Back to the future...

Back to the future...

Today I woke up and saw the sleet on the street and the weather forecast of a 70% chance of freezing rain through the day and decided the bike was out and that it was time to try out the Interurban Trolley.

It's been 30 years since I routinely rode public transit. Back then I didn't own a car, so Kitchener Waterloo Transit was the best option for getting around. Today I left my car in the Garagemahal to do my little part to consume less fossil fuels.

The local trolley passes within a block of my house, and runs right past my business. One way fare is $1, which seems high until you factor in the total cost of automobile operation. The federal government reimbursement rate for private car use is $0.48/mile, so the 3.3 mile drive to my office actually costs just over $1.50 one way. And you can be sure that rate doesn't take into account greenhouse gas emissions.

I'm happy to report that the Trolley was right on time, both directions. This morning I was one of half a dozen riders (most got off at the college), but this evening I had it all to myself. I even got to catch up on some magazine reading, but not much because the trip is so fast.

Maybe someday the Trolley will run more frequently than every 30 minutes, and cover more ground than it does today. Then we might get back to the service, convenience (and ridership) we had in KW 30 years ago.

The only unpleasant aspect was waiting for a gap in traffic after the ride so I could cross Main Street to walk the rest of the way home. That seemed to take almost as long as my bus ride. I watched: most of the cars had only one person in them.