Mass Transit

I finally did it! I parked my car at the corner of Oakland Park Blvd. and 441 (there is a shopping plaza there), boarded the Sun Trolley, put on my headphones and cracked open the morning newspaper.

Instead of driving to work, I sat back and let someone else bother with the traffic. I didn't have to deal with seeking a parking space on the sixth floor of the parking garage and then walk two blocks to my office. I was dropped off on the corner of Andrews Avenue and SW 2nd Street, directly across the street from the Main Library.

I could actually enjoy this. The BEST part??? The Sun Trolley is absolute FREE! This is a pilot program of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association in conjunction with Broward County Mass Transit. I don't know how long it will continue to be free, and I don't know how often I will choose to take the trolley to work, but for now, I like the idea of it.

Now the downside . . . The trolley has wooden benches and is not THE most comfortable ride. The five or six people on the trolley all know each other and chat really, really loud all the way to work and home (okay, not a bad thing, it is kind of sweet that they have created this warm, fuzzy commuting environment. I am just not in the mood to talk that cheerfully at 7:20 a.m.). Once at work, I don't have a car and if I needed to leave fast, I would have to depend on someone to pick me up, so I would have to plan carefully in advance so that I don't NEED my car.

But, the cool thing is that it reminds me of when Rachel and I travel to other cities, we ALWAYS use their mass transit. We like to compare the cities we visit to the mass transit that is available. We want to get into the feel of the city and the only way is to surround ourselves with REAL people. REAL people use mass transit.

In Boston, EVERYONE uses the T (that is how they lovingly refer to their trains). It is a very simple system (check it out for yourself http://www.mbta.com/traveling_T/schedules_subway.asp). Also, EVERYONE riding the T is also reading a book.

In Manhattan, the subways and buses make commuting a breeze. Yeah it is cramped during rush hour, but you can get wherever you want. New Yorkers are not only reading, but they do it high tech! I saw a very orthodox man reading on his Palm, standing up and holding the hand strap with his free hand.

In Chicago, we stayed in the suburbs because we couldn't get a hotel room downtown. But we had fun taking the commuter trains. They were more like the Long Island RR. Cushy chairs, double decker cars, extra newspapers that everyone shared with each other. Rachel taught me all about how to read the baseball stats that summer! But the best part was connecting to the El trains and I felt like we were in Chicago Hope or ER!! We also took a train out to Salem and spent the day there. We loved the fact that we didn't need a car.

In Washington, DC it was a little more difficult. We stayed in the Adams Morgan area and had to walk about ten blocks to the Metro. When we took the trains, they were very easy to use, very, very clean and safe, however the stops were incredibly far apart and we did an amazing amount of walking. Cabs were necessary now and then for our very tired feet. But, we were able to get around very easily. Boston was still our favorite city with mass transit.

So back to mass transit here in Broward County . . . it isn't great, it isn't even good yet. But it is a beginning. At least they are trying. And at least they have convinced me to try it too! They have quite a long way to go. They have to convince 1.9 million people that it is okay to leave your car at home and interact with other residents. We are so used to leaving our air conditioned homes, to jump into our air conditioned cars complete with our satellite radio, cell phones, GPS and other gadgets that further isolate ourselves from our fellow Broward Countians to then go to our offices and plug ourselves into our telephones and computers and reverse it on the way home.

We have to learn the art of conversation, the art of looking into people's eyes when we talk and saying hello to our neighbors. Perhaps it all has to begin with mass transit?