Weren’t you around during the great bus driver strike?? Everyone was so concerned about what would happen with no bus service?? Traffic moved along better than ever. No buses pulling into traffic and slowing everything down. Sure everyone has their analysis of why, but it certainly was no calamity. I believe in people being mobile though so they can go where they want when they want and work and live where they want, not where others have decided they should be able to go.
Which is probably why transit developers tend to place hard routes such as light rail along places that people are already going. The people have already chosen to go there. The transit authority is giving them a way to go there that’s easier for them and the rest of us. Maybe. I dunno. Who knows? (does this folksy pretend-affability work for my argument, or just yours? 
)
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That’s a new one but I don’t even remember ice boxes or ice deliveries. That was before my time and everyone I could ask is dead now. Closest I came was being in the actual ice house and seeing it with my own eyes.
That’s the great thing about the good ole US of A. We can disagree but what it comes down to is you vote yea and I vote nay and we just cancel each other out. The the people in the middle end up deciding.
@bing
I remember the ice boxes and ice delivery during WW II and immediately following the war. With the returning service men, kitchen appliances and cars were in short supply. Before we moved outside the city, I remember the ice man delivering ice. My parents were fortunate in that we did have a refrigerator.
There were still quite a few Model A Fords on the road in the late 1940s and early 1950s and the Model A was the family’s only car. I remember in 1949 when our neighbors moved up from a Model A Ford to a 1936 Chevrolet and were able to replace their icebox with a refrigerator.
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Yeah, 2-buck Chuck…
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All this ice box talk reminds me of a line in an old blues tune.
“Let me tell you honey, we gonna move away from here
I don’t need no iceman, I’m gonna get you a Frigidaire”
Good one. And at the height of the depression too, but as they said the depression wasn’t so bad if you had a job.
On the Honeymooners episodes on the Jackie Gleason show which was on television back in the 1950s, Ralph and Alice had an icebox as opposed to a refrigerator.
I’m all for mass transit…the problem is - here in Southern NH and MA (Boston) it’s not practical. Sure if I needed to commute into Boston it’s great. But what if I needed to commute to Lowell MA. I have to take a train into Boston then take another train to Lowell…then a bus to where I need to work. Estimated one way travel would be 2-3 hours. So the solution would be to build all these point to point trains or bus routes. The conservative estimate would be north of 300 billion.
Mass transit works for some and not others. I could drive 10 miles to the train station, get off after a 20 minute ride, then take a bus ride to work. After getting off the bus, I would have a ten minute walk to my building. It would at least double my commuting time, which is too long already. No, I’m not moving.
That commute works for a neighborhood friend that works in downtown DC. He rides the train to Union Station, switches to the subway, and walks out in front of his building. Because of where he works, it would take 1.5 hours to drive there, and it’s a lot less time using public transportation. It all depends on how far you have to travel and how many changes yo have to make.
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I’m not saying everyone should be using public transit. It doesn’t make sense for all commuters. But everyone should be in favor of mass transit, because for the people it does make sense for, if they have a public transit option and they take it, their car isn’t on the road getting in the way of everyone else. And that’s not even getting into the obvious fuel savings from being able to take almost 200 vehicles off the road per train car. And detractor “choo-choo” asininity and lies to the contrary, it’s very common here to see trains filled to capacity during high travel times, and our system is in its infancy with only 2 lines built so far.
James May once made an argument that resonated. He was talking about the Honda hydrogen-powered vehicle, which at the time a lot of car magazines were busy bashing as stupid. He pointed out that if you like driving your Mustang, you should like alternative energy vehicles because they will stretch the gasoline supply and allow you to drive it longer and for less money per gallon. That argument can easily apply to mass transit.
If you like driving, then getting as many people who don’t like it off the road as possible should be very appealing to you, because all they do is get in your way and increase demand on fuel.
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Shadowfax–There you go, being logical again.
We will have none of that when we could be throwing partisan brickbats instead!
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Wow who wound you up today? All I said is that University Ave. is a mess compared to what it was without the highly successful train with millions of riders going down the center of what used to be a main corridor between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Our town the derogatory term used for the pcc electric streetcars put in in 94 or so is trolley. Trolley to nowhere etc. It is a tourist draw.
I agree. Unfortunately the VAST MAJORITY here in MA and Southern NH the Mass transit system is useless. Most people don’t travel to where the Trains/buses/subways go…or if they do it takes hours because of the transfers.
I remember, years back, there was a talk show with a host named Bruce Williams.
He gave out advice on all kinds of matters, particularly those involving finance and real estate.
One of his biggest pet peeves was when callers would use the term “Realtor” to describe any real-estate agent. He reminded people that “Realtor” is a trademark used by those who are members of the Association of Realtors.
I like to take a beverage when leaving the house. I want to sat hydrated. Do I need 17 cupholders? Nope. But a well placed for each each passenger is necessary.
Yeah he was one of my favorites. A lot of common sense. He said he could be dropped off anywhere without a cent in his pocket and by the end of the day would be earning money. Of course not everyone has his drive and talents but he made the point. He sued Chrysler for unintended acceleration on the car he bought for his wife. Lost and ended up crushing the car so no one else would get it. His grandfather told him: Work with the classes, live with the masses but work with the masses, live with the classes. Something to think about. On customer service he talked about at his flower shop a guy brought flowers back that had wilted, obviously from the cold outside. He said they just gave him new flowers anyway-made a friend, a repeat customer, and never made the guy feel like a fool. Some of the posts here on how people are treated getting their cars repaired certainly does not fit with this business philosophy. His son used to perform at Jellyroll at the Disney Boardwalk hotel and Bruce had interest in it. A neat place. With upheaval in the media industry, he finally gave up after attempting his own media company and I miss him.
No, you used the term “choo-choo,” which you absolutely know is a politically charged term meant to paint the light rail in a negative light, and then tried to pretend that it didn’t mean anything when you got called on it. To be blunt, the folksy “gee, I’m not really talking about politics while making these political statements” act isn’t fooling anyone, and this time I called you on it.
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