I suppose now is as good a time as any to explain the purpose of this blog. In short, growing up in Baton Rouge, there never was a truly robust public transportation system that everybody used. It is a driving town, and will probably remain so for years. Not that I have a problem with that, its just not dense enough, the commutes not painful enough...yet. My wife and I moved to Dallas about two years ago, and we have lived near the center of town. Since we just moved, I will finally have to be reliant upon public transportation. My reasons are simple: I don't want to pay for a parking spot at work, I like saving money on gas and I like the added excercise.
I am an Architectural intern, and in school was and at work am constantly subjected to intellectual discussions of the city, and sooner or later the topic turns to public transportation. The largest proponets are EcoNazis, who I think have no idea what relying on public transportation is like. Most, I imagine, have never and will never ride a bus if they can help it. I am not an EcoNazi, and I don't use public transportation to save the earth, just to get to and from work, and on occasion, other destinations. My goal is to have a 'Public Transportation Adventure' every two weeks, or twice a month.
So without further adieu, the first adventure...
Yesterday, I had to personally deliver three rather large architectural models to a site in San Antonio. I rented a car in Dallas, drove it down, and dropped it off and flew back to Dallas. Upon arriving in Dallas, My boss needed to leave immediately to pick up his two kids from daycare. I called my wife to let her know I had touched down, and she offered (wisely I might add) to pick me up after getting off work. Her office is not too far from the DFW airport. I said 'no, don't hassle yourself, it's cold and rainy and traffice will be terrible.' She insisted and so did I, and eventually I won. I knew there was a shuttle to the Centerport station where a train could take me back to Dallas. The shuttle was there waiting when I exited the terminal, and I boarded.
I was the only one on the shuttle, apparently remote parking and trains are none to popular in DFW. I arrived at the remote station and transfered over to a shuttle for Centerport. When we arrived, there was little to behold. The station was more like a light rail station with some undersized coverings (it was very cold and raining sideways), and roughly three people waiting including myself. During the ride, I erroneously interpreted the train schedule and thought that an eastbound train would be by shortly. Unfortunately, I was looking at morning times, and the train didn't arrive for another 25 minutes.
When the train finally arrived, I welcomed the warmth and dryness on the inside. The train was clean and well lit, and punctual. There were only two passengers in my car. Thirty minutes later, we were in Dallas as promised, pulling into Union Station. I love it when things are on time! I promptly moved over to the nex platform to catch a DART rail up to the east transfer station downtown. I glanced at the schedule for the bus route I use, and realized that I would be cutting it close, or I would have to wait another thirty minutes in the rain for the next bus. When the train pulled into the Pearl Street station, I ran like hell to make it to the transfer station. The transfer is a city block away, so in the process, I was soaked in the pouring rain.
Freezing my ass off, I happily boarded the bus, all the while thinking of how to apologize to my better half. A few minutes later, I reached my stop and walked home in the cold rain. My wife was staring at me through the door shaking her head :P All told, the trip took about an hour and a half, though it would have been shorter had my plane landed on time. As the experience goes, I would only recommend this route to the airport on a few conditions. First, that you have plenty of time to wait on various modes of transportation (I had to make four transfers to different systems). The TRE line is definately the limiting factor here, because it runs infrequently. Second, that you are travelling light. Any more than a carry on and this trip would be a workout you don't want. Third, and finally, that the weather is nice. Nice enough that you would take a leisurly walk in the park. In general, be familiar with the schedule of your route. None of the systems mesh perfectly and try to avoid close calls. It's better to wait fifteen minutes than to experience the frustration of missing your ride by fifteen seconds (I know, its happend to me before)
I am an Architectural intern, and in school was and at work am constantly subjected to intellectual discussions of the city, and sooner or later the topic turns to public transportation. The largest proponets are EcoNazis, who I think have no idea what relying on public transportation is like. Most, I imagine, have never and will never ride a bus if they can help it. I am not an EcoNazi, and I don't use public transportation to save the earth, just to get to and from work, and on occasion, other destinations. My goal is to have a 'Public Transportation Adventure' every two weeks, or twice a month.
So without further adieu, the first adventure...
Yesterday, I had to personally deliver three rather large architectural models to a site in San Antonio. I rented a car in Dallas, drove it down, and dropped it off and flew back to Dallas. Upon arriving in Dallas, My boss needed to leave immediately to pick up his two kids from daycare. I called my wife to let her know I had touched down, and she offered (wisely I might add) to pick me up after getting off work. Her office is not too far from the DFW airport. I said 'no, don't hassle yourself, it's cold and rainy and traffice will be terrible.' She insisted and so did I, and eventually I won. I knew there was a shuttle to the Centerport station where a train could take me back to Dallas. The shuttle was there waiting when I exited the terminal, and I boarded.
I was the only one on the shuttle, apparently remote parking and trains are none to popular in DFW. I arrived at the remote station and transfered over to a shuttle for Centerport. When we arrived, there was little to behold. The station was more like a light rail station with some undersized coverings (it was very cold and raining sideways), and roughly three people waiting including myself. During the ride, I erroneously interpreted the train schedule and thought that an eastbound train would be by shortly. Unfortunately, I was looking at morning times, and the train didn't arrive for another 25 minutes.
When the train finally arrived, I welcomed the warmth and dryness on the inside. The train was clean and well lit, and punctual. There were only two passengers in my car. Thirty minutes later, we were in Dallas as promised, pulling into Union Station. I love it when things are on time! I promptly moved over to the nex platform to catch a DART rail up to the east transfer station downtown. I glanced at the schedule for the bus route I use, and realized that I would be cutting it close, or I would have to wait another thirty minutes in the rain for the next bus. When the train pulled into the Pearl Street station, I ran like hell to make it to the transfer station. The transfer is a city block away, so in the process, I was soaked in the pouring rain.
Freezing my ass off, I happily boarded the bus, all the while thinking of how to apologize to my better half. A few minutes later, I reached my stop and walked home in the cold rain. My wife was staring at me through the door shaking her head :P All told, the trip took about an hour and a half, though it would have been shorter had my plane landed on time. As the experience goes, I would only recommend this route to the airport on a few conditions. First, that you have plenty of time to wait on various modes of transportation (I had to make four transfers to different systems). The TRE line is definately the limiting factor here, because it runs infrequently. Second, that you are travelling light. Any more than a carry on and this trip would be a workout you don't want. Third, and finally, that the weather is nice. Nice enough that you would take a leisurly walk in the park. In general, be familiar with the schedule of your route. None of the systems mesh perfectly and try to avoid close calls. It's better to wait fifteen minutes than to experience the frustration of missing your ride by fifteen seconds (I know, its happend to me before)
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