If you've already purchased a car, there are big financial incentives to drive it. Image: Better Institutions

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Today's tangent comes from Streets Blog's "The Big Leap From Car-Lite to Car-Free"

I was thinking wouldn't be great if we could model car use after mass transit use, there in front of your house is a free car and to use it you just have to plop down $25 for the first 20 miles (average daily cost and average daily travel distance rounded to nice numbers). Just think how many more would use a car more often with that model.

Wait, what? You think car use would go down if we charged per trip? Well that's my point, why are we using this model to "sell" mass transit? When I moved to New York City they offered a discount if you bought tokens in bulk. And with a pocket full of tokens I was more likely to pick mass transit as my travel mode, that is to say I had already sunk my money into mass transit so I used it.

But here in Maryland it is very different, a single trip is $1.60 a day pass is $3.50, 30 cents more for what a ideal round trip should cost but our routes are so convoluted that a day pass is considered a bargain because you are going to have to take more than one line to get anywhere. - That is not selling mass transit as a viable option!

And then there is the weekly pass, ideally if you took mass transit to and from work 5 days a week or ten trips that would cost $16 so for 50 cents MORE you can get a weekly pass. Again only a bargain because of our poorly designed routes. - That is not selling mass transit as a viable option!

For completeness there is a monthly pass that is exactly the same price of 20 round trips. I really have to ask what is the incentive here for someone with a car to try mass transit? If you happen to live/work someplace where one line will serve your needs there is no incentive to sink costs into mass transit, and if you live/work someplace where you need to take more than one line so these options are a bargain but the wait and transfers are a nightmare so that is not an incentive.

While we do need to un-spaghettize our routes we really need to offer a discount at least on the monthly pass to help put mass transit on the same playing field as owning a car.

BY EVAN SERPICK, City Paper

Hallelujah!

After virtually universal agreement (by the people we talk to, anyway) that the MARC train should run from Baltimore’s Penn Station to D.C.’s Union Station on weekends (which has been promised since at least 2008), it will finally be so, according to a report in the Baltimore Business Journal.

The additional service was approved as part of The Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act, signed by Governor O’Malley today.
...

No date has been set for the weekend service to begin.

http://blogs.citypaper.com/index.php/2013/05/marc-train-to-begin-weekend-service/

[B' Spokes: I thought this was a cute angle.]
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Via Lifehacker

If you're used to driving everywhere, taking the subway or the bus might seem overwhelming. Even so, if you live in an urban area where it makes more sense, or you're just tired of car payments, gas prices, and vehicle maintenance, it's a good option. Here's how to learn the ropes of your public transit system quickly and painlessly.
...

http://lifehacker.com/a-drivers-guide-to-mastering-public-transit-480119176

B' Spokes: A FYI type link. My impression? Too many in the Baltimore Metro area do not realize the value of mass transit even though for the most part we have a really high mass transit use.

http://technical.ly/baltimore/2013/04/09/maryland-transportation-bill-chris-whong/

Friday, March 22, 2013
6:00pm until 9:00pm in EDT

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT** Bikemore is no longer a beneficiary of this event; the fundraiser is now solely for Red Line Now. HOWEVER, Bikemore still strongly encourages you to attend this event, because Baltimore needs quality public transit as much as we need bike lanes!

Red Line Now is fighting for better public transportation in Baltimore. They need your help! And, with duckpin bowling being a venerable Baltimore tradition, we figured it was an appropriate way to advocate for Baltimore's transportation future.

$20 donation at the door = bowling shoes + free bowling!**

Learn more:
Red Line Now: http://www.red-line-now.com/

**FINE PRINT: We have reserved 3 duckpin lanes from 6-9pm; each lane can handle 6 people (2 teams of 3 each) at a time.

@ Mustang Alleys
1300 Bank St, Baltimore, Maryland 21231

[B' Spokes: I'll note a lot of cyclists rely on mass transit as part of their journey.]
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JOIN THE MOVEMENT!
Tired of the gridlock? We need your help to get Maryland moving. Let your legislators know today why this is a priority for you.

http://www.getmarylandmoving.org/photo-petition/

Via Fast Lane

...
As Administrator Rogoff said:

“By taking cars off the road and reducing harmful emissions and pollutants in our nation’s most natural and pristine settings, we’re helping Americans and visitors from around the world enjoy these public lands as they were meant to be enjoyed. From new pedestrian walkways and bicycle trails to energy-efficient shuttle buses, these investments help to keep our parks sustainable for years to come.”
...

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2013/02/transit-in-the-parks-preserves-a-democratic-idea-moves-america-forward.html

by KEVIN KLINKENBERG, New Urbanism Blog

...
This is the cognitive dissonance that says one group of people must vote for and fund their own lifestyle choices (urbanites who use transit); while another group gets their lifestyle choices funded by everyone.

I’m actually not at all opposed to the approach used for the streetcar line. In fact, I think that it’s a much fairer way to go about funding major transportation projects that require public dollars.

I simply wonder: why don’t we do this for every major project? The primary recipients of our largesse for the Grandview Triangle are people who live within about a ten-mile radius of it. What if they had to fund its rebuilding? Would those voters have chosen to raise their own taxes for this one intersection?
...

http://newurbanismblog.com/cognitive-dissonance-transportation-funding/

Richard Layman shows roughly how many cars can be taken off the roadway with 3 buses. I'll note that's roughly the space of 6 cars... big difference!

http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2013/01/an-illustration-of-space-principle-as.html