Public Transit

Just Buy Everyone a Car

Some say that when cars drive unmanned, public transit will run on-demand. But the salespeople touting this dynamic routing have something more sinister planned. Bear with me...

Nice not being so dependent on automobiles

I really enjoy living some place where I’m not so dependent on automobiles.

Fyi... This is sorta like how January should look

It’s nice to be able to walk down to the library, to a Stewart’s and to the town park. Heck when I feel adventurous I can even walk to the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center.

I have express and local busses that take me to and from work, and to various shops and entertainment venues. I can have a few drinks and take the bus home. I don’t ever have to worry about parking, about being tired on the way home or getting into a wreck. Snow is just an occasion to wear boots and not worry about the road conditions.

Integrating the Glens Falls Transit System into CDTA Makes a Lot of Sense 🚌

New York State has a lot of transit agencies. Each of the major urban regions in Upstate NY has a separate transit authority. Many of the smaller “rural” cities have their agencies. It makes it confusing for riders, leads to wasteful overhead and leaves the systems disconnected from one and another.

While it’s unlikely New York State will ever have a single transit system, like New Jersey Transit, it does make a lot of sense for agencies like CDTA to expand out and absorb as many of the smaller systems nearby. It allows sharing of employees and equipment. It puts all the bus schedules in one place, sets a common fare that allows only one fare card to be used. Massachusetts, for example allows you to use the Boston MTA fare card on any public transit system in the state. So if your from Boston and visiting Pittsfield and want to hop a bus to get around town, you can pull out your MTA Card.

I like the idea of being able to hop on a bus in Glens Falls or even Lake George during the busy summer season, as an alternative to driving with my CDTA Swiper card, having consistent fares and schedules like the rest of the CDTA system that now spans from Amsterdam – Albany – Schenectady – Troy – Schenectady. Adding Glens Falls to system would also likely strengthen the link between Glens Falls and Saratoga, further allowing bus-dependent residents and even casual commuters a better way to get around.

NPR

Eclipse, the solo bus-riding dog of Seattle, has died : NPR

Eclipse, the Seattle dog known for riding a city bus herself, died on Friday. The news was posted on her owner-run Facebook account.

She was 10 years old and died in her sleep, according to the account. Prior posts shared that she had been diagnosed with cancerous tumors.

Eclipse gained attention in 2015 when she began to take the bus alone. Her owner, Jeff Young, says the two of them would regularly take the bus to visit their local Belltown Dog Park. One day, he was still smoking a cigarette when the bus arrived — so, she boarded without him.

Within weeks, the black lab-bullmastiff mix was a consistent commuter in her signature red harness. Bus drivers recognized her and she knew her stop by looking out the window, her fellow passengers told Seattle's KOMO News in 2015.