I HATE cars.
I spend 12 and a half days of my life each year trapped inside my automobile. That is 300 hours I focus on driving trying to make sure I don’t hit some idiot who wants in my lane, or 18,000 minutes going five miles a hour so we can all watch the other dumb asses who just totaled their vehicles on the freeway.
“Oh but Mr. Windle aren’t you aware of the wonderful public transportation system Seattle has to offer?” Why thank you! Wasting 24 days of my life and riding 1338 buses a year sounds so much better.
Wait did I just say 24 days… That’s almost a month of my life. Every day I see thousands of people traveling the same place I want to travel to. So why are there not armies of buses traveling the same direction I’m going? Why does public transportation want to waste a month of my time each year just getting me to work? In 2006 I visited Denmark. I think I paid around $36 total on transportation for my 10 day stay. Try getting that kind of deal out of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Everywhere I traveled in Denmark was by train. Even with having never been outside North America it took me less then 10 minutes to figure out the train system there. That was with a train schedule written in Danish which is a language I do not speak.
The trains were fast and efficient. I didn’t have to look at the time for when the next train was coming. I just went to the train station and waited. Within 5 minutes I could climb aboard.
So where are my freaking trains in Seattle! Is the great state of Washington outmatched by a country a quarter of it’s size?
Seattle has been putting in rail as of late. Unfortunately, it might as well be rail that travels to the land of Oz for all I care. It’s as if someone built the public transportation model around the idea that all roads lead to Seattle. That doesn’t help me on my commute from Bothell to Bellevue five days a week.
The Seattle suburb scene is littered with park and rides. A lot is vested in park and rides saving us all from the chaos of traffic.
So lets break down the logic here. They want you to buy a car which is a considerable amount of money. Then pay for bus fair which costs more money. So that you can waste twice as much time getting to where you want to go. Brilliant!
Transportation is mandatory in our society; yet we fail to provide that service efficiently for anyone in this area. Public officials meanwhile are moving at snail speed to fix this problem. At their pace
I will be fortunate to see a train running up and down I-405 in my lifetime.
Overall transportation is a social responsibility. We as voters and taxpayers have to be willing to push forward and fund these changes.
I’m a strong believer in judging a society by its poorest members. Following those standards I feel America is dramatically failing test.
Needless to say I’m still trying to formulate a solid plan on getting myself deported to Denmark. I would be happy to pay their 50 percent income tax and 25 percent sales tax if it meant outstanding social services like public transportation, free health care, and free education.
You know? A place that not only isn’t afraid of socialized services, but implements them really well. If that’s un-American by all means deport me; until then I will continue to waste my life away navigating the slow drifting waters of I-405.