One of the things I’m committed to do in my travels to big
cities is to make every effort to do away with the automobile as my primary
form of transportation. I’ll take taxis
only when absolutely necessary, perhaps to and from the airport. I also use the airport-to-hotel shuttles as
much as possible, especially if they are “free” (but don’t forget the tip
money.) I also use the money I
otherwise would have used on a car rental on something much more, uh, relevant: a nice/nicer dinner, tickets
to a sporting event, concert, or play, or something else for the special
someone else (who usually gets my motor running much more smoothly than any of
those rental cars!).
I also take some time prior to takeoff, to learn about the
local transit options. I’ve become
partial to light rail and subways. I’ve
found bus service (save for Honolulu where the BRT system “The Bus” resides)
to be wanting, in all honesty. The
busses share the same roads as all other traffic, tend to be more cramped, and
unless they have dedicated express lanes (such as in Hawaii’s BRT system), they’re largely impractical. This also applies, to an extent, to the
touristy “hop on hop off” busses you see in all of the big tourist cities like
San Francisco. There is an element of convenience of this kind of arrangement –
get on and get off as you please, with the same bus coming back a short time
later – but you’re still sharing the same roads as the commuters. Plus, the tourist buses only have – guess it
– TOURISTS on board. You won’t find the
local flavor, zeitgeist, or anything else on board these social
bubbles-on-wheels.
But I’ve found several advantages to riding the rails,
whether local, regional, or national, underground or overground:
1.
The systems I have ridden have, for the most
part, performed very well in terms of on-time and station location factors;
2.
They’re comparatively cheaper than the tourist
busses – and a whole lot cheaper than car rentals;
3.
Since most of the riders of these systems are
the locals, you can get a sense of the local “flavor” and culture just by
“hanging” with the riders, even if only for a short time;
4.
You don’t have to contend with ANY of the
traffic issues so common in large cities.
My last few trips outside of the usually friendly confines
of my hometown – to New York, Boston, and Portland, OR – have involved me
taking this “transit only” approach.
I’ll get into more detail on this topic in future postings, especially
as far as what my take is on the quality of the transit options in the places I
visit.
I realize that car rentals are unavoidable in many parts of
the country (and the world). In those
areas, I’ll bite hard and rent the cheapest wheels I can find, and use them
only when necessary. Transit and
hoofing-it work best for someone who is in good health and is trying to watch
his/her weight along with the people and the surroundings (as I am).
Stay tuned.
