Mobile Area Rapid Transit System (MARTS)
In this issue of County View I plead for a strong injection into Mobile County public transit, a system that if implemented correctly will pay for itself. A lot of us are in love with our cars but rising gas prices and traffic jams are putting a damper on that. And plenty more people than may be realized, don’t have cars. Although The Wave is a great improvement from earlier days we still need a full-fledged system with a beefed up schedule. Come on board, this ride is on the house.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Thanks for this, I sure wish someone would pay attention. Hopefully with rising fuel costs forcing people to conserve, public transit will become more valuable, and once again be considered worthy of receiving some financial resources. My husband bikes to work and takes the bus home, and I’m an occasional bus user, and we’ve both experienced problems on a fairly regular basis. Buses only run once an hour, and they frequently run ahead of schedule because of few stops along the way, so it’s fairly easy to miss the bus, even if you’re there 10 minutes ahead of time. And if you do miss it you have to wait an hour for the next one - that is if there is a next one. More rarely, the bus just doesn’t show up at all. I’ve even had it pass me while I was at a stop trying to wave it down. Despite these many problems we continue to use it because it saves the use of our car. Riding the bus is for the most part comfortable and convenient; I just wish it could be reliable too!
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Sorry, I forgot what my husband added as well…the University of South Alabama is the major employer in this city, but the only route that’s even close to direct (from downtown) is Spring Hill, which is a bit out of the way. How about making it more centralized, or even providing an express with limited stops during commute times??
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
We must be on the same page because I thought about University
after I turned in the column, and hoped someone would mention it as a
needed route and you did so that’s great. I lived in San Francisco
14 years and never once owned a car, spoiled by the public transit.
Buses, streetcars, subways - public transit everywhere and around the
clock - all over the bay area. It was rare for a bus to be behind
schedule, they ran every 20 minutes on most routes. I know we’re not
San Francisco but still . .the transit here badly needs a makeover,
like we said, with gas prices not going away anytime soon and Mobile
bursting at the seams with growth it makes sense it would be a top
priority. Have you noticed a lot more people here riding scooters and
cycles? I’m not saying I will give up my vehicle but I would use
the bus in some cases, especially knowing I wouldn’t have to drive
( I could write or something) and not giving OPEC and oil companies
more of my money. BTW, I can’t resist a little joke but you said
you’ve been at a stop and the bus passed you as you
tried to wave it down. That’s why they call it the Wave . . sorry, that
one had to come out. Anyway, thanks for your post and let’s hope the
city and county are listening and we can get a real public transit system!
May 24th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Preston, my first six columns at Lagniappe in the spring of 2003 were general interest and one pondered the woeful state of transportation in Mobile. The only feedback I encountered was chastisement. People couldn’t see why anything other a single occupant automobile would be desired.
Of course, people also scoffed when I would talk about the future of the oil market and how it was going to bite us in the derriere.
I guess now it doesn’t look so silly.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Kev, no one ever said the life of a visionary would be
a road easily traveled. I’m sure there were plenty of
neighbors who thought Benny was a whack job
for stringing a key to a kite, but look what happened.
I’ll have to dig up earlier copies of the pape as I
think its archived back to 2005.
May 24th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Over a year ago when Google started adding public transit information to their Google Maps, I attempted to contact the Wave folks about adding the Mobile information to their system, or providing me that info so I could pass it along. As you can see from the page below:
http://www.google.com/transit
Not only did I never get a response one way or the other from them, they never acted on the info. So apparently even simple improvements to the system are out of their reach.
And speaking of silly public transportation issues. How about more sidewalks so biking is a possibility. I don’t feel comfortable biking from Knollwood to the Mall (3 miles) for fear of getting run down by cars since there are only sidewalks about half the way and the other half contains overgrown foliage so that riding off the road is not possible. So 6 miles a day in the car is the only real option.
May 25th, 2008 at 1:44 am
“I don’t feel comfortable biking from Knollwood to the Mall
(3 miles) for fear of getting run down by cars since there
are only sidewalks about half the way and the other half
contains overgrown foliage so that riding off the road is not
possible”
* * *
Amen to that. I think this department is responsible. I’d call them
and request the overgrown foliage be cut-down. Is there a sidewalk
under the over-grown section?
Public Works: Road Maintenance
770 Gayle St.
Mobile, AL 36604
Main Contact: 251-208-2900
May 25th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Unfortunately no sidewalk there. The grown out section (between Azalea and Montlimar) has about 3 feet of grass between fences that line the back yards of the houses there and the curb to the street. There are tree branches coming through and over the fences. Not very inviting at all. I’ll give that department a call and see if that is something they can help with.
Thanks.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:49 am
I’m curious to know what answers you get - thanks.