Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Today was the monthly luncheon for one of the women’s business networking groups I belong to. It was a good day to get out and talk to friends. We have a new venue for this event which is located at the top of a steep hill, so I have been taking the mobility bus instead of the regular city bus to attend in January and today. The mobility bus picks me up at my house and drops me off in front of my destination.
You might think, since they offer curb to curb service, I would always want to ride the mobility bus when I go places, however the mobility bus is simply not very convenient. The regular city bus usually runs on time, so I know exactly how long I will be waiting for a bus. When I ride the mobility bus, I am given a 30-minute pick-up window. If my scheduled pick-up time is 10:00 a.m., the bus is on time from 9:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Many places do not have a good indoor spot with a line of sight to where the bus parks, so you may be sitting in the cold for half an hour waiting for the mobility bus (I have many times). I lucked out this morning, my window opened at 9:30 and the mobility bus was already there when I rolled out of my house. I waited 25 minutes for my mobility bus home. I asked my friends leaving the event to check the parking lot in case I could not see the mobility bus arrive from my indoor vantage point.
Mobility bus rides are shared rides. That means there may be people already on the bus, and we might pick up or drop off people on our way to my destination. This morning there was one person on the bus when I was picked up, we picked up another person in my area, and I was the first to be dropped off. Woo hoo! It was a short ride for me. I was there faster than if I had taken the city bus.
When I got on the mobility bus to come home, there were already four passengers on the bus. We dropped off all four at three different locations on the north side of town. We then picked up and dropped off a woman on the southeast side of town. By the time we arrived at my house on the southwest side of town, the regular city bus would have passed in my area twice. That is what a shared ride means, sometimes you get a quick ride, sometimes they hold you hostage. Either way, at least you get a ride.
The mobility bus is more expensive than the regular city bus for both passengers and the transit system. I am not going to lie; I am a cheapskate. Why would I pay $3.50 for a mobility bus ride when I can ride the regular city bus for 85 cents? I use the mobility bus when I do not think I can get to my destination safely from a bus stop. I can schedule a mobility bus ride three days before pickup. I scheduled today’s rides on Sunday knowing it would snow yesterday. I might have gotten trapped at a snow-covered bus stop. I do not yet know if I can make it up that steep hill without flipping my wheelchair over. I do not feel safe there yet.
The mobility bus costs us taxpayers more per ride than the regular city bus. It costs between $16 and $23 per mobility ride depending on efficiency. (My ride home today was very efficient for the transit system.) I consider it my civic duty to ride the regular city bus as much as possible (and I am a cheapskate). The regular city bus stops near my house whether I get on it or not, so it costs transit nothing for me to ride the regular city bus. Not only is the regular city bus less expensive for me, I feel like I am making my community more prosperous when I choose to ride. Saving transit (and me) money is one of my tiny moments of joy.
My piece of advice to you is take what you need unapologetically. I do not care if I need to take a $46 ride once a month to keep my sanity. I pay taxes and that is the service for which those taxes have been earmarked. Once winter quits strangling my city, I will ride the regular city bus home. I may even luck out and not dump my chair when I try to scale the hill this summer with friends behind me to catch me if I fall.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Today was the monthly luncheon for one of the women’s business networking groups I belong to. It was a good day to get out and talk to friends. We have a new venue for this event which is located at the top of a steep hill, so I have been taking the mobility bus instead of the regular city bus to attend in January and today. The mobility bus picks me up at my house and drops me off in front of my destination.
You might think, since they offer curb to curb service, I would always want to ride the mobility bus when I go places, however the mobility bus is simply not very convenient. The regular city bus usually runs on time, so I know exactly how long I will be waiting for a bus. When I ride the mobility bus, I am given a 30-minute pick-up window. If my scheduled pick-up time is 10:00 a.m., the bus is on time from 9:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Many places do not have a good indoor spot with a line of sight to where the bus parks, so you may be sitting in the cold for half an hour waiting for the mobility bus (I have many times). I lucked out this morning, my window opened at 9:30 and the mobility bus was already there when I rolled out of my house. I waited 25 minutes for my mobility bus home. I asked my friends leaving the event to check the parking lot in case I could not see the mobility bus arrive from my indoor vantage point.
Mobility bus rides are shared rides. That means there may be people already on the bus, and we might pick up or drop off people on our way to my destination. This morning there was one person on the bus when I was picked up, we picked up another person in my area, and I was the first to be dropped off. Woo hoo! It was a short ride for me. I was there faster than if I had taken the city bus.
When I got on the mobility bus to come home, there were already four passengers on the bus. We dropped off all four at three different locations on the north side of town. We then picked up and dropped off a woman on the southeast side of town. By the time we arrived at my house on the southwest side of town, the regular city bus would have passed in my area twice. That is what a shared ride means, sometimes you get a quick ride, sometimes they hold you hostage. Either way, at least you get a ride.
The mobility bus is more expensive than the regular city bus for both passengers and the transit system. I am not going to lie; I am a cheapskate. Why would I pay $3.50 for a mobility bus ride when I can ride the regular city bus for 85 cents? I use the mobility bus when I do not think I can get to my destination safely from a bus stop. I can schedule a mobility bus ride three days before pickup. I scheduled today’s rides on Sunday knowing it would snow yesterday. I might have gotten trapped at a snow-covered bus stop. I do not yet know if I can make it up that steep hill without flipping my wheelchair over. I do not feel safe there yet.
The mobility bus costs us taxpayers more per ride than the regular city bus. It costs between $16 and $23 per mobility ride depending on efficiency. (My ride home today was very efficient for the transit system.) I consider it my civic duty to ride the regular city bus as much as possible (and I am a cheapskate). The regular city bus stops near my house whether I get on it or not, so it costs transit nothing for me to ride the regular city bus. Not only is the regular city bus less expensive for me, I feel like I am making my community more prosperous when I choose to ride. Saving transit (and me) money is one of my tiny moments of joy.
My piece of advice to you is take what you need unapologetically. I do not care if I need to take a $46 ride once a month to keep my sanity. I pay taxes and that is the service for which those taxes have been earmarked. Once winter quits strangling my city, I will ride the regular city bus home. I may even luck out and not dump my chair when I try to scale the hill this summer with friends behind me to catch me if I fall.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.