miketoronto
03-12-2007, 08:35 PM
THis is from the Detroit News, at
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007702220404
This article shows that when you offer good service(as in this Express service) people will use it.
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Get SMART and avoid Lodge
For once in my life I did the smart thing.
Actually, I did the SMART thing -- as in Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation -- when I boarded a SMART bus Wednesday morning at the Park and Ride lot at the Orchard Ridge campus of Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills.
This is one of two Park and Ride lots (the other is at Northland) where drivers can avoid the Lodge Freeway detours and take advantage of SMART's special "Dodge the Lodge II" express service to downtown Detroit.
Since the Lodge construction began earlier this month, about 600 people ride the new service daily downtown, said SMART general manager Dan G. Dirks.
As Milford resident Patricia Hummel waited for the Route 851 bus at Orchard Ridge, she said, "My car is old and I want it to last as long as possible. I figure I'm saving about $270 a month in gas and parking by riding the bus."
I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about riding the bus after all these years.
Questions kept bouncing around my brain: What if I don't have the correct fare? Do they still have the old-style fare boxes? What if I get on the wrong bus? Do they still call out the stops? Do you still pull on a cord to get off at your stop?
No pressure, Tom!
Anticipating the nervousness of first time riders, SMART produced instructional videos on its Web site, www.smartbus.org. The clips cover a number of subjects, including routes, how to pay, how to operate the bicycle racks and more.
Back at OCC, my bus arrived at exactly 7:46 a.m., right on schedule. The cost was $2 so I dropped eight quarters into the fare box. So far so good. About 20 passengers smiled and exchanged neighborly "good mornings" with each other. About eight buses pick up riders daily at OCC, Dirks said by phone.
I noticed that everybody on the bus was a reader. No cell phones and no iPods; just books, magazines and newspapers. It was like a library on wheels.
"I probably go through a 400-page book every two weeks while taking the bus," said Michael Stephen, an accountant who works at Wayne State University.
"My wife and I only need one car. We're saving about $400 a month in car payments, parking, gas and insurance."
Kim Paull of South Lyon loves riding the bus and leaving the driving to someone else.
"I work for a firm which has a travel allowance, which pays for the cost of my pass," said Paull. "I'm basically riding for free plus I don't have to pay for parking."
Thirty minutes after my bus starting traveling down Orchard Lake Road, I disembarked at Michigan and Cass. The service was great, the trip was peaceful and the passengers were friendly; not bad for $2.
Commuting You can reach Tom Greenwood at (313) 222-2023 or tgreenwood@detnews.com.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007702220404
This article shows that when you offer good service(as in this Express service) people will use it.
--------------------------------------
Get SMART and avoid Lodge
For once in my life I did the smart thing.
Actually, I did the SMART thing -- as in Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation -- when I boarded a SMART bus Wednesday morning at the Park and Ride lot at the Orchard Ridge campus of Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills.
This is one of two Park and Ride lots (the other is at Northland) where drivers can avoid the Lodge Freeway detours and take advantage of SMART's special "Dodge the Lodge II" express service to downtown Detroit.
Since the Lodge construction began earlier this month, about 600 people ride the new service daily downtown, said SMART general manager Dan G. Dirks.
As Milford resident Patricia Hummel waited for the Route 851 bus at Orchard Ridge, she said, "My car is old and I want it to last as long as possible. I figure I'm saving about $270 a month in gas and parking by riding the bus."
I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about riding the bus after all these years.
Questions kept bouncing around my brain: What if I don't have the correct fare? Do they still have the old-style fare boxes? What if I get on the wrong bus? Do they still call out the stops? Do you still pull on a cord to get off at your stop?
No pressure, Tom!
Anticipating the nervousness of first time riders, SMART produced instructional videos on its Web site, www.smartbus.org. The clips cover a number of subjects, including routes, how to pay, how to operate the bicycle racks and more.
Back at OCC, my bus arrived at exactly 7:46 a.m., right on schedule. The cost was $2 so I dropped eight quarters into the fare box. So far so good. About 20 passengers smiled and exchanged neighborly "good mornings" with each other. About eight buses pick up riders daily at OCC, Dirks said by phone.
I noticed that everybody on the bus was a reader. No cell phones and no iPods; just books, magazines and newspapers. It was like a library on wheels.
"I probably go through a 400-page book every two weeks while taking the bus," said Michael Stephen, an accountant who works at Wayne State University.
"My wife and I only need one car. We're saving about $400 a month in car payments, parking, gas and insurance."
Kim Paull of South Lyon loves riding the bus and leaving the driving to someone else.
"I work for a firm which has a travel allowance, which pays for the cost of my pass," said Paull. "I'm basically riding for free plus I don't have to pay for parking."
Thirty minutes after my bus starting traveling down Orchard Lake Road, I disembarked at Michigan and Cass. The service was great, the trip was peaceful and the passengers were friendly; not bad for $2.
Commuting You can reach Tom Greenwood at (313) 222-2023 or tgreenwood@detnews.com.
