98% of Commuters Favor Public Transit For Everybody Else
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 7.08
The Onion reports on a new study from the American Public Transportation Association, which concludes that something must be done to get everybody else off the road.
"Improving public transportation will do a great deal of good, creating jobs, revitalizing downtown areas, and reducing pollution," said one commuter. "It also means a lot to me personally, as it should cut 20 to 25 minutes off my morning drive."
The study is also big on car pooling. "When public transportation is not practical, commuters should at least be carpooling," said another commuter. "Most people, unlike me, probably work near someone they know and don't need to be driving alone."
The APTA is kicking off a campaign to promote mass transit with the slogan, "Take The Bus... I'll Be Glad You Did."
They campaign will focus on the positive aspects of riding the bus, including the health benefits of getting fresh air while waiting at the bus stop, the chance to meet interesting people from a diverse array of low-paying service-sector jobs, and the opportunity to learn new languages by reading subway ads written in Spanish. ::The Onion via ::Planetizen
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that is hilarious! You know, i'd never thought about it, but i am absolutely in that 98% that think other people should ride the bus or whatever so they are not in my way! lol
-one thing, though, I would absolutely carpool if I knew anyone near me going to the same place at the same times. So, i guess i'm not completely horrid. . . i hope, anyway. . . ;)
Hey liz,
You should try asking around your office. I bet some one does. If they don't live near you, then they live on your way and you could pick them up.
I'm in the other 2% because I commute by train. A train that's so crowded I really do NOT want all those greedy smelly motorists sharing it with us public-spirited rail stalwarts!
Now that's enough of being an ironic Limey and I must get back to work :)
I would carpool, but there are only 8 people in my office, and I live on the other side of town from them.
But I do ride my bike most of the time, so that does make up for it right?
In the 2% here ;)
I ride the metro, there's only 4 people in my office (including me) and they all live 10-20 miles away and in the opposite direction from the workplace than I do :)
I'm lucky. I work at home, so no commute. But one of my sisters does carpool with two of her coworkers. She loves it. They had to adjust their work schedules to something mutually agreeable; their office lets you pick your start time too, so they can avoid rush hour and save gas, lucky people!
I love The Onion. I remember when a Chinese newspaper took them serious on their report that the U.S. government was negotiating moving the capital to another city because Washington, D.C. would not give them a new capitol building.
Seriously, the spoof news tends to hit a nerve when they get a little too close. I read this after driving two miles to work, two miles that I easily could have ridden on my bike, or not quite as easily taken the bus to. I guess they nailed me!
Dear Treehugger,
I love your website and read it everyday. It is a great source of green information and news. But can you keep the site a news source and stop relaying Onion articles.
Thanks
Carter
Apparently the Onion is also terribly keen on recycling its bits and bytes. I saw this bit of news at least a year or two ago.
And I guess I'm one of those 98%, because I walk to work. :)
Ahem. You do realize that The Onion is satire, right?
If you want to find people to carpool with you can try PickupPal.com. That is what we do - we match drivers with passengers - and it is 100% free - seriously it does not cost a thing to use and we are the largest Ridesharing company out there so the chances of matching up with someone is pretty good.
Cheers - Eric
blog.pickuppal.com
Dear Treehugger,
I love your website and read it everyday. It is a great source of green information and news. Please continue to post articles from The Onion if the are relevant and funny. I could use a laugh.
Thanks,
Alex
The Onion doesn't recycle its news, Treehugger just reposts Onion articles from 2000.