It's time to start improving the public transportation systems in the DC area.

 I thought that Donald Trump, being a city boy, was going to make investing in urban infrastructures, including expanding public transportation options part of his game plan. It didn't happen. Of course, I have suspicions that since the majority of urban planners and other urbanists tend to be Marxists, he decided not to play their game. I am disappointed though. Here in the DC area, Amazon is planning on moving one of their headquarters into our area. In addition to bringing in over 25,000 jobs, there are going to be the coat tail business that will be following Amazon into the area. That means we could have an increase in population of over a million more people over the next 10 years or so. You can't have everyone driving, even if they are driving electric cars. Pollution is only part of the equations. Congestion is the other part. Plus, there is the pedestrian danger with more vehicles on the road. There have been a slew of pedestrian fatalities over the past several months, and I don't see it getting any better. When it comes to expanding our public transportation system, there is a lot of desire to make that expansion rail based. An example is the Purple Line, that is currently under construction. That's all well and good, but we have to be realistic. Transportation systems need infrastructure. You can either build a brand new rail infrastructure for billions of dollars, or you can modify what you have for a lot less money We already have a pavement based infrastructure in place, because back in the 1950s it was decided to make our transportation infrastructure based on highways and roads. That was the beginning of the end of most of our long distance passenger rail service, as well as curtailing a lot of the regional and local rail systems. Europe took a different approach. We are not Europe. However, there are some things that Europe does better, and I will discuss that in other posts.  

Let's hope for better bus service in PG County

Hopefully, this year will see an increase in bus service in Prince George's County, MD. Younger people are moving into the area, because it is more affordable than either DC or Montgomery County. Many of these younger people are more transit friendly than previous generations, which relied on the automobile for 99% of their travels. I don't mind walking out to the bus stop. I just wish that there were more buses.

Metro Funding

There is a post on the Greater Greater Washington website about Metro funding. It is a very complicated issue, because unlike the Baltimore public transportation system, which is under the budget of the Maryland Department of Transportation, Metro is under three jurisdictions, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. I do agree that there needs to be a lot more dedicated funding for the Metro system. Let's face it, the DC metro area has a lot of people. Those people need to get from home to work, and back again, as well as recreational trips, and trips to run errands, etc.. People tend to rely on their cars in this area, especially over here in Prince George's County. PG is starting to change as more professionals that work downtown move in the county, but the overall culture of PG County is not very transit friendly. I'm hoping that as the demographics of the area change, things will become more urban. Yes, I am a rare breed. I am a conservative urbanist.

Greater Greater Washington Happy Hour at Lost and Found On 9th Street

I had a wonderful time at the GGW happy hour at a bar called Lost and Found, which is on 9th Street NW, in Washington, DC. It is just up the road from the Convention Center. I have been a big fan of GGW, since I discovered the organisation a few years back, when I was doing some research on public transportation. The articles are well-thought out, and they all address various urban issues, ranging from public transportation to affordable housing. I am a huge advocate for both. It was nice to have some "refreshments" with like-minded individuals. I'm sure that 99.9% of them are Liberals with a capital L, but putting politics aside, we all share a vision of a better Washington, DC metropolitan area.

As I discussed with quite a few individuals tonight, I am hoping that as the demographics of Prince George's County change, there will be more professionals moving into the county, and demanding better public transportation services. Maybe we will even be able to have later night bus service running from Montgomery County to Prince George's County, especially the College Park area, and have later night bus service from College Park to Beltsville and beyond. It's going to take a lot of activism and lobbying the right people, in order to make that happen. Let's hope that it does. The county needs better transit.

After attending the Coalition For Smarter Growth social at Eastern Market in Washington, DC

It was a nice event. I know a couple of the directors of the organization, and they are good people.  However, it was difficult to engage in conversations with some people, because the entire urban planning and smart growth "industry," is pretty much of a clique. Need I say more...

Looking Forward To The Coalition For Smarter Growth Social

Tomorrow, October 17, 2017, is the 5th annual Coalition For Smarter Growth Social at Eastern Market in Washington, DC. This will be the first one of these events that I will have been able to attend. I am looking forward to it. This is a fee paying event, and according to their website, tickets will be available at the door. The event runs from 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM.

While I'm sure that my politics are at polar opposite to most of the attendees, I am looking forward to sharing ideas with people that do share common themes with me...urban issues. I am a rare breed in the fact that I am a conservative urbanist. I don't consider urban issues to be "smart growth Communism." I love the idea of living in row houses with tiny yards, riding public transportation, and using car sharing for the times when you really do need a vehicle. I'm ambivalent to the use of riding a bicycle because I am disabled, but I do ride one on occasion. I currently subscribe to two bike share programs, and am looking into the dockless bike sharing programs too. I believe that these issues help foster a sense of community, and if you go back throughout history, a sense of community is what bound us together as a nation. I will let you know how the event went over the next day or so.

I was in sunny Utah, and had a chance to explore two transit systems. The first one was in Logan. I was attending a conference at Utah State University, and had a chance to take a ride on their CVTD bus system. It doesn't run late, doesn't run on Sunday, but it is free. For the most part, however, you really do need a car out there. Things are just a little too spread out. You could probably get by with a bicycle if you were in good shape, because you are in the mountains, and the roads have a lot of long hills. More to follow after I get back home...

The other system that I tried out, was the Salt Lake City UTA Rail system. Salt Lake also has a very extensive bus system, but I didn't explore it. The rail system is a very efficient light rail system, that basically goes everywhere.  You can buy single ride fare tickets, round trip tickets or for $6.25 you can purchase an all day pass, that is good on all light rail trains, buses, and street cars. There is also an express train called the FrontRunner, that is available for an extra fee. I found it to be a great way to get around both downtown, and from my motel near the airport. Also, the train goes to the airport, which is something that Maryland should consider down the road. Yes, you can get from Baltimore to BWI Airport, but how about a light rail from Greenbelt to the airport sometime in the future?

Changes to Metro...June 25, 2017

If you check out Metro's website, you will see that there are some major changes coming down the pike on June 25, 2017. There are going to be shorter hours, and there are going to be some changes to the bus service. New timetables are being added every day, and from what Metro tells me, most of the new bus timetables should be out by the beginning of next week. Please check out things carefully, so you don't get caught with your pants down.

I am particularly interested in changes in the bus service. Buses are the unsung heroes of the Metro system. I love riding the bus. The bus routes that I use on a regular basis are the E4, J2, J3, J4, H2, H3, H4, H6, H8, H9, Q1, Q2, Q4, Q5, Q6, S2, S4, S9, T2, 70, 79, 80, 83, and 86. For Prince George's County Transportation, I use the 17 bus, but it only runs on weekdays, and doesn't run after 8 PM. In Montgomery County, besides the MetroBuses, I use RideOn bus routes, 1, 5, 11, 28 VanGo, 34, 45, and 55. Starting on October 2, 2017, there is going to be a new RideOn bus service, called the RideOn Extra. You can get information about this new bus service on that website. It's exciting!

The RideOnExtra, is a step in the right direction. Even though I am a huge fan of rail based public transportation, and do enjoy riding DC's MetroRail, bus service, especially dedicated lane with traffic light priority capability, is more than a viable option. If they scrap the Purple Line and expand the bus service from Bethesda to New Carrollton, with the planned stops enroute, and with the hours running until midnight or later, I'm fine with that. Unlike the fine upstanding, college degreed residents of Chevy Chase and Bethesda, I don't have any problem whatsoever, riding a public transportation bus, with those "little brown people," that they love to exploit in the interest of social justice.

Bonifant Street Garages In Silver Spring

The Bonifant Street garage has been a blessing for me. I like to use public transportation for most of my trips. I have found that by driving from College Park to the Bonifant Street garage in Silver Spring, it allows me to make the majority of my trips on public transportation, with the highest degree of flexibility and selection of services.

You walk out the back of the garage, and you are about 100 yards from the Sarbanes Transportation Center. A huge variety of MetroBuses and RideOn buses service the transit center. In addition, the Red Line and MARC Train also service the transit center, and the purple line, when it ever gets built, will also service the transportation center.

There was an article in the Greater Greater Washington website by Dan Reed: https://ggwash.org/view/61694/silver-spring-could-get-a-big-music-and-sports-venue

I would hate to see those garages go the way of the dinosaur. Yes, I could park in the Wayne Avenue garage, but then it is about a half a mile walk to the transit center. I am handicapped, and have handicap tags on my car. I can park in the Bonifant Street garage for free. At the Wayne Avenue garage, I would still have to pay, up until 9 PM. I work in Bethesda, and usually work until 10 or 11 at night. The J2 bus is a wonderful cross town bus that goes from Montgomery Mall to Silver Spring. It runs until well after midnight during the week, and after 11 PM on Sundays.

In addition, I like to visit a friend who lives in Rockville, MD. My preferred method of travel, is to park in the Bonifant Street garages, take the Q bus to Rockville or to the bus stop on Rockville Pike at the intersection of Hungerford (Rockville Pike) and College Parkway. I can walk in from there if need be, but my friend will usually be available to pick me up there. I can also take the RideOn 45 bus from Rockville to a stop at the end of her condo complex's driveway. Recently, I've been taking my bicycle on the Metro and/or the MetroBus, and riding in from Hungerford and College Parkway. Bicycle is a great gap filler when using public transportation. Try it.

A Good Time Was Had By All

Last night I went to a happy hour event sponsored by Greater Greater Washington and the Coalition For Smart Growth, at a nice place called A & D Neighborhood Bar, on 9th Street, in Washington, DC. It was fun. I'm sure I was the only person in the room who voted for Trump. Of course, I didn't let that be known. I don't know these people well enough, yet, in order to share my political views.

I'd have to say, everyone there was what is called a social justice warrior. Everyone there worked for some sort of nonprofit organization having to do with smart growth, sustainable development, or some form of urbanism.

Even though I'm probably 180 degrees different politically from most of these people, I do enjoy their company. It's nice to have conversations with educated intelligent people, even if we disagree on most issues.

The main topic discussed last night, was the DC Government's Comprehensive Plan. The parts of the plan that both organizations consider their highest priorities are housing and development. I can understand why. Housing and development go hand in hand. Also, most of the people working in these types of organizations, tend to be young, college educated professionals, living in a high cost area, paying off student loans, and being forced to live in group houses, because they can't afford a place of their own. Of course, 10 years from now, they will more that likely be living in the hated suburbs, raising their families, and commuting into the city for work. In the meantime, they can live their "save the world" fantasy lifestyle of collectivism, social justice for all, and sustainability. It's fun to watch.

A great evening

I just returned from a wonderful get together. I attended the Greater Greater Washington happy hour at Il Parco Restaurant in Southwest DC. I have been a big fan of GGW for about 5 years. I enjoy reading the different articles about the goings on in the DC metro area, with of course my main interest having to do with public transportation issues. It was nice to meet some of the folks whose articles I read on a regular basis. I'm looking forward to attending more events in the future.

Changes To Metro

If you go onto Metro's website, you can read the plans for renovating the system, which is long overdue. It's going to be inconvenient for us riders, but it is a bitter pill that needs to be swallowed. I have to commend Paul Wiedefeld, the General Manager, for his willingness to take the bull by the horns, and make some very unpopular decisions regarding Metro. In the long run, I think things will be greatly improved.

There is going to be a lot of single tracking, closed sections of the rail with shuttle buses, and the Friday and Saturday night late night until 3 AM service is going by the wayside. Metro will now be shutting down at midnight seven days per week. Of course, I remember when Metro opened at 10 AM, and shut down at 6 PM on Sundays. That was when I first moved here in 1980. The 3 AM service had a great run, and hopefully, it will return someday when the bulk of the maintenance is completed. I can only think of two times when I've used the late night weekend service in the time that I have lived in the DC area. I can see how it might affect some of the nightlife businesses in the District. Of course, there is always the various bus lines, and some of them run very late at night in the city, and in Montgomery County. They don't over here in Prince George's County, which is a shame.

As a huge public transportation buff, I will always try to find a way to incorporated some form of public transportation into my transportation needs. Sometimes I will drive to a Metro station and park. Today, I drove to a parking garage in Silver Spring, MD, and then walked to the Paul Sarbanes Transportation Center, and rode the J2 bus to where I work. Coming home was the exact opposite. I had to work until 10 PM, and the last J2 bus is a 1:07 AM, so I was covered. I then drove the 9 miles from the garage to my house. It works OK, because at 9 PM they raise the arms in the parking garage, and you don't have to pay to park. In Bethesda, you have to pay until midnight. It's cheaper, taking into consideration the price of gas, to drive to Silver Spring and take the bus. IDEAL SOLUTION: maybe eventually there will be late night bus served here in College Park, MD.

Alternatives to Metro's Trip Planner

Metro's trip planner on their website is a great tool. However, it doesn't give you all your transportation options. There are many transit options that are available if you are willing to do a little homework, and do a little experimental travelling. I have found some alternative transit options.

Metro offers the option of using bus only, rail only, and bus and metro together. The results are good, but they don't give you the big picture. Here are some options that they don't give you:

• Until recently, I was adjunct faculty at the Bullis School in Potomac, MD. After some experimenting, I would use this route going to the Bullis school from my home...take the 83 bus to the College Park Metro Station, then take the Green Line to Fort Totten, from there, take the E4 crosstown bus to Friendship Heights, and then take the T2 bus to the Bullis School. Going home, use the exact opposite in reverse, except that I would allow for the 86 bus, which actually brings me closer to home. This works quite well on weekdays. During the weekday rush hour, you save quite a bit of money taking the crosstown bus, as opposed to riding the Metro all the way around. It takes the same amount of time. It is an interesting ride, Yes, you are travelling through the upper middle class North West area of Washington, DC, as well as travelling through some not so upper middle class Kennedy Street NW neighborhoods, and the majority of the passengers on the bus are "little brown people," and African Americans, but come on...it's safe, and you get to celebrate diversity at the same time. I've had some wonderful conversations with some very interesting folks, that were on their way to their jobs as nannies, gardeners, or janitors. Do you hear that  public transportation supporting Liberals who insist on driving rather than taking the public transportation that  you supposedly and so vehemently support? Yes I know: Transit for thee, but not for me. My time is too valuable. I don't like the inconvenience. You might have to stand for a while. I'm way too important to ride a bus with those sub-standard humans from Central America, who are good enough to clean my house or my office, wipe my child's ass, or mow my lawn, and those stinky Black welfare recipients dragging their rolling grocery carts on the bus, after spending two or three hours going to the food bank, in order to get food to feed their families. OK. I had to get the hypocrite thing in there. I love rubbing peoples' noses in their phoniness.

• I attend Mass every Sunday at the Basilica National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I take Metro for most of the trip. Yes, I do drive the 2.5 miles from my house to the College Park Metro station, From there, I take the Green Line to Fort Totten, and then take the Red Line to Brookland/Catholic University. If it a good day for walking, I walk from the Brookland station to the Basilica, which is about 2 blocks. It's a beautiful walk through the campus of Catholic University.  Alternatively, I take the 80 bus from Fort Totten, or the H2 or H4 bus from Brookland to the Gibbons Hall stop, and then walk about 100 yards to the Basilica. 

• When I catch up with friends after Mass in Montgomery, County, I take either the  H2 or H4 bus to a Metro stop in Montgomery County, and then take the Metro to Rockville or Shady Grove. Then you have access to the Q buses than run from there, and run until 11:40 PM. Parking at the College Park Metro station, means that I don't have to contend with the fact that the last Metrobus heading north from the College Park station on Sunday, leaves shortly after 5 PM. I'm going to try a more bus oriented route to Rockville soon. It's going to involve leaving the Basilica, taking either an H bus or the 80 bus to Brookland, or walking, and taking the Red Line to Silver Spring. From there, taking the Q bus to either Rockville, or Shady Grove. My bus adventure will all be part of a future post, as well as a possible article in the Greater Greater Washington website, if they will have me. 

What pisses me off more than anything else about public transportation, is the NIMBYism of a hue proportion of Liberals. I knew some people that lived in Silver Spring, that were totally against the Purple Line coming close to their back yard. One lady was so supporting of public transportation, that she said that because she was a Liberal with a PhD, she had a right to be a NIMBY hypocrite.

Personally, I can't wait for the Purple Line to be built and to open. It will  make my transit options more viable. I don't care if it goes through Langley Park. I'm going to enjoy riding it through that area, and I have no problem sitting next to "little brown people" on a bus, subway, light rail, or street car. More to follow...

Transit Activism

I've been giving serious thought about retiring from all my teaching jobs, only playing 3 to 4 gigs per month, and then getting involved in the transit activism community. Would that community welcome me? After all, the vast majority of transit activists and urban planners are liberals, socialists, and even Marxists.

Being a conservative who supports public transportation, I could bring a lot to the table in order to help develop programs that would center transit development around economic issues. At the same time, I would emphasize the NIMBY attitude of many on the left in regards to public transportation. It's OK for the little people, but it isn't for them, since it is inconvenient, crowded, etc., and as we all know, their time is valuable. More to follow...

More Crime On The Metro

Wednesday morning I was on my way to work. I decided to take the E4 crosstown bus from Fort Totten to Friendship Heights, rather than ride the Metro all the way around. If I can make the bus connection in a reasonable amount of time at Fort Totten, I will take the E4, because the time is basically the same, and it is quite a bit cheaper. I missed the excitement on the red line, when some teenagers got on the train and it looks like they set off some sort of smoke bombs and then discharged the fire extinguishers in one of the rail cars.

There is a lot of teenage gang crime on the Metro. A lot of it has to do with the student free ride program. There was a time when students could purchase discount tokens to use on the buses when they were travelling to and from school. If they used Metrorail, they had to pay full fare like everyone else. Since that privilege has been abused, it is time to take it away and go back to the bus tokens.

Another thing that needs to happen, is there needs to be a much stronger police presence in the problem areas. There are problems around the UDC and Tenleytown areas and from Gallery Place to Glenmont on the red line, and there are regular disturbances on the lower platform at Gallery Place. Why is there no police substation at Gallery Place, when there is one at Bethesda? If you want to increase ridership, you have to make the Metro safer. Ridership is down, because people are afraid to ride Metro.

More transit police would be part of the answer. They need to be uniformed officers, as well as plain clothes undercover officers riding the trains in the problem areas, and they need to target these gangs of teenagers and young adults with a zero tolerance policy for any and all infractions of the laws pertaining to the public transportation system. In addition, there needs to be a 50% increase in the penalties for any violent crime that takes place on Metrobus or Metrorail. These teenagers who commit violent acts on the public transportation system should be charged and tried as adults, not juveniles, and they should serve hard time in an adult federal prison. Make an example out of them for their peers.

The Metro Transit Police need to enforce the no smoking, no drinking, and no eating laws more vigorously, along with the no littering law. The trains are starting to look like trash dumps. It's time to clean things up.

Metro was running kind of slow tonight

I'm trying to figure out what was happening with Metro tonight. Normally, my transportation time from Bethesda is a lot less. Yes, I did make a detour to Union Station, to pick up a suit at Joseph A. Bank that had come back from the tailor, but after that, the timing was not great. I left Bethesda around 8:20 PM. I arrived at Union Station about 8:40ish. I went to Banks at Union Station, tried on the suit. It was perfect, and then I headed back to the Metro. Going back to Gallery Place, which would have meant not having to change trains outside in the cold weather meant a 20 minute wait. Going the other way to Fort Totten, meant a 6 minute wait. I opted for the Fort Totten option. However, once I got to Fort Totten, I had an 18 minute wait in the cold for the Green Line train to College Park. It would have been nice if the trains had been running more frequently.

My Frustration With Metro

First of all, I want to commend Metro for trying to run a good public transportation system. I know it's not easy, and you can't please everyone. There are always going to be glitches, because nothing is perfect.

That being said, here are my beefs:

1. The bus service from the Metro to where I live, College Park, MD,  needs to be improved. Also, the timing from the Metro Rail to the Metro Bus needs to be adjusted. It is frustrating when you come out of the station and you see your bus heading out of the parking lot. Then you have to wait a half hour for another one. This happens 9 out of 10 times, unless the bus is running late. In addition, it makes no sense to have the Metro Rail run until 3 AM on weekends, and have the last bus leave on Saturday at 9 PM and 5:40 PM on Sunday. During the week, the last bus from the College Park Metro heading north is just after 10:30 PM. We are forced to drive to the station and pay $5.10 per day to park. That makes riding public transportation less cost effective than driving. If you want to increase ridership, you need to increase convenience and cost effectiveness.

2. Safety. There are times, and not just late at night when riding the Metro Rail is just not safe. It's also not just in certain neighborhoods. You have roving gangs of teenagers who board the trains around Tenleytown in the upper middle class section of Washington, DC, and there are frequent roving gangs hanging out on the platform at Gallery Place, who seem to think that it is their right to terrorize passengers.

There are assaults and robberies that occur on a regular basis. I seen things happen, and I've also seen those fine products of our social engineering industry jump over and squeeze through fare gates without paying, right in front of a station manager, who does nothing. Metro needs to deploy more uniformed transit police at the problem areas, and start using more undercover plain clothes officers to deal with these teenagers. Also once there are apprehended when committing these crimes, they should not be dealt with as juveniles. 16 year olds and over are adults, no matter what the law says. They should be tried as adults, and there should be enhanced penalties for committing violent crimes on public transportation systems. Sending a 16 year old "up the river" for 20 to 30 years serves two purposes. First of all, it takes that miscreant off the street for a long time. While they are in prison, they can not commit any more crimes, unless it is a crime against another prisoner. Secondly, it sends a message to their peers. Taking this one step further, make their friends attend the sentencing hearing, as the judge makes an example out of them.

Besides the schedules and the crime, my other main beef is the cleanliness of the Metro Rail cars. When I first moved to DC in 1979, Metro was spotless. The police vigorously enforced the no eating, no drinking, no smoking and no littering laws. Today the cars are full of trash, people sit and eat sandwiches, drink drinks, and then throw the bottles either on the floor, or in the case of the teenagers who cause the problems, at passengers. Start enforcing the law with the small things, and there will be less to deal with with the big things. It worked in New York with "Stop and Frisk" and "Broken Windows." We need some of that here in DC.

My First Posting

Welcome to the Transit Conservative blog. I will use this blog to advance public transportation issues. I have been a big fan of public transportation for years. Even though I live in the suburbs, I am urban at heart. I just wish that I could afford to live in the city. Stay tunes for more blog posts as time goes on. Also at this time, I am expected to inform everyone that Google and Blogger use cookies. This announcement is required by the European Union. I do not employ any cookies on my own.