The Transportation Toolbox

I alluded to this post in my earlier Declaration of Independence- from the car, that is. I want to talk about the versatility of the automobile, and the choices people make about transportation often without thinking about them. I want to do this by looking at what a typical auto addict's transportation toolbox, and how it compares to a more balanced one. (Spoiler alert: I'm going to use mine for the "more balanced" column.)


Auto Addict's Transportation Toolbox:



Automobile. 
Used for: The vast majority of trips, from the corner store to the daily commute to the occasional cross-country road trip.



Aircraft. 
Used for: Moving people for most long-distance trips, generally around a thousand km and up.

Not a lot of diversity here. Now, granted, a lot of people will engage in a walk from time to time, and there are quite a few recreational hikers and cyclists out there... but, for pure transportation, this is roughly what many Americans' lives look like, especially in suburbia- and especially for what used to be called "the middle class."  The design of many tract developments especially almost necessitates a toolkit that looks like this, as it often walls people off from walking, cycling and taking transit. Furthermore, for long-distance transportation, many are entirely unaware of our national rail system and (despite encouraging changes in the northeast and in Chicagoland) disinclined to use long-distance bus service.

Let's now take a look at what my transportation toolkit looks like. Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect, but it should be clear that an awareness of one's transportation options allows a better matching between the job at hand and the tool used to do it.

Car-free Transportation Toolbox:



Walking.
Used for: A small number of very short trips, often with company. Honestly, I don't walk too much, but I do on occasion. As I've mentioned, we have a fairly nice shopping centre within five minutes' walk of our apartment, and so sometimes the wife and I will walk there for shopping or a nice dinner.


Bicycling.
Used for: Most trips within a 10 mile radius that I take alone, including moderate cargo hauling. My bike is my go-to transportation tool, and serves the majority of trips I take. You'd also be amazed at the amount of cargo I can haul on the back, with nothing more than panniers and a rear rack. (I'm drooling over the amazingly versatile Burley Travoy trailer, but haven't plunked down the money yet.) Sadly, my wife is difficult to coax on to the back of a bicycle, so it's rare that we pedal places together.


Local Bus.
Used for: A lot of around-town trips, especially during inclement weather, as well as some longer-distance trips that would be difficult to manage on a bicycle. I also used the RTA to haul food for 80 Occupiers downtown earlier, so it's occasionally useful for certain specialized types of cargo. I can also, occasionally, manage to get Dani on to a bus, so we've been known to go out together via transit.


Commuter Rail.
Used for: Pretty much every trip I make to LA or Orange County (though I sometimes use the bus to the OC). Also occasionally the first step in longer-distance rail trips, leaving from LA Union.

 
Scooter.
Used for: Most trips my wife makes, along with a lot of trips that the two of us makes. It will haul the both of us, and not a whole lot more, so it's not generally used for more than light shopping.


Zipcar.
Used for: Shopping trips, mostly. It's also a great backup when one of us has the scooter and the other one *has* to get somewhere quickly, or when we were dealing with car breakdowns.


Long-distance Rail.
Used for: Any long-distance trip that it makes sense for, including my 30-day 25-state 4-province Amtrak trip. Travel by train is my favourite way to travel- especially if I can afford sleeper.


Long-distance bus.
Used for: Trips where the train can't hack it. Sometimes, I use Greyhound as a supplement to Metrolink and other intra-regional services. Other times, it's used for long highway trips. One must be careful when trying to take the Hound to Vegas.




Aircraft.
Used for: Long-distance domestic trips where time is a factor, as well as international trips (which I haven't taken enough of...).

Once you get away from the car-centric paradigm of transportation, a whole range of transport options opens up to you- and it's important, for all of the reasons that readers of this blog already know, that we restore balance to our transportation system.

NOTE: The photos of the car, ZipCar, airplane, Greyhound bus, and hiking boots are not mine. They are used under Creative Commons licensing, and the photographers are credited in the alt text.

Reminder- No Labour Day Bus Service!

Best of luck getting to those barbecues, folks. There will be no bus service on Labour Day- which is tomorrow, Monday the 5th. Both RTA and Omni are shut down. Riverside Special Transportation (for seniors and the disabled) is also not running. Metrolink is only operating the Antelope Valley Line, on a special holiday schedule. OCTA and Metro will run on holiday schedules, while Foothill will run on a weekend schedule.

If you need to get around Riverside, the bike lanes will be open. You can also pick up a ZipCar at UCR, if you can snag a reservation. Riverside's three cab companies are available at:

Company	Tel.
AAA Inland Empire Cab	1-888-333-TAXI (8294)
Yellow Cab Riverside	951-286-6666
Happy Taxi	951-781-TAXI (8294)

For inter-city transportation, Greyhound serves San Bernardino, Claremont, Santa Ana, Anaheim and LA. Amtrak also has one train daily to LA, leaving at 5:53am from the Riverside-Downtown station (south platform, over the bridge) and returning at 8:03pm.

Good luck!

Bundu Bus?

I've lamented previously on the blog about how truly awful intercity transportation is out here on the West Coast. Trains are daily, if you're lucky, and Greyhound has its limits. The quirky and cheap Chinatown lines that ply their trade between every Northeastern city do exist here in CA, but as only a pale shadow of their Yankee cousins. And if you're car-free and want to visit some of the vast natural wonders that dot our region? You can do Yosemite with a little planning, or buy an expensive package deal with the Grand Canyon Railway, but that's about it.

So imagine my surprise when I put in an LA-SF itinerary in Google Transit (to take a look at the route of the Coast Starlight, and its relation to the coast) and Google spit out a handful of bus trips as well! The service was labeled as "Los Angeles to San Francisco," and Google said it was provided by Bundu Bus. Of course, I clicked on the link.

It seems that a tour operator, Bundu Bashers, has started providing bus service between major cities in the West and- this is the amazing part- the various national parks in the region. They serve Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Arches, Monument Valley, and even Yellowstone. They say that their full system only operates during the summer travel season (April 15-September 30), but even their reduced system serves all those places above, along with Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Phoenix. Fare is $52 LA-SF, which is in line with what you'll pay on Amtrak, but the trip is somewhat quicker.

One of their better deals, which I'm suddenly terribly interested in, is the "Hop-On Hop-Off" pass, providing unlimited travel on their system for 4, 7, 14 or 30 days. I may just spend some time soon flitting about the southwest on Bundu Bus. It's also really cool to see places like West Yellowstone, MT on Google Transit.

Downtown LA terminal is at 8th/Maple. Take the Metro 733 from Chavez/Alameda to 8th/Main, walk east one block and south one block.

Vegas Travelogue, Part 2

I mentioned in the first part of my travelogue that there's no good way to get to Vegas. Today, I'll go over what happens when you take the bad way to Vegas- private automobile on I-15. On the way out there, I picked up my wife at the school where she works (in Magnolia Centre) at 3:00. By the time we hit the CA-91, traffic was already stop-and-go. From Central Ave. to the split with CA-30 (approximately 14 miles and an agonizing half an hour), we were lucky to crawl along at a speed which caused our speedometer to register. After that point, we were largely in the clear until entering Las Vegas itself, where local traffic at the I-15/NV-215 interchange caused some slowing. Of course, the entire drive was characterized by that unique combination of interminable boredom and constant vigilance that marks any long-distance road trip, and it was 4 and a half hours in which I could have been making valuable progress on course readings but was instead staring at asphalt ribbons across salt flats.

I should note that this sort of traffic pattern is particularly problematic for the DesertXPress HSR plan- attentive readers will note that the first phase of the project is planned to terminate in lovely Victorville, CA, notably past the point where we encountered traffic. Angelenos that have to work until 5pm will find the drive across the LA basin to I-15 even more problematic than us IE types, especially since we left at 3pm. Unless DesertXPress is connected to some form of transit infrastructure, it will offer only minimal traffic relief for many. (I can envision a future in which the HSR is fed by both a giant parking garage and San Joaquin-style bus connections to points around the LA metro region, until the Victorville-Palmdale-LAUS connection is constructed. That might work out.)

On the way home, traffic was something other than smooth sailing. From just past the urbanized area of Las Vegas all the way to Primm (the state line), traffic was at a virtual stand-still. It took us over two hours to traverse 25 miles- I quite literally could have biked it faster. Worst of all, there was no discernible reason for the congestion- the road was littered with "Road Work" signs, but we never saw a single road worker, let alone anything that could be described as "working." There was also no evidence of a traffic collision- if such a crash occurred, it did so long before we went through. Because of the sheer volume of traffic on the route, and the lack of alternate routes, traffic conditions remained poor throughout the drive, and there would be random stoppages every so often along the way. The California Agricultural Inspection checkpoint- normally a 5 minute nuisance- took more than half an hour to clear. What was a 4:30 drive on the way out was nearly 8 hours on the return trip. That sort of unpredictability is an inherent problem of an automobile system that is over capacity, and one that desperately screams for alternatives. We need some other way to get out to Vegas. We need to create a class of people who no longer have to care about traffic congestion- and for that, we need an exclusive transitway of some kind, either busway or rail. And we need it yesterday.

In the next instalment, I'll cover my experiences with transit in Las Vegas itself.

Vegas Travelogue, Part 1

There is no good way to get to Las Vegas from Riverside. There used to be- Amtrak's Desert Wind once made daily departures from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and eventually Salt Lake City, where it was combined with the California Zephyr and continued on to Chicago. It moved from daily to thrice-weekly service in 1993, and was finally killed in 1997, and this is a travesty, because it leaves Vegas as the largest city in the West without any form of passenger rail service (unless you count casino trams and the nearly-bankrupt private Las Vegas Monorail), and it leaves thousands of Sin City-bound travellers stuck in unpredictable and interminable traffic on I-15 across the vast Mojave desert.

When planning a trip to Vegas for a friend's wedding last Sunday, I looked in to the alternatives. I really tried hard to find something, anything that would allow me to avoid driving the 15 all the way out there. Here's what I found:

GoToBus.com, via USAsia, Futura and ALT
GoToBus is a site that aggregates a great number of "chinatown" bus companies that provide service along major intercity corridors across the country. They're especially popular in the Northeast, where service can be as frequent as half-hourly along I-95, and the buses run 24-7. They do offer service from two providers that ply I-15 between LA and LV. The problem? I had to return on a Monday, and the bus companies only provide substantial service on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Also, they leave from Los Angeles, not anywhere nearby. One provider leaves from Orange and another from Anaheim, but these schedules are even more limited.

For those who are very flexible in their travel dates and times, you can snag a ride to Vegas for around $50 R/T pp.

Las Vegas Express Bus
Another "chinatown" line, this company provides daily LA-LV service for $45 R/T pp. Once again, they depart Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, not anywhere in the IE, but the daily nature of their service makes things a little more flexible. Why didn't I use this method of transport? Well, they don't advertise well- I only became aware of their existence because I saw one of their buses on the road while driving home. I'll keep it in mind for my next trip, and you should as well.

LuxBus America
LuxBus provides, as the name suggests, luxury motorcoach service to Las Vegas from LA and Anaheim daily, for $99-$120 R/T pp. The complimentary drinks and snacks onboard during the 5 hour journey sound enticing, but the ride was just too rich for me. Also, they leave out of Anaheim's main bus terminal, which is not exactly easy to get to from Riverside.

Greyhound
The 'Hound, America's primary provider of intercity bus service, is the only provider that operates direct service between Las Vegas and Riverside, to my knowledge. Trouble is, Greyhound doesn't guarantee that you get a seat. On a select few routes back East, you can buy a guaranteed seat for $5, but here you have no such option. If you're travelling at off-peak times, this isn't a worry for you, but if you want to get to Vegas on a Friday night, good luck. It may well be more of a "Saturday morning."

And those are your ground transportation alternatives from SoCal to Las Vegas. Sadly, none of them worked out for my wife and I last weekend, so we were forced into our car for the journey across the sands. More on that later.

Cars Suck

That's the title of a diary on Daily Kos this evening. I agree with every word. Read it, and apply its lessons to your life now.

2009: The Year in Transit

As we say good-bye to the noughties, I'd like to take a look back at Riding in Riverside's first full year in operation, 2009.

In January, La Sierra University joined U-Pass, Greyhound service was struggling to remain in the city, and RTA was trying to overcharge day pass riders.

In February, we got the first announcement of the 2009 service cuts, the stimulus bill pumped money into IE freeways, and Greyhound stranded me downtown.

In March, I got a statement from the Mayor on public transit, dug up evidence of RTA's RapidLink project, and discovered the wonders of grocery delivery.

In April, the first seeds of the multi-modal transit centre were planted, Councilwoman Hart said some stupid things about Greyhound, and I made my endorsements in the City Council elections.

In May, I tried to turn readers into riders, commented on the proposed Short-Range Transit Plan, and Omnitrans deprived people of barbecue.

In June, I laid out my proposal for a Riverside light rail, Google Transit for RTA went up for the first time, and our late-night service was cruelly taken away.

In July, LA Metro joined Google Transit, the City Council made a dumb decision about parking fines, and RTA's data fell out of Google Transit, because it was apparently requiring transfers somewhere north of Guam.

In August, I talked about my trip to NYC, the City Council approved what would become Riverside Go Transit, U-Pass, and took a clear step towards the multi-modal transit centre, I proposed my solution to Metrolink capacity issues, and I gave an interview with a local podcast.

In September, Omni saw a fare hike, the first RTA service ever to run past midnight began service, and OCTA disconnected the 794 from, well, everything else.

In October, I reminded folks about transfer policies, called out a Congressman for hypocrisy, and celebrated my 23rd birthday with official news of the new multi-modal transit centre.

In November, I reported on upcoming Dial-a-Ride policy changes, Riverside became a Bronze-level bicycle-friendly community, and the Corona Transit Center broke ground. Also, Los Angeles celebrated the opening of the Eastside Gold Line Extension.

In December, SANBAG started studying Victor Valley express bus options, Metrolink proposed draconian service cuts- and then did nothing about them, and the Riverside Go Transit program launched, offering cheap bus passes to all Riversiders.

Looking forward into the new year, service changes are coming on January 10th, and we can hope for progress on the Riverside transit centre and the Perris Valley Line, both of which cleared significant hurdles in 2009.

Also, readers should know: Greyhound has NOT left Riverside. The new signage on the Greyhound building downtown, marking it as a police station (which it is), does not mean that service to the station has ceased. The station is open 7am-3:30pm and 6pm-9pm daily.

I'd like to wish all my readers a happy and prosperous new year, and I hope for a better transit system in 2010.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 23rd birthday, and apparently City and RTA officials decided they needed to get me something nice. It was very thoughtful, guys, but you didn't need to spend $9 million on little 'ole me.

The Riverside Multi-Modal Transit Centre is "on track", according to an article in the PE today. From the looks of the little infographic, the center will fit in where the current Lifetouch photography building is now. This isn't quite the optimal location for it- rail patrons will still have to walk across the parking lot to reach their train- but it's a substantial improvement to the 6+ block walk between the train and bus terminals that currently exists. Also mentioned in the news story is a building with a waiting area, restrooms, and Greyhound and RTA ticket sales. Yes, Greyhound would also be invited to use the terminal. That means Amtrak trains and buses, Greyhound, Metrolink and RTA all on the same spot. This is a very, very good thing.

Of course, one little thing that does draw my ire in this article is the fact that the biggest threat to the terminal project is- you guessed it- freeway widening. The 91 may be widened to the point that the property in question is not conducive to building a transit centre. With the bias that RCTC has towards Metrolink parking, I doubt they'll give up any of Metrolink's parking spots in favour of a transit centre, so that might kill the project. If a road project kills my transit centre, I will be a very, very unhappy blogger, but I think that goes without saying.

I'm also very glad to see that the PE quoted RTA CEO Larry Rubio on this, because as recently as the last RTA meeting, I was told in no uncertain terms that RTA's official position on the transit centre project was to remain at the Mission Inn Ave. site. Good to see they've changed their minds.

And guys, if you need to dedicate this thing to somebody, consider a tireless advocate for better transportation in Riverside. ;)

P.S.- Apparently, an old high school friend of my mother stumbled upon this blog site and thought it was cool. Hello! I'm glad to know I'm famous.

Getting To The Train

NPR has a great piece on intermodal planning, and the unpleasant things that happen when cities and regions fail to account for it. A highlight was the story of one rider who chose to take the train in to Raleigh, NC with her children, rather than drive, and found the transit connections there rather lacking.

"I knew we were going to have to walk a little bit," Hancock said, pulling maps out of her handbag. They decided to walk to the nearest bus stop, navigating along broken pavement on a street without a sidewalk. Then, they stood in 99-degree heat at a bus stop with no bench or canopy...

"In the future, I probably would just drive it," Hancock says.

This story happened in North Carolina, but it could have just as easily happened in San Bernardino or Riverside, both of whom lack strong inter-modal connections between their rail stations and bus networks. San Bernardino is pouring a bit of change into a multi-modal transit centre that is to include Omni buses, Metrolink, and the new sbX and Redlands light rail projects (though where Amtrak will stop remains a mystery). Riverside is slated to move the current downtown terminal to a new Metrolink-adjacent multi-modal transit centre, complete with Amtrak California, Greyhound, and other transport options. However, both plans are lacking firm political will from key actors, namely the City of San Bernardino and RTA, and when we'll see either is anyone's guess. I've had the experience of walking a few blocks from the Metrolink to the University & Lemon stop or the downtown terminal to catch a bus many, many times, and it's so much more pleasant when (as in Los Angeles, Montclair, Fontana, Santa Ana, and other places) I can simply step off the train and onto a bus. When the system works together, it makes for a convenient alternative to the private automobile. When it doesn't, it simply drives people back to said automobile. What we need for the future is obvious, isn't it?

By the way, The Transport Politic responded to the NPR story with this post. It's an interesting take, though one that I don't think applies as well to CA-HSR's Central Valley stations, or to the Inland Empire.

Never thought I'd say this...

...but San Bernardino gets it.

Check out this piece about the new E-street transit center. Holy crap. Local buses, express buses, BRT, light rail and Metrolink, all at one spot, all due in just a few short years. San Bernardino's downtown transit center will go from being the butt of my jokes to being the envy of the entire Inland Empire, and by 2012.

RTA, pay attention. Riverside is known as the cultural center of the Inland Empire, for it's urban diversity, it's universities, and it's support for environmentally-friendly initiatives. San Bernardino is known, well, for it's crime rate of four times the national average. Yet, somehow, San Bernardino is going full steam ahead with (urban, diverse, culturally enriching and environmentally friendly) transit-oriented development around a big, shiny new multi-modal transit center, and your SRTP goes as far as putting bathrooms at the bus station. After you kick Greyhound out. Build the Riverside multi-modal center, if only so we can show up the 909'ers.

Hey, Ward 6

Councilwoman Nancy Hart, running for re-election, spoke at a candidate's forum sponsored by The Group on 4/4/09. Readers who were at that forum asked me to post this audio, so you could see what the Councilwoman thinks about the Greyhound situation.

Either use the player above, or download the file here. (40k VBR MP3, ~1:45)

Some choice excerpts:

Moderator: Greyhound is scheduled to leave Downtown Riverside June 30th, with no alternative locations... Will you take action to ensure that Greyhound remains in Riverside with no break in service?

Councilwoman Hart: Probably not with no break in service. We have made a deal with Greyhound... They accepted the money, so evidently they are willing to move somewhere else.

In other cities, Greyhound does not have a depot. All they have is... is like an ATM machine... They don't have places where you can have vagrancy happen. Greyhound does not need to be in the middle of Downtown Riverside behind the Fox Theatre. (emphasis mine)

I don't think I need to tell you that this isn't exactly the kind of progressive representation we're looking for from our City Council.

Victory?

An article flashed across the intertubes that I had to call to your attention.

This piece, by the ever-excellent Dan Bernstein in the PE, says that the City has changed it's stance on the 'Hound. Apparently, they now embrace the idea that the 'Hound should be part of that inter-modal transit center by the train station. (Apparently, a brain cell made it's way into the Council chambers, despite the best efforts of security.)

I'm not sure what Mr. Bernstein is sourcing, or if this truly represents a real policy change. If he's just sourcing that Transportation Committee meeting, then I doubt that any real change has occurred. Anyone with more information is encouraged to bring it to my attention, via the usual comment box.

Transportation Committee, 4/9

So I've been quiet. My various roles in life have been catching up to me lately, and I've taken some time off from blogging last week because everything else was so overwhelming. I won't bother you with the details. I'll just get in to where I left off: the Transportation Committee meeting last Thursday.

Two major items were on the agenda: Greyhound and High-Speed Rail. I didn't even know about the latter, but it was pretty awesome.

On the issue of Greyhound, the planning department of the City recommended to the Committee that the City push forward in building a true intermodal transit center at the Downtown Metrolink, to include RTA, Metrolink, Amtrak, and, as Councilman Melendrez made repeatedly clear, as many private bus operators as could be persuaded to join in on the plan. The Councilman also suggested that the visibility of our city's Amtrak service should be raised, a point I agree with strongly. While all members were highly in favour of said transit center (including Councilman Adams! *gasp*), the Committee did not actually address the issue of the current Greyhound station, as the action item on their desk was "to recommend that the City work with Greyhound should they choose to return to the city in the future" (paraphrasing). However, the public comments made clear that the issue is far from closed in the minds of those affected.
A member of the Eastside community, frequent commenter Karen Wright, a few other members of the public representing themselves, the president of the Riverside Chamber of Commerce (amazingly) and myself commented on the issue. With the exception of the CoC President, every single person there made clear that continuous, uninterrupted Greyhound service to Riverside is important to us. I also delivered a petition of around a hundred signatures at UCR. The public opinion on the issue is clear from both those who attend these meetings and those who comment in the local paper: Greyhound must stay.
The Chamber President, to my happy surprise, strongly supported the idea of an intermodal transit center. She did not directly address the issue of Greyhound leaving, though I am told in the past her organization was a driving force behind ridding Downtown of Greyhound.
To sum up: Hope on the horizon for a modern intermodal transit center at the downtown Metrolink. Probably no action on saving Greyhound anytime soon. We shall see at the next Council meeting.

Secondly, the CA-HSRA was at the meeting to present to the Committee the alignment issues with the LAX-SAN segment, which is due to pass through Riverside. Though this was a very early advisory meeting, I see one possible snag. Apparently RCTC has asked the HSRA to consider running the train through Corona instead of Riverside. Councilmen Gardner and Melendrez rightly shot this idea down, but Councilman Adams (our rep to RCTC) sounded like he favoured said route. I commented to suggest a few alignment and station locations, and implored the HSRA to link the train to our current transport infrastructure (such as it is). This is in the very early, early stages, but please keep your eye on it. This route will be decided, and it MUST MUST MUST run through Riverside. Don't let RCTC move it to Corona for no good reason.

Transportation Committee Meeting

I may have erroneously told some folks that the City Transportation Committee meeting was today at 1pm. I apologise for any inconvenience- it is THURSDAY at 1pm, in the 7th floor conference room. I've already got nearly 100 signatures to keep Greyhound right where it is. I suggest you all do the same.

Tactical Error

In my previous post, I spoke about the customer service troubles I had while (not quite) riding Greyhound out of Riverside. I feel that I might have made a bit of a mistake. Greyhound's detractors might use my words to point out the flaws and faults of the current service in Riverside. However, I think this reveals a key difference between the dominant ideologies of our society.

I am a liberal, as I've said in my "About Me" and several times on the blog. When I look at the present, be it Greyhound or government, I see what should be, and I see what could be. Sadly enough, the current Greyhound station and level of service are a touch lackluster. However, if my house's roof leaked, I would not simply bulldoze the house, I would call a roofer.

The other side, the conservatives, use the evidence of the poor state of our public transportation as evidence that it should be dismantled. They say that a government-subsidized transport system (which Greyhound is, make no mistake) is inherently inefficient and insensitive, and they say the current failings of the system are inherent. The gentleman quoted in the Press-Enterprise several blog posts ago was a good example of this. But these claims are like saying that, if your house has a leaky roof, you ought to bulldoze it and erect a tent where it once stood.

Personally, I'd rather fix the house.

The 'Hound Bites Back.

I mentioned in my last post that I would be joining the 83,000 (thanks to my readers) riders who use the Riverside Greyhound station annually as of Thursday night. Well, we used the station, but that's all.

I did everything I thought possible. I picked up my tickets early, we traveled with carry-on baggage only (my standard policy), and we were at the terminal an hour before departure. I have to mention, of course, that the terminal has seen better days. The Greyhound sign has been taken down, the counter no longer serves snacks and beverages, and I'm pretty sure some seating has managed to disappear. Anyway, our 20:20 bus arrived five minutes early.

And the driver came into the terminal and said "I've only got two seats." There were nine passengers waiting for that bus in the terminal that night.

The ticket agent and driver made a valiant effort, but they freed up only two more seats, and Dani and I were not among the four who made it on the bus. The ticket agent then tried to get dispatch to send out a new bus, but to no avail. Finally, we were told that we were being re-routed through Los Angeles, and would arrive in Las Vegas at a bleary 4 or so in the morning. (Our original time of arrival was 00:40, late enough for my tastes...)

I told the ticket agent to refund my tickets, which she promptly did. She said that even this was generally against company policy, and further informed me that there were usually 20 people in San Bernardino that would subsequently be re-routed. (San Bernardino's personnel are working the Riverside station until the station's fate is known.) She also told me that the bus, a 53-passenger MC-12, had 45 people on board upon leaving Los Angeles. That means that the bus didn't even have enough capacity to accommodate Riverside alone, let alone the other stations on the route.

I ended up driving to Las Vegas, tired and in a foul mood, but I'm fortunate to have had the option. Greyhound should be ashamed to allow customer service to deteriorate to such a level, and they should understand that service like this creates a huge PR problem for those of us who would really like to see their service as an integral part of Riverside's intercity transportation.

Joining the 82,000

Tonight I'm joining the 82,000 Greyhound passengers that board or alight at Riverside's station every year. My wife and I have tickets through to Las Vegas, to go see a friend get married.

If it weren't for the Riverside Greyhound, I'd either be fighting traffic on the I-15, or I wouldn't be going at all. We certainly can't afford to fly. Oh, and did I mention I hate traffic?

Save the Greyhound.

Special Meeting

Riverside residents, heads up! I was on IE Craigslist's Politics section, and I found notice of a special meeting between the City Council and (*yech*)Congressman Calvert. It's at 9:30am on Wednesday the 18th, in the Mayor's Ceremonial Conference Room (that's seriously what they call it), and they'll be discussing, among other things, the Riverside transit center.

I can't make it. No way no how. I've already missed too much of my Japanese class. However, if you can make it, please please please please please be there, and tell them we need a modern, intermodal transit center here in Riverside. Don't let them redirect FTA funding to downtown transit center improvements, which most people say will only work if Greyhound is gone.

Info on the meeting here.

Stay of Execution

Greyhound has been granted a six-month lease extension, under which they may continue operating from their current location at Riverside Downtown Terminal.
They have submitted to the following conditions for this extension:

• They must staff the station from the arrival of the first bus to the departure of the last bus, adding 1.5 hours to the current operating hours.


• They must keep the area around the station tidier, probably to appease the suits next door in the Chamber of Commerce.


• They must provide security at the station. Probably a good idea.


• They must work with the City to find a new location in Riverside.

I agree to every point except the last one there. Personally, I think the central location of the terminal is the optimal location for Greyhound service in Riverside. It's near Metrolink and RTA, county offices, medical facilities, and both major freeways in the area. I agree with the sentiments expressed in this IE Craigslist post, though it's a touch long-winded.

The ideal location for Greyhound would be at a beautiful, new intermodal station for RTA, Greyhound, Metrolink and Amtrak at the site of the current Marketplace Station. Failing that, a spot next to RTA's Downtown Terminal is probably the best option.

Greyhound suggestions

http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/localviews/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_S_op_murrell_11_loc.3ba130b.html

A local resident shares some suggestions for keeping the Greyhound running in Riverside, though I'm not sure what our options are at this late in the game.

A minor correction though, Mr. Murrel. I like all of your suggestions, but to say that Greyhound shares space with Victorville's public transportation is misleading. The "Victor Valley Transportation Center", which houses the Victorville Greyhound and Amtrak station, is served by only two VVTA routes, with the system's primary transfer point a much-less-attractive bus shelter at 7th and Lorene a few miles south. (I've spent quite a bit of time on VVTA.) Also, the Greyhound station IS within Victorville's city limits, so I'm not entirely sure why you thought otherwise. But overall, a well-thought-out and well-written article that will undoubtedly go ignored by the City. Thank you.