Metropolitan Rural

Yes, that’s right.  The end is finally near.  At least, for my express bus.  You can see the complete list of Metro system changes that will be effective March 30, 2009.  It seems they are eliminating every express bus route.  I didn’t look much further than that, because the rest of the schedule has little effect on me.  That means, if I continue to take public transportation, my commute each way to work just went from 19 minutes to 46 minutes.

I understand, somewhat, the elimination of the express routes.  Even though they are generally pretty full, they are mainly occupied with monthly pass holders and thus their revenue per rider would be less on these routes.  Still, they are losing many loyal rider and some significant revenue.  I feel for them trying to balance their budget.  I know this is a terrible time for them to go through this with ridership being up and they are trying to keep the service that gives them the most revenue per rider.  Hopefully there will be a day when the tax revenue to the system will increase and we will get better bus service back in the city.  The changes aren’t just effecting the county, they are effecting the city quite a bit as well.

Personally, I have half a mind to buy a second car and take I-44 downtown to work just to add 1 more car to clog up traffic for those St. Louis county people who didn’t see the need to support our public transit system.

On a side note, I met Mayor Slay for the first time last night (he’s pretty much guaranteed to show up during an election cycle).  He was at our neighborhood association general meeting.  He made the rounds shaking hands and saying hello.  His first stop when he walked in the room was to my son and one other kid playing over in the corner.  My son didn’t know who he was until we told him later.  He made a few brief remarks at the start of our meeting.  It was really a brief stump speech about some of his accomplishments.  He’s a rather good public speaker and you can tell that he really does genuinely care about the future of the city.  The fact that he was out in 10 degree weather at a neighborhood meeting with 20 people is also a sign that (like he said) he’s not taking his re-election for granted.  It’s a very short election cycle for Mayor, so I’ll have to start looking over the other candidates to see who is worth voting for this time around.

So, I’ve been thinking more and more lately about the idea of an electric car or NEV.  I posted some details a few posts back on Proposition M.  I’m seriously thinking about taking a trip down to Farmington sometime in January just to try and test drive a model or two to see how they are.  For me, it will require some planning as I would need to get some electric run to my garage again so I would have a place to store and charge the vehicle.  That would also likely need a new garage door as our current one is not in the shape to handle going up and down much more.

I was even thinking it might be a fun road trip for a handful of people to make.  Plus, that could really show some support of the idea to whoever it is that runs this business down there.  I feel like there is truly a pent up demand for an affordable commuting vehicle for those of us who don’t drive a lot.  I did the math on my daily commute, and came up with less than 3,000 miles per year.  It is so NOT worth my money to buy some $20k to $30k car to drive that few of miles every year.

With all this being in my head, a headline last night on Slashdot caught my attention (Bay Area to Install Electric Vehicle Grid).  Readig that story, a thought hit me.  Wouldn’t it be cool if there were outlets available in your everyday parking meter?  A quick Google search turned up several links to patents on various aspects of the idea.  But the reality of the situation is surely on the verge.  If an area the size of the SF Bay area has a billion dollar infrastructure in place that allows for you to pay for charging your car, then you extend the range of usefulness immensely.  In my little bit of travels I’ve seen parking meters that take credit cards and even a single unit for 2 spots.  These are so much more complex than your grandfathers parking meter.  There is obviously some circuitry and electronics going on in the industry.  How much more effort is it to attach a retractable power cord and apply some software that only turns it on if you pay extra for the service.  Heck, if you are paying with a credit card, then you only charge based on the actual electric usage as well.

Running in for a 30 minute meeting?  Top off your batteries while you’re there!

Of course, there will be vandalism and people cutting and taking cords and what not, but that’s no reason to let a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us.

Now, next step, let’s make that electricity more renewable as well.  No since in cutting back on gas for electric if we have to burn coal or natural gas to get the electricity.  And heck, don’t forget to come up with some better batteries.  If we’re going to use batteries to store our electricity we don’t need to be relying on third world countries in a constant state of war for the materials for those batteries either (check out this NPR report for more on that issue).

So… who wants to make a road trip?

Two weeks ago I was standing in a conference center in Scottsdale, AZ.  I was with a good friend and business partner trying to hock our new business service to potential clients.  Things went really well and we’ve had a lot of follow-up and planning going on since.  Between that and trying to catch up with the new class I’m teaching, these past 2 weeks have been extremely busy.   I finally feel like I’m caught up at this point and wanted to share a few thoughts that have gone on with me the last several days.

1. I was really impressed on Friday night when we stopped by our local PetSmart to pick up some bedding for our guinnea pig.  Parked right next to us was a shiny, black Ford Escape Hybrid.  This was a car my wife and I had considered last year when we bought our new one.  It gets an EPA estimated 34 MPG in the CITY!  That’s right, 34 MPG In the city for a small SUV, that’s very impressive.  Still, we don’t drive enough to really justify the 10 grand extra that would have cost us.  What impressed me most was the license plate.  It read, “City of St. Louis, Director of Public Safety.”  Yep, a city vehicle.  And for an office that’s undoubtedly putting a lot of city miles on it.  Very smart decision and good use of my tax dollars.
2. Over the weekend I heard that Metro had finally announced their rate increases for next year.  My monthly pass will be going from $60 to $68.   Still not bad I guess.  My only problem still is the possibility that my express route could get canceled come spring.  That would mean my 35 minute trip to and from work would now become nearly an hour (if everything is on time).  That extra 25 minutes each way everyday makes me not want to use Metro.  I mean, I live about 5 miles from work, it shouldn’t take me an hour to get there, I could nearly walk that far in that amount of time!  So, I’m still thinking of options for me and waiting for the official announcement, but look for an extra car on the road for morning commutes come spring.
3. On Saturday I read a note on Mayor Slay’s website (he calls it a blog, but it hardly is considering there are no comments allowed) encouraging Metro to work out a deal to allow their system to be integrated with Google Maps.  I too would agree this is a great thing.  With my business I’ve started, I’ve got a cell phone with a data plan and built in GPS.  Google Maps has been great to have on my cell phone to look up directions.  To have easy access through there to bus routes and times would be awesome.

So, things have been busy, the holidays are upon us, and the boy is at the airport now on his way to visit his father for 10 days over Thanksgiving.  I’ve got lots of cleaning and organizing to do around the house so we can set up a Christmas tree in a couple of weeks and so I can turn our front “junk” room into a home office over the holiday.

With the failure of the county to pass Proposition M last night (to increase sales tax revenue for transit service), it seems more likely than ever that my bus line with either be drastically reduced in service or completely eliminated come spring.  Guess I’ll need to start looking at some alternatives.

Out of curiosity I started looking up electric cars.  There is a class of electrics called NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle).  These are lower speed vehicles that aren’t typically licensed for highway driving.  They are often a fancy golf cart from what I saw.   There are a few models however, that look a bit more like a conventional car with actual doors and radios and such.  A couple of the interesting models I found were the ZENN and the Miles ZX40.  These both look like a typical sub-compact, hatchback car and retail for typically $15,000 - $20,000 depending on options.

I then hopped on over to Ebay Motors and did a quick search for electric fueled cars.  I found some listings from a company that has a few older model Miles ZX40.  They are very low mileage and were showroom models they are getting rid of.  This particular listing is for a 2006 model with 39 miles for only $9,995 buy it now price.   I thought that was a pretty good bargain.  Not to mention it has some impressive cargo space for such a small vehicle.  The listing says it has a top speed of 40 mph and a range of 40-50 miles.  I have 5.5 miles to get to work, so that would easily take care of my needs with a nightly recharging.  What really struck me about the listing was the company that is selling the vehicle.  It’s a place called Electric Car Company… in Farmington, MO!

Now, I have no idea why there is a dealership in Farmington that specializes in electric cars, but at least it would be close enough to go take a test drive before buying.  Honestly, if I were them, I’d try and find a way to work with a dealership up here in the city to get some more sales.  Even with gas prices down now close to $2 a gallon, with economic uncertainty and the looming likelihood of drastically reduced transit service there should be a rising market for an affordable alternative.

Yet again this morning, traipsing across Tucker in the rain, there was a older blond woman in a Chrysler Crossfire who thought it necessary to  make a left turn BEHIND me and ignore the “Left Turn Yield on Green” signal.  Evidently,  yield only means to cars that might actually hit you, it doesn’t have anything to do with pedestrians.

I stopped in the middle of the crosswalk and stared at her as she pulled through 2-3  of the southbound lanes of Tucker to et where she was going.  She tried to not make eye contact, but I know very well that she noticed me giving her a look.  The next time it’s not raining out, I’m getting my cell phone camera ready before I cross the street.

In the mean time, maybe the city should consider getting rid of the yield on green and making that a red light.  And then actually send an officer down there to see just how much money they can make as people run the red light.  That should provide a hefty return to get help get rid of the earnings tax!

Yesterday, I posted wondering if people really know what the purpose of crosswalks were.  This morning, I was given the perfect example of what I was talking about.  I had just gotten off the bus and walked down to the corner to cross the street.  I arrived just as the left arrow for cars headed my direction turned green.  I pressed to button and waited (I could cross half way and then go on, but I always wait until I have a walk signal).

As I’m waiting, there is a pedestrian headed my direction on the opposite side of the street.  There are cars turning left and right in front of him.  He walks up to the corner, turns 15 feet down, and then steps out into the street to try and cross.  Why he couldn’t walk straight across in the cross walk that was directly in front of him I’ll never know.  He only needed to wait about  5 seconds for a walk signal.

Next, I’m finally crossing (in the cross walk) and cars have green lights both directions.  The left turn lane that was turning now has a “Left Turn Yield on Green.”  Of course, that’s not going to stop those next couple of cars from trying to fly through the intersection ahead of oncoming traffic and directly at … ME!  I had to stop int he middle of the street to let one car go by in front of me (you could tell the driver’s wife was yelling at him about what he was doing).  There was a second car that actually turned left BEHIND me and crossed through both lanes and the left turn lane of oncoming traffic.  I was appalled.

Are these people in such a hurry they have to endanger their own lives and nearly run over a living person in the process?  Maybe you should leave home a few minutes earlier if you really need to get where you’re going so fast.

No, I’m not talking about your regular old garden slugs here.  Wikipedia defines slugging as “Casual Carpooling”.  I learned about this a couple of days ago from a story on NPR.  Evidently this has been going on for years in cities with HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes.  These are very informal groups where literal strangers are given free rides into the city so the driver can have enough occupants to use the HOV lane.

In many cases, using the HOV lane can cut up to a half hour or more off of a person’s commute.  So, the driver saves both gas and time, and the rider(s) get themselves a free ride at the expense of convenience.  What amazed me about the NPR story was people who have been doing this for years say they have never once exchanged names with people.  Many of these groups have websites with some “rules of the road” so to speak.  Here are some general rules as listed from Wikipedia:

Yet another way to help keep down that cost of commute.  Maybe they should put in some HOV lanes on Hwy 40 for when it gets too full in another 5 years.

I was talking with some co-workers on Friday who were discussing the high cost of gas.  I did some math on our new car and discovered this.

We’ve had the car 20 weeks now.  During that time, we have bought just over 160 gallons of gas.  Average gallons per week is just over 8. 

My co-workers, on the other hand, were buying somewhere in the neighborhood of 20+ gallons per week because of longer commutes, multiple cars and both spouses working. 

With gas currently being around $3.50 a gallon, I’m spending $28 per week and $1,456 per year on gas.  The suburban commuting co-worker(s) is spending $70 per week and $3,640 per year (and one of their cars is a Prius, the other I believe is a Corrola, imagine the 2 SUV family!).  That means I save $2,184 each year on gas.  Not to mention that I don’t have 2 car payments, 2 sets of oil changes, 2 insurance payments or 2 sets of new tires to buy either.  Sure, I spend $60 a month on a bus pass, but that pales in comparison to the extra costs they are paying.  

What else I don’t get is that this co-worker lives southwest of Fenton.  She works downtown here and her husband is a teacher at some school in south county.  A home in south city or county would save them quite a bit in gas alone I’m sure.   

After all, I can buy a LOT Of Ted Drewes with my extra $42 a week!

Do you get sinking feeling every time you pull into the gas station to fill up?  If so, I’ve developed a fool proof solution to help you save some money.

STOP DRIVING SO MUCH!!!

Oh sure, you might not like my solution, but it’s guaranteed to work, 100% of the time.  I would offer a money back guarantee, but I’m not charging you for my advice.

I read the other day that Presidential candidate John McCain was going to propose a holiday on the gas tax for the summer driving season to give US consumers a relief.  Great, just what we need, another excuse to use more gas because it’s not so expensive.

You see, economics works from 2 angles called Supply and Demand.  If the suppliers of gasoline can continue to reap large profits by raising prices, they should be not only allowed, but expected to raise prices.  Honestly, if you ran a business and knew you would make more profit by simply raising prices you would too. 

If, on the other hand, the Demand becomes too inelastic (meaning demand falls enough when the prices is raised that the Supplier makes less revenue and thus less profit) they will stop raising prices and lower them in order to make more money.  Yet, as much as I hear people complain about gas prices, few people are changing their behavior around it.  I don’t hear those people talking about moving closer to work, cutting back on the kids activities, taking fewer driving vacations or even going out to eat less.  Instead, they’d rather complain and ask the government to fix it so they can continue on their merry way.

High gas prices excite me personally.  I just wonder how much farther we’ll go before people finally get the idea and conserve gas.  How much higher before alternative fuel cars like fuel cells, hybrids or even electric start to make financial sense for the masses?

Yesterday morning in the rain at the bus stop, waiting….

5 minutes late…

10 minutes late…

15 minutes late… the local bus driver lets us know the express we were waiting for was in an accident and wasn’t showing up.

Another 15 minutes and the next express was there and we got on.  Had we taken the local and transferred, this bus would still have passed the next before we got down town.

This morning, the bus was right on time with our regular driver.  He’s telling everyone, “It wasn’t me!  It was this bus, but it wasn’t me.”

Evidently, he had gotten called for the random drug testing and they sent a different driver out on our line yesterday morning.  That driver got in an accident.  Perhaps they tested the wrong driver?!