Ever since I went I was in college at UT in Austin, I understood the need for better mass transit in Texas. I had never been on a bus till I took the UT shuttle buses to campus each day, but I quickly realized it was better than driving. However, outside of the shuttle buses in Austin, the transit is not reliable, and who wants to wait out in the 100+ degree heat for a bus that may take a hour to show up. The only good thing about the city buses is that they are cheap.
When I moved to NY, I was more than happy to get rid of my car and be a true commuter. I loved it. Each morning, I bustled through Grand Central with my coffee and cheesecake (yea, I ate cheesecake for breakfast, don't judge.) and I felt like I was part of the action. Of course, I had a 1 1/5 commute, but hey, at least I got to read.
I have had high hopes that Texas would get it's sh*t together and makes some improvements. Dallas and Houston have added commuter light rails, but people in Houston can't figure it out, and there were 75 train to car accidents in less than a year!
For years some people have been pushing for a commuter train to connect Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. It would relive so much of the traffic on I35 and I10, which are nightmares to drive on. Southwest Airlines (which I refuse to fly) have fought this rail with all their might. Now, the Obama has dedicated 8 billion for national light rail development, and Texas still won't budge. Read more here.
I'll continue to share Obama's vision for a connected country, but I am not optimistic.
2 comments:
Welcome back, Leila’s mom! I’ve missed your posts.
I have some Texas experience, and I think you know that, outside of Austin, the state tends to be somewhat backward and ill-informed. (Remember, just a few days before the election, a UT poll showed 23% of all Texans still believed Obama was a Muslim. In the immortal words of Dave Barry, I am not making this up: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/
6084678.html )
Still, my Texas experience includes public transportation in Dallas, and I have been impressed, both by the metro connections between systems, and by the Dallas light rail. I think Dallas gets it. And any real Dallasite would not be surprised Houstonians don’t get it.
Well being from Houston I understand the the Dallas-Houston rivalry. I must agree with you though, I think Dallas is way ahead of the rest of the state in terms of transit. My friends that live there still drive a lot, but several use the light rail as part of their daily commute, and love it.
Thanks for reading!
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