I don’t often ride mass transit, but when I do, it’s usually this.
BTW, the price of a lift ticket gives you an idea what unsubsidized mass transportation costs, and yes I know that a part of that pays for the SnoCats grooming the slopes and the ski patrol.
Remember the various “ski patrol” movies . . . ?
Cheaply made, corny, and I don’t see why anybody except for teenagers with raging hormones would ever watch them
Replies to 2 in 1!
I do get out more, just not to cities! I have no desire to do that! 
Example:
Utah skiing? I’ve skied Snow Bird, Alta, and Park City, but prefer the large, fast, enclosed gondolas at Snow Bird for my mass transit! 
CSA
The Great Western lift at Brighton. I’ve skied Alta and Solitude also.
The difference between Utah and New Mexico.
When a trail is closed in New Mexico, it’s because of thin snow cover.
If a trail is closed in Utah, it’s because there is an avalanche danger.
If you ski Utah early in the season you are likely to have to side-step up ramps to get on a chair-lift. Later in the season, same lift, you can glide up to the chair without a ramp (now buried in snow). The ramps are to keep the chairs out of a trench as the snow depth increases. 
CSA
We have arrived at this point in financial and economic bedlam regarding the poor as the result of bipartisan bickering. Every worthwhile program is pared down to inconsequence then means tested to result in the effort being counter productive. EIC has become an entitlement for Wal-Mart and McDonalds and a gold mine for used car lots. Medicaid resulted in the demise of marriage among the poor and not so poor. Food Stamp/SNAP cards were lobbied into existence by super market chains. Free cell phones were lobied into existence by the cell phone providers. And no one in the White House will be able to unscramble the bedlam. Neither will anyone in the White House be able to cut off entitlements cold turkey… IMHO
And nobody will touch welfare programs. Means testing is another way of saying socialism. It allows larger payouts to folks who contribute less.
Meanwhile, year after year, 2 of the biggest entitlement programs, Medicare and Social Security (means tested) are being kicked down the road, headed for a train wreck of epic proportions.
CSA
You seem to think it’s one or the other. Most people who commute by public transportation into Boston own cars. Living in a city like NYC many people don’t even own a car. Public transportation is good enough you don’t need one. I too like to drive - but not in Boston or NYC. At least there’s good public transportation to get around.
Outside of cities public trans is spotty at best. And way too costly to implement.
I have never disagreed with you but this time I must. How these people arrived at this situation and why they need to change their ways is quite relevant. My parents were married in 1927 and managed to raise my 2 much older Brothers through the great depression. Their advice to me was “Buy what you need. Save for what you want”. It has served me very well. I feel very sorry for the poor or broke who are victimized by payday, vehicle title loans, state sponsored gambling, and rent to own.
Eggs and milk are good. During the recent egg shortage when they were $5 per dozen they were $1.50 here as we have a good local supply. The same with milk. Beans and rice are cheap and humans can survive on them with a vitamin C supplement or jalapeno peppers to prevent scurvy.
Yup!
Similarly, while I have owned a car since 1971, I stopped driving into NYC ~12 years ago. In addition to the incredible congestion in the city, then you have the problem of where to park your car once you get there. Street parking is extremely limited and almost impossible to find, and between the cost of the tunnel toll and parking in NYC, it would cost me over $40 to take my car into NYC–and that doesn’t even take the cost of gas into account.
Then, thanks to Governor Christie’s reduced funding for NJ Transit, the train fares have become almost usurious. So, I split the difference by driving to Jersey City, parking in a low-cost facility, and taking the PATH (an interstate subway) to NYC. In addition to saving a whole heap of money by neither driving into NYC nor using the trains, I am able to go on my schedule, rather than the once an hour schedule of the NJ Transit trains at the hours that I am traveling. The PATH runs ~every 15 minutes.
I’ve lived my entire life in West Coast states, with the majority in metro areas like Seattle and LA. I can tell you that for the vast majority public transportation is and will never be an option. No amount of infrastructure can reverse the fact that housing prices mean that most people working in the “downtown” districts have to live 30+ miles away because that’s where the affordable housing is. No amount of legislating can change the fact that cities out here are naturally spread out to the point that riding the bus just does not work.
A couple of years ago I had a friend bring his car to the shop, I ended up tying it up for a couple of weeks for some major engine work. He took the bus to and from work for the first week, then rented a car for the second. His 20 minute ride turned into an hour and 40 minute bus ordeal. Who has that much time to waste?
Buses also do a terrific job of hampering the flow of traffic, but that’s another discussion.
Yup!
Many years ago, a friend of mine–who lived in NYC–insisted that I didn’t need a car for my 12 mile commute to work in NJ. He wouldn’t give up harping on that topic until I showed him the bus timetables for my area.
The local bus that ran ~1 block from my house would take me south for ~ 9 miles, and then I would have to get off and wait for a westbound bus. The wait for that westbound bus–which ran only on an abbreviated schedule–would have been something on the order of 25 minutes, and in those days there were no bus shelters.
Afer taking that westbound bus, I would then have to walk ~1 mile, along a road with no sidewalks and a lot of traffic.
Both bus rides, plus that long wait and that long walk–in all kinds of weather–meant that I would have to allot ~50 minutes for a commute that took only 18 minutes by car. I finally got him to stop harping on that topic after showing him the reality of the situation.
Yeah, that’s typical for mass transit. Between waiting and stops along the way, it typically takes twice as long as driving. I’d happily trade the stress of driving for an opportunity to relax and read on my commute.
I’m all for public transportation . . .
That said, there are a lot of whackos and unsavory types hanging around on buses, at subway terminals, etc. And it’s not very pleasant, having to endure a trip with such individuals
I generally prefer to drive
I have taken the subway on occasions, but there is a price to be paid
Just thought I’d mention this, because nobody else has brought it up
A girl that worked for me took the bus every day from St. Paul to Minneapolis. One morning she came in red and laughing. A guy on the bus seemed to be pleasuring himself on the ride to work for all to see. All kinds. But really after that there have been episode of violence on the buses that really is worse and the drivers just can’t deal with it and are unarmed. Then the light rail came from the mega mall and airport to downtown and yep, the thugs now ride the train. OK mostly during the day but have to be careful which stop you get off on. Like sitting ducks. In the car the only thing to worry about is locking the doors and break-downs in the wrong area.
Can you actually get into the bus stop kiosk in LA? When I traveled there way too much for business, the bus stops were always occupied by a homeless guy sleeping.
It depends on the area
In certain areas, the homeless do spend a large amount of time hanging around at the bus stop kiosks
They also spend a lot of time on the subway trains, either at the station, or just riding back and forth all day, pestering the riders and scaring the children
I was in the hotel district just east of LAX. I used to run every morning about 4am local time (7am East Coast) and went a couple of miles north and east of the airport.
