Bus

[bertine]

gwangi and I are a one car family. Since he bikes to school there was no reason for us to have the expense of a second car and the money that we got from his car helped to pay off some debt.

This means I take the bus on occasion. I am lucky because the bus is pretty easy to take to work, though it takes about an hour. I have a mile walk at the end that doesn't have any sidewalks but I am getting used to the risk. Plus I wear a bright greenish yellow coat.

I used to take the bus to work everyday when I worked downtown. It is better now that I have a smart phone. This is so great! Basically I can read the paper while I am going to work without the mess of a paper. If I want to read a book I can! So awesome!

I would take the bus more but it is so expensive. I can take non-express buses to work but until the days are longer I'll be taking he express bus home because the lack of sidewalk is scary in the dark. Anyways, right now it costs me $5.25 a day to get to work in the bus. With gas at $3 it isn't worth it.

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Comments

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

That is really expensive! Why is it so expensive!? Minneapolis is not that big!

[bertine.livejournal.com]

That is the pay as you go fare, I could get it cheaper per ride if I bought a monthly pass but that means I have to commit to doing it every day for a month.

I am not sure why it is so expensive. I wonder if it is because Minneapolis is so spread out.

Rush hour fare is $2.25. Non-rush fare is $1.75. The express bus rush hour fare is $3.00.

It adds up quickly! The job where I worked down gave us bus cards.

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but that fare is comparable and in some ways more than, like, NYC or Chicago. The monthly pass in Minneapolis (I assume you'd need the most expensive one because rush hour + express) is more expensive than NYC ($104) or Chicago ($100).

Boston bumped fares last year, and were like, "Well look at these comparable cities." And I was like, BOSTON, THOSE 'COMPARABLE CITIES' ARE EIGHT TIMES YOUR SIZE. NO DEAL. We're still only at $70/month, though, and I pay just $50/month because work subsidizes it.

[pen-grunt.livejournal.com]

That is expensive. Geeze. And I thought the bus was a money-saver.

If you were even-kinda-sorta interested in bus passes you might be eligible for student-rate through Gwangi. When I was a student it was $40 a semester.

[bertine.livejournal.com]

I think the bus is a money-saver if you compare it to the cost of parking downtown. Otherwise? Not so much.

The UMN Buss pass is cheap ($97 a semester). However, it is tied to your U-Card, so I would have to use Zach's card and there are fines if you are caught using someone else's U-Card.

[pen-grunt.livejournal.com]

This is a good point. When I was a student things were notably less secure. :)

[bertine.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I debated doing it but I am such a rule-follower.

[pen-grunt.livejournal.com]

Also: This is reminding me how long ago I was a student.

[bertine.livejournal.com]

Turns out that the buses here are less dependent on money from the state to run. They pass more of the cost to the riders.

This is insane because that is one of the reasons I don't take be bus more. The other is the lack of sidewalks.

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

That is ridiculous. Those fares are exorbitant. How can people even afford to take the bus ever?

[bertine.livejournal.com]

I don't know! Like I said, that is why I don't take it more. There was talk last year about raising it even more. At least $.25.

We do have a nice system and they are expanding the light rail but my car costs about the same, is faster and means I can stop at places on the way home.

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, so much of the appeal of public transportation is convenience. No driving into the city with traffic, no worries about parking, etc. It's a big deal in Boston or New York.

Doesn't seem like there's really a point in Minneapolis.

[bertine.livejournal.com]

The point is when you are going from the suburbs into downtown. The other way around doesn't work as well.

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

There's a bus/commuter rail system for Boston suburbs, but the majority of public transport is in the metro-Boston area. How far from the city do you live? (I thought it was Minneapolis proper, but when my friend picked me up from ORD, I was shocked to find out that my friend who lived "in Chicago" had driven an hour plus to pick me up.)

[bertine.livejournal.com]

I live in Minneapolis proper (about three mile south of downtow) but I work in a suburb called Plymouth. Here is my driving route to work:


View Larger Map

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

Oh, ok. That makes more sense.

It's good that you have the bus as an option, but I can see why you'd prefer to drive. Especially if the roads in Minneapolis are anything like the roads in Chicago, which I have yet to shut up about. (THEY ARE SO WIDE AND WELL-MAINTAINED.)

[bertine.livejournal.com]

The roads here are wide and well-maintained compared to the East Coast.

I really want to like the bus because I don't really like driving but it just doesn't happen. If I just went downtown it would take about 20 mins and would totally be worth it.

[pork_chop]

The stored value card includes a 10% bonus on whatever value to pay - maybe that would help make it more worthwhile? From the website example: Pay $20, get $22 in fare value.

[bertine.livejournal.com]

That is actually what I do.

So, instead of $5.25 I guess I actually paid $4.72

[messyjessy.livejournal.com]

I looked into taking the bus from my house to my office. It would take 45-60 minutes and include a long walk at the end AND require that I left my office before 5 to make a connection to get home.

My drive is 15 minutes. Twenty if the weather is "bad." I just couldn't justify it.