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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by mel View PostThey're websites that make sense and I am proud to be associated with them. I am not a special interest.
I just wish those sites would be a little more factual and less PR spin.
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Re: TheBus news
I believe at least in town there should be more busses to accomodate the masses. One thing I hated when riding the bus was having to stand in a crowded bus. I got no student or senior citizen discount so I was a full-fare paying rider having to stand during the morning and afternoon rush hour times.
I felt something was wrong here and that if you pay more than others, you should be able to sit and ride in some comfort. The notion of being able to sit and read the morning rag while commuting to work was a fleeting one as I stood there hanging on for dear life as we tore down potholed Kapiolani BLVD.
More busses would allow for more seats. More seats would mean people like me wouldn't have swayed away from riding the bus later on.
One problem with more busses however, yes that bus takes that many cars off the road, but if 50 people drove their cars, those cars would end up in parking lots and not on the streets for the rest of the day until the afternoon rush. Their motors would be off and not consuming fuel or polluting the air with exhaust.
Busses on the other hand would continue to operate whether it was carrying a full load or just one passenger, throughout the day and more than likely, through out the evening. Their motors are on more times than off, consuming more fuel and contributing to more pollution. Their weight on the roads have more impact as they're on them longer. It's so bad at most major bus stops concrete is used as a pad instead of asphalt. Heavy vehicles make more of a negative impact on our roadways than lighter ones. I think I can say that's a fact.
So is The Bus really a better way to get to work? Maybe from a passenger standpoint, but what about from an environmental, roadway infrastructure and resource perspective?
Hmmm.....I think an Environmental Assessment or better yet an EIS should be conducted on the Bus to see exactly how the Bus impacts our daily lives from a societal level to an environmental one.
As anyone who has been stuck behind a bus, they exhaust a crapload of carbon. Before it was acceptable as carbon soot fell back to the ground but nowdays with the emphasis on carbon footprinting, I think the Bus and other diesel burning vehicles are probably contributing a good portion of it into our environment.Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.
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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by craigwatanabe View PostI believe at least in town there should be more busses to accomodate the masses. One thing I hated when riding the bus was having to stand in a crowded bus. I got no student or senior citizen discount so I was a full-fare paying rider having to stand during the morning and afternoon rush hour times.
I felt something was wrong here and that if you pay more than others, you should be able to sit and ride in some comfort. The notion of being able to sit and read the morning rag while commuting to work was a fleeting one as I stood there hanging on for dear life as we tore down potholed Kapiolani BLVD.
More busses would allow for more seats. More seats would mean people like me wouldn't have swayed away from riding the bus later on.
One problem with more busses however, yes that bus takes that many cars off the road, but if 50 people drove their cars, those cars would end up in parking lots and not on the streets for the rest of the day until the afternoon rush. Their motors would be off and not consuming fuel or polluting the air with exhaust.
Busses on the other hand would continue to operate whether it was carrying a full load or just one passenger, throughout the day and more than likely, through out the evening. Their motors are on more times than off, consuming more fuel and contributing to more pollution. Their weight on the roads have more impact as they're on them longer. It's so bad at most major bus stops concrete is used as a pad instead of asphalt. Heavy vehicles make more of a negative impact on our roadways than lighter ones. I think I can say that's a fact.
So is The Bus really a better way to get to work? Maybe from a passenger standpoint, but what about from an environmental, roadway infrastructure and resource perspective?
Hmmm.....I think an Environmental Assessment or better yet an EIS should be conducted on the Bus to see exactly how the Bus impacts our daily lives from a societal level to an environmental one.
As anyone who has been stuck behind a bus, they exhaust a crapload of carbon. Before it was acceptable as carbon soot fell back to the ground but nowdays with the emphasis on carbon footprinting, I think the Bus and other diesel burning vehicles are probably contributing a good portion of it into our environment.
Other issues I can think of also is the need for the extra bus drivers to man any extra buses. That adds up quick. And getting on and off a loaded bus is crazy, ever see a mob mentality when there is a crowd getting onto a bus and they start pushing hoping to get a seat?
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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by joshuatree View PostI don't know for sure what The Bus uses for fuel. If it is diesel which I think it is, we're behind other bus fleets as they use CNG. However, I don't think CNG is cheap either.
Other issues I can think of also is the need for the extra bus drivers to man any extra buses. That adds up quick. And getting on and off a loaded bus is crazy, ever see a mob mentality when there is a crowd getting onto a bus and they start pushing hoping to get a seat?
The problem with SNG is when you attempt to compress it, the molecules that are combined to make SNG out of propane and other lighter hydrocompounds tend to break down under pressure and separate, almost like hydrocracking.
Instead propane is the better fuel alternative as there are two manufacturing plants on Oahu with the capacity to import to four of the major Hawaiian islands, and we already have four distribution companies and many distribution points across the state to handle the distribution and consumption of propane. In other words the infrastructure for propane delivery and distribution is already in place and working.
The downside to propane combustion is the release of carbon dioxide and water vapor into our atmosphere as it's emission.Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.
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Re: TheBus news
Craig - are you saying that those of us who are seniors or disabled are less entitled to a seat, simply because we pay less for our pass? Even when I was buying a regular pass, I certainly didn't feel I should be entitled to take a seat from a senior citizen or person on crutches etc.
I mean no disrespect by my question but you are the first person I've ever heard actually make a statement like yours."Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
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Re: TheBus news
I just returned from Los Angeles and rode the public transportation around town or walked as far as I could. $1.25 for city buses and/or the Metrolink rail which goes both underground and above ground in certain parts of the city. I was very pleased with the service and for $5 you can buy an all day pass and go from Universal City to Long Beach and back if you desire.
We've been taxed for 18 months for the future mass transit here in town and if the anti-rail people get their wishes and the whole project gets canceled are we getting our money back or what? I doubt it.
The old adage applies to so many things in life, build it and the people will come.
Aj
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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by Kalihiboy View PostI just returned from Los Angeles and rode the public transportation around town or walked as far as I could. $1.25 for city buses and/or the Metrolink rail which goes both underground and above ground in certain parts of the city. I was very pleased with the service and for $5 you can buy an all day pass and go from Universal City to Long Beach and back if you desire.
We've been taxed for 18 months for the future mass transit here in town and if the anti-rail people get their wishes and the whole project gets canceled are we getting our money back or what? I doubt it.
The old adage applies to so many things in life, build it and the people will come.
Aj
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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by anapuni808 View PostCraig - are you saying that those of us who are seniors or disabled are less entitled to a seat, simply because we pay less for our pass? Even when I was buying a regular pass, I certainly didn't feel I should be entitled to take a seat from a senior citizen or person on crutches etc.
I mean no disrespect by my question but you are the first person I've ever heard actually make a statement like yours.
Giving up one's seat is a noble gesture to a handicapped or elderly person who is less likely able to stand or withstand the jarring of a bus ride while standing.
But the irony of it all is that as a middle-class middle-aged working male that rented (no mortgage deduction at that time) I have paid the highest fare while subsidizing the very transit system with the highest tax rate applied to a bus system that can't allow this schmuck to sit and ride in some level of comfort, while also paying for vehicle weight taxes for cars I left sitting in my garage just to save the Earth at the same time.
Now here's the selfish part and please I'm saying this tongue in cheek so don't take it seriously okay?
I'm going to work to earn a decent wage and pay my fair share of taxes to keep the government running and allow the bus to run. I used to see a group of senior citizens ride the same bus every morning just to socialize (like a mobile McDonalds). I'm using the bus as a transit alternative, they're using it as a way to meet. I pay full fare to get to work, they pay a subsidized fare to go nowhere. They occupied seats needlessly while those who subsidized their seats stood. I get to work with tired feet, they go home and enjoy retirement as I earn a wage and pay taxes to subsidize their morning routine.
Okay so some are going to do volunteer work at a school or someplace. But I caught the bus at 5:30am and there they are. They're retired. They earned the right to sleep in. When I retire for good I'm not planning on getting up at the crack of dawn as if I had to be somewhere in a hurry like work.
Handicapped? No problem they deserve to have a seat, they're handicapped! Elderly? What are they doing up at 5:30 in the morning riding a refrigerator (yeah it's friggin cold in them buses in the morning). Women? Okay now I'll get flamed for saying this but...is it still expected to give up a seat for a woman? I mean with equal rights and all there shouldn't be a distinction between male and female right? But my code of conduct will always give the woman a seat, I'm old school.
So I stand. It's my choice but that's the irony of it all. To get around it, I gave up saving the planet and drove my BMW to work instead.Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.
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Re: TheBus news
ok - I understand your point. but, being one of those with "special privileges", I also understand that if I have to stand, the bus slams on it's brakes & I fall (because I'm standing), break a bone & end up suing the bus company - who is the victim here? the one who gives up a seat so I can have it? the bus company who loses money on the lawsuit (maybe has to pass that along to the passengers?) or myself who is a senior with old bones and suffers a permanent injury? just because I had to stand. Of course, the same could happen to you while standing. But, my feeling is that I've earned my seat - simply by getting old or disabled. Not something I can control but I certainly appreciate the fact that I'm shown some favor while riding the bus (by law). I will still give up my seat if someone more "fragile" than myself needs it - but I will also ask a young person to give up one of those front dedicated seats if I need it."Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by anapuni808 View Postok - I understand your point. but, being one of those with "special privileges", I also understand that if I have to stand, the bus slams on it's brakes & I fall (because I'm standing), break a bone & end up suing the bus company - who is the victim here?
People using individual vehicles such as cars and trucks are mandated by law to be seat belted while the vehicle is in operation.
Why are bus riders, both mass transit and school bus not required to be seat belted into a seat? Standing is obviously much more dangerous than being seated as mentioned in the example above.
Mass transit and school bus riders would all be guaranteed a seat if a belt requirement were in place and no standing was allowed.
As things are now, bus riders are second class citizens when it comes to safety.I'm still here. Are you?
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Re: TheBus news
Originally posted by craigwatanabe View PostOne thing I hated when riding the bus was having to stand in a crowded bus. I got no student or senior citizen discount so I was a full-fare paying rider having to stand during the morning and afternoon rush hour times.
Ofa 'atu
Mui HoumaPeace, Love, and Local Grindz
People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow
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