[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Transit Jottings

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Transit Jottings
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1220234438.shtml


   I've been using my new "Go To" card the past week, works great. I
   didn't realize this when I ordered it that I also no longer need paper
   transfers. The card knows, i.e., doesn't charge if you're within the
   2.5 hour window. I therefore have to concede, happily, that Metro
   Transit did something right.
   ***
   I finished up walking the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis, including
   lunch at Manning's. I ended up in Dinkytown and finally got my first
   ride on one of the new hybrid buses. It seemed smaller on the inside,
   but it has the usual 40 seats or so.
   I was impressed with it, hybrid or not. Maybe my driver was more
   aggressive than most, but it seemed to have better acceleration and
   handled more nimbly. Supposedly it gets 10% better mileage, but I'm
   afraid to ask how much more these buses cost. Do they really save
   money over their lifetime or is this just Global Warming political
   pandering?
   ***
   Why is it I only see these hybrid buses going to Bloomington, Edina,
   and St. Louis Park? I've taken the bus more often than not this
   summer, from the Brooklyn Center Transit Station that anchors three
   main routes 5 (Fremont), 19 (Penn), and 22 (Lyndale) through north
   Minneapolis, not to mention 6 local routes into Brooklyn Park,
   Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale, Fridley, Columbia Heights, and
   Roseville. So even though I take one, I see several each type, and to
   date haven't seen a single hybrid.
   There may be a logical explanation, like that the MTC garage nearby
   isn't tooled up for these models. But wouldn't running at least a few
   be good public relations? This way, it looks like redlining.