alternative modes of transportation to free up highways for commercial purposes. Emergency vehicles also get access to those lanes which improves response time. Some succeed at it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitway_(Ottawa)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit_in_Brazil
I, personally, do not believe induced demand will solve the problem.
As for the slasher, I’m going to sound slightly calloused here–but a statistical anomaly. You can die a number of ways:
-walking down the sidewalk and you get run over by a man in a van enraged that women deny him fornication
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_van_attack
-you can be gassed taking the subway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack
-a monkey riding a bike can attack your infant
https://globalnews.ca/news/6902745/monkey-attacks-toddler-bicycle/
You’re still more likely to get in a car crash and be injured. I still buckle up and drive out of the driveway every day without thinking about it.
Another One Rides the Bus (tune of “Another One Bites the Dust”)
by that great Canadian “Weird” Al YankovicRiding in the bus down the boulevard
And the place was pretty packed (yeah!)
Couldn’t find a seat so I had to stand
With the perverts in the back
It was smelling like a locker room
There was junk all over the floor
We’re already packed in like sardines
But we’re stopping to pick up more (look out)Another one rides the bus
Another one rides the bus
Another comes on and another comes on
Another one rides the bus
Hey, he’s gonna sit by you
Another one rides the busThere’s a suitcase poking me in the ribs
There’s an elbow in my ear
There’s a smelly old bum standing next to me
Hasn’t showered in a year
I think I’m missing a contact lens
I think my wallet’s gone
And I think this bus is stopping again
To let a couple more freaks get on (look out)Another one rides the bus
Another one rides the bus
Another comes on and another comes on
Another one rides the bus
Hey, he’s gonna sit by you
Another one rides the busAnother one rides the bus
Another one rides the bus ow
Another one rides the bus hey hey
Another one rides the bus hey-ey-ey-eyThe window doesn’t open and the fan is broke
And my face is turning blue (yeah)
I haven’t been in a crowd like this
Since I went to see The Who
Well I should’ve got off a couple miles ago
But I couldn’t get to the door
There isn’t any room for me to breathe
And now we’re gonna pick up moreAnother one rides the bus
Another one rides the bus
Another comes on and another comes on
Another one rides the bus
Hey, he’s gonna sit by you
Another one rides the bus
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