Driving as status

Our society, like many others in the capitalist West, tends to view consumption as an indicator of social standing. That new flat-screen, the latest iPhone, the granite countertops in your kitchen, they all indicate that you're winning the rat race-- and it's expected that, if you're winning the rat race, you're also engaging in this status-oriented consumption. For a society that is largely without formal class consciousness-- we're all the middle class, don'tcha know?-- we are all astoundingly sensitive to informal class distinctions. Grocery stores, shopping centers, neighborhoods, cities, these are all divided along the income strata. (Don't believe me? Walk into a Food4Less, then into a Ralph's. Then remember they're the same company.)

And, of course, one of the biggest categories of status consumption and differentiation is the car. Cars are heavily differentiated on status-- even those of us who don't drive are constantly indoctrinated into the relative worth and value of a BMW over a Honda, or even the petty distinctions between, say, the Mercedes C class and E class. Our society constructs cars as an outgrowth of their drivers' identities, and if you're willing to be seen driving around that 5-year-old Civic, you must be a loser. So, of course, if you're not driving anything at all, you must be at the very bottom of that capitalist totem pole.

This status differentiation means that, outside of the very densest cities-- and, often, even within them-- we design public transit to be sensitive to the needs of the poor. Worse, we design public transit to be sensitive to what middle-class, well-educated, mostly-driving public transit planners imagine the needs of the poor to be. This is part of why transit is only active during the day, because the poor need to get to their (wrongly assumed to be 9-5) jobs, but not to the nightlife they can't afford to partake in. It's the reason that buses don't serve all of the schools-- especially in wealthy neighborhoods-- but do serve all of the welfare offices, and make the Woodcrest office of the Social Security Administration into a transfer point.

The status and deference that people expect to accrue to them as drivers is also part of the reason that it's so hard to get what ought to be simple improvements in our cities-- such as market-priced parking, reduced parking minima in the zoning code, meager improvements in transit service, and road diets on overbuilt infrastructure (I'm looking at you, Brockton). Cap'n Transit, a phenomenally snarky New York transit blogger, talks about the fundamental unfairness that stems from recognizing drivers' choice to drive-- even in eminently transit-saturated New York City-- as a reflection of their social standing. The details of the plan he's critiquing-- congestion pricing in Manhattan-- are unique to New York City, but the dynamics of having to throw a bone to the driving classes when trying to improve transit are pretty universal.

New Bus Review

So the new Gillig buses have been rolling around Riverside County for a little bit, and I figure I'd best put out a review for the curious. Overall, they're still buses, but there are a few little improvements that will undoubtedly make life better for straphangers.

First off, the new seats are cloth, rather than the stubbornly cold plastic of the NABI fleet, and they have higher seat-backs. A small change, to be sure, but tall folks like myself will probably feel more comfortable on those long rides. Second, the new interior lights are all in white LED, rather than flourescent, making night rides just that much nicer. Third, the new, multicolor, high-visibility headsigns are even easier to spot than their orange predecessors, making riding in these dark winter months just that much nicer. Fourth, and probably most importantly, is the passenger power outlets. Two standard 110VAC (house power) electrical outlets are available at every row forward of the mid-bus stairs, so now you can keep that cell phone or tablet charged all the way to Tyler Mall. (Note that RTA press releases referred to these outlets as "USB charging outlets"-- they aren't, so bring your wall charger.) The new buses also seem to have a lot less engine noise than their predecessors, but that may be a function of age.

Possibly the best thing about the new buses, however, is that they're made here in California. Gillig makes their buses up in Hayward, while the last manufacturer RTA contracted with, North American Bus Industries, is located in Alabama. I still say it makes more sense to contribute to our local economy by purchasing products produced in the IE-- like, say, El Dorado National's full-size buses-- but I'd rather see my transit sales tax being used to create jobs in the Bay Area rather than on the other side of the continent.

So go forth, readers, and ride the new buses! Just don't forget your charger.

Local Reaction on the Streetcar

Yeah, it's about what you'd expect. Boondoggle, who'll ride this choo-choo train, this will probably require operating subsidies, etc. etc. Here's columnist Dan Bernstein, who calls the plan "disturbingly delusional," and the PE's Editorial Board, who sticks with "boondoggle."

The thing is, they're not entirely wrong. The City's choice of streetcars as a transit mode does appear to be driven by a me-too attitude and unjustified technophilia. The Riverside Reconnects study is not intended to study how to improve public transit in Riverside, or even how to build a rail transit line in Riverside, but to study a streetcar line in Riverside. And among the anti-transit bias are justified critiques-- for example, would this money be better spent augmenting Riverside's existing bus service?

I'm still tentatively pro-streetcar here, and I'm disappointed with the reflexive anti-transit attitudes of the local press, but streetcar advocates do need to make a better case for their project.

Brockton Road Diet

Belated news, but the Brockton Ave. Road Diet & Bike Lane project finally got approved. This project, an obvious choice for all travel modes based on city traffic models, faced opposition from drivers out of (unfounded) fears that it would increase traffic. Hopefully, once the restriping is complete, people will realize that the sky did not fall when a car lane was lost, and further projects won't be subject to such outsized opposition. (Which ought to occur around when pigs start flying.)

Riverside Reconnects demo today

The Riverside Reconnects project parked a Siemens S70 light rail vehicle on University today. They marketed it as a chance to get to know the sort of vehicle that the project proposes to run on Riverside's streets*, but I took it as a chance to talk to some of the staff and planners about what they see as the possibilities for Riverside's streetcar project.

San Diego MTS' newest S70 LRV, parked on University Ave. today.

The bad news is that nobody is even thinking about a serious light-rail system for Riverside. The staff I spoke to said that the main decisions to be made are choosing between single-track and double-track, side- and median-running, and what sorts of signal prioritization might be available, along with the usual questions about length, scope, and phasing. While I'm admittedly disappointed that the stomach to piss off drivers and do something really daring seems lacking, I'm still hopeful that a judicious combination of median-running, aggressive signal prioritization, relatively large stop spacing (especially outside of downtown and the University area), and off-board fare collection will provide a significant upgrade to transit along the University/Magnolia corridor.

The project study area map.

The good news is that everyone behind the project seems to have the right idea. The word on everyone's lips was "Portland." Both staff and the electeds I saw there (Councilmen Gardner and Melendrez) seemed to be aware that the future of our city is increasingly transit- and active-transport-oriented, and less and less car-dependent. They know that, somehow, rail transit is key to the transformation of Portland's downtown-- and that such a transformation is vital for Riverside's future. Staff was also very conscious about the colossal failures of Los Angeles' streetcar planning, and wanted to avoid doing the same thing an hour's drive inland.

It seems like there's momentum behind this streetcar thing. It's up to us advocates to make sure that it is developed into a real transportation alternative, rather than an expensive toy that's more symbolic than transformative.

*No, this sort of vehicle would not run on Riverside's streets. The Siemens S70, which was on its way from the plant in Sacramento to San Diego's MTS, is a large bi-articulated light rail train, designed for high-speed running in grade-separated right-of-way. Siemens suggested their new S70-derived streetcar variant, or their new S100, for Riverside's project.

The (Belated) IE Transit Challenge, Part 3: Work

Okay, so if you've been following along, you now have some idea of where your local bus stops are, what routes serve them, and what role those routes play in the larger transit network. Let's try and put some of that knowledge to use, shall we?

According to Chris Balish' "How to Live Well without Owning a Car," a lifestyle guide that I heartily recommend, most people can give up their car if they can tackle their daily commute. So that's what we're going to do now! Let's take the time to plan a trip from your home to your job, at the times and days when you normally have to get to work.

The easiest way to do this is to use an automated trip planner, like Google Transit (which is integrated into Google Maps). Simply enter the address of your home, the address of your work, and click the train icon above the entry fields. This will generate a route, but don't use it just yet. Change the drop-down below the entry fields from "Leave Now" to "Arrive At" and enter the time you normally have to be at work. You might also want to plan the return trip home, by selecting the opposing arrows next to the addresses, and entering your usual shift end time-- it wouldn't do to be able to get to work and then get stranded there.



Always remember to check transit schedules at the time you intend to travel. Unlike the road network, transit changes based on the time of day and day of the week. If you plan your trip at mid-day, you might miss commuter express service that could save you tons of time (or make an impossible trip possible). If you plan it on a weekday, you might be very disappointed to find that the line you intend to use doesn't run on Saturday. Google Transit, to its credit, allows you to select both dates and times for a trip.

I want to encourage folks to branch a bit beyond the automated trip planner, though, because it has some important shortcomings. First, it will tend to minimize walking. There are times when one can make a trip much quicker by walking a half a mile on one end of it, and Google will show you the longer trip with the shorter walk. Second, it treats all transfers as equal, even though they aren't. Google often tells me to change buses at University and Kansas (at an unshaded bus stop in an area that isn't terribly pleasant at night), when any rider could tell you to transfer at the (covered, lighted, secured, busy) Downtown Terminal instead. Last, Google has no idea how to deal with the awesome power that is gained when combining public transit with a bicycle. If you're going to bike to the bus or train, rely on that knowledge about the network you gained last time.

So given that, grab your trusty copy of the RTA Ride Guide, a Metrolink schedule, and/or Omnitrans' Bus Book and start looking. First, look at the system maps to see what routes serve your workplace. Next, for the morning commute, work backwards, starting on the timetable closest to your work and ending at the route that takes you home. If you can, try and develop a few alternate routes and see what best fits your schedule. Especially keep an eye out for routes that use those high-frequency trunk lines that you learned about last time, or ones that use freeway express routes or Metrolink trains. The former will be the most reliable and resistant to bus breakdowns, traffic, or weather, while the latter will generally be the quickest way to travel (but often the most finicky). If you don't know how to read a timetable, by the way, don't be embarrassed. Both RTA's Ride Guide and the Omni Bus Book provide guidance in the front, as does this presentation from the BBC. Note that, on bus timetables, only major stops are shown.

Now you know if you can get to work via transit, and how to do it. For some people, this will invariably end up being an impossible or impractical task, but for many of you, I hope you'll try taking transit to work once in a while. Remember that, while it will probably take a bit longer, time on transit is time to read, get a bit of work done, or catch some extra sleep on the way-- and you'll arrive without having experienced the frustration of dealing with other drivers.

Goings-on in Government

Several things are happening in the City that urbanists should be happy about.

1. The City Council formally appropriated money for the streetcar study on Tuesday. While I still have my reservations about the streetcar project, and how it will be handled by City Hall, I still want to see a good project, and hopefully this study will produce it. (That said, if you check the support documents for the agenda item on the Council agenda, it's clear that they're thinking of this thing as a development project, rather than a transit project-- and down that road lies transit ruin.)
2. The Transportation Board (along with a long list of other people, including the Planning Commission and the City Council's Land Use Committee) yesterday approved a permitting process to allow parklets. It's a bit arduous, but in line with what other cities have done, so I was happy to approve it. The process is linked in the relevant agenda.
3. The Brockton Avenue Road Diet project is finally going to City Council for final approval. This project, which has been the subject of ridiculous amounts of controversy, is one of those no-brainers that should be simple to pass. The project would improve road safety and traffic flow for all road users, including drivers (through the addition of a center left-turn lane). The project has been slightly revised, and will now keep two traffic lanes in each direction from 14th to Tequesquite near Riverside Community Hospital, but the bicycle lanes will remain throughout. (The lanes will, sadly, be striped in the door zone.) The project goes to Council on the 22nd, and it goes without saying that y'all should show up.

Riverside isn't exactly an urban paradise yet, but green shoots like these are encouraging.