Public transportation works--we need more

The continental U.S.A. is roughly 3000 miles wide.  It took me three 15 hour days to drive from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles, California and an equal amount of time to return home.  Many of the states are the size of a country elsewhere.  There is a lot of what seems to be empty land.  Mobile phone service is generally available but not available everywhere.  Many people use satellite-based TV because cable companies aren't there, and antenna-based TV only works at short distances--shorter since digital TV arrived.

I've used public transportation on both coasts and in Japan.  In Japan, you can set your watch by it.  I did.  In the U.S.A., you might as well throw out your watch.  When the train or bus arrives, it's there, and that's all that matters.

In the midwest, where I went to school, my mum and I took the bus once.  It wasn't really good or bad, but we didn't have to walk.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I used trains and buses regularly (I likely still have my route pamphlets), and went one summer without a car.  It was demanding because I worked outside the city and after dark, services are less available.  What was a walk in the morning, and about 40 minutes on trains and buses, at night, took four hours on two buses, including a trip into the city and back out to the edge.

Transportation around New York City is no better, no worse.  Getting around Manhattan is easy--uptown, downtown.  Getting into town, you end up at Penn Station or Grand Central Station.  If you're going to Long Island, you board the Long Island Railroad at Penn Station, and wait and wait and wait and fall asleep and miss your stop.  I didn't fall asleep but I swear that it was the slowest train ride I had since being in rural Japan, taking a local train.

In San Jose, I used (Santa Clara) Valley Transportation Authority light rail.  It was smooth and fast enough.  Planners were thoughtful enough to put a connection to San Francisco through Caltrain.  At this same San Jose Diridon station, you can also use the Altamont Corridor Express to Stockton, as well as points along the way.   Caltrain was reasonably good, although I've seen plenty of mistakes since I used it.  I'm just happy I wasn't on a train with a problem, and that the temperature was moderate.

One thing I really liked about Caltrain is that they had dedicated storage for bikes.  I didn't pay too much attention to how you could lock your bike but they mounted the bike with the front wheel up.  I don't know that I would use it, but it was an effective way to keep the use of cars down.  Since then, they have introduced some bike-rental-sharing scheme.

When I was in the Bay Area, I didn't use my car that much but when I did, I was rarely stuck in traffic.  I did not drive into San Francisco, though.  On the other hand, I've driven through Manhattan, Queensborough, and Brooklyn and don't want to do that again, and that's with major public transportation.  I swear I used almost every bridge and tunnel in the NYC metro area, except for the George Washington Bridge and Verazzano Straits Bridge, all in one day.

Having lived in the Orlando, Florida area for 11 years after Philadelphia, I wanted to use public transportation.  There was a bus stop in front of my first apartment complex.  The bus that stops there went to a mall.  I did some research and the mile between my apartment and my work had zero Lynx buses, for some reason, even though there were buses on either side of the stretch.  The lack of sidewalks and the high humidity made walking an unlikely adventure, as I would need to clean up after walking to work.  In all those years of living there, I never found a situation where I could ride a bus.  The Orlando Sentinel used the headline "FloriDUH!" after the 2000 elections and I've used the nickname ever since.  What the planning people are thinking is beyond me.  They're working on implementing light rail now.  It looked great, but whether Lynx buses will match up with it or not is anyone's guess.  They're now trying to implement SunRail, their soon-to-be light rail solution from Volusia to Osceola counties.  I could only hope that they've planned to connect bus routes to the light rail stations.

While public transportation doesn't make sense in many farming communities, it makes sense for small towns and medium-sized cities.  I might use public transportation now, except that I'd have to walk two miles to Main Street or the shopping centers to get a bus that probably doesn't go where I want.  If they had not paved over all the trolley tracks, I wonder if the town would be very different now.

Maybe obviously, taking a mature city and implementing train or trolley service requires a lot of construction, especially with subways.  The other day I saw something about BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) finally after 30, 40 years making its way to San Jose from San Francisco, along East Bay.  The comments about it were rude, ranging from drugs making their way to San Jose to the horror of detours for construction.  I can't imagine that people would choose to be in a car waiting in traffic, rather than sitting in a train, for the same amount of time.  It is overdue, but at least, it's on the way to a finish, even though Caltrain already handles the western side of things.

I don't want to pay extra for parking or find my car damaged when I return, even in a company-owned lot.  I avoided that in Philadelphia, at least, paying for parking, by taking SEPTA trains into work.  At that time, $56 per month got me unlimited access to the city via trains, trolleys, and buses.  $64 got me a parking space.  In the San Francisco Bay Area, a $6 VTA day pass got me unlimited trips around Santa Clara county on VTA buses and light rail, and the $18 day pass got me unlimited Caltrain use between San Jose and San Francisco.  Besides, you don't have to remember where you parked your train.

I know that public transportation wherever it is, is no complete fix.  It is usually a huge burden on the taxpayers, even with great ridership.  It costs money to power it, and unions are often disagreeable.  I'm not just talking about the U.S.A.  It wasn't that long ago that the German rail workers union went on strike, and they probably had a fairly good deal already.  When I was riding a SEPTA bus, the drivers would often tell of how the union was going to strike many months ahead of contract negotiations--regardless of contract negotiations.

If the world has all these great minds that think about economies all the time, why is it that they can't find a good, balanced solution for transportation?  If power was free (solar, wind, etc.), would public transportation be affordable?  (I just remembered one serial dream I had.  I was explaining to the rest of my class my idea of self-propagating electromagnetic propulsion for trains, but unfortunately, I can't remember any serious details.)

Update 2014.04.11: I'm looking to move somewhere between San Jose and Stockton, California, so that I can use the ACE trains and live cheaply, until such time as I have money for a house, should I ever choose that again.  I'm not 100% sure of job prospects, but if I end up with a local retail job, I can always take the train to San Jose to visit museums and other attractions.  I think I'll have to drive the car to Palo Alto to IKEA, unless I'm also going all the way to San Fran on Caltrain.  Public transportation takes more research and preparation, which reminds me how I forgot to learn about San Francisco's MUNI ahead of time and ended up hurting my feet the several hours I was there walking.

Update 2014.04.20: Apparently, living out by California state road 99 and I-5, you have some options to get to the San Fran Bay Area.   The ACE train is one and there is a bus from Modesto (MAX) to the BART station at Dublin/Pleasanton.  Everything seems to result in a 4 hour trip, if you're going all the way to San Francisco.  The Caltrain trip from San Jose to San Francisco was somewhere between 1.5 hours and 2.0 hours, depending on taking express or local trains.  Obviously, the bus will take longer because it has to sit in traffic with all of the commuters who moved to the Central Valley to save money.

I also took a moment to look at getting to Los Angeles.  It seems that Amtrak goes from San Fran to Stockton by bus.  You leave Stockton on the train but just to Bakersfield, and then, you're on another bus to Los Angeles.  I'm confused.  Is the ground so unstable that they don't have passenger trains running the length of the state?  My trip up the state from Barstow to San Jose by car included switching roads in Bakersfield--from SR 58 to SR 99, which led to I-5, and across the Pacheco Pass Highway to US101, which took me to San Jose.  I'm sure that getting a train across the mountains could be difficult, and Pennsylvania has a "horseshoe" that PRR used and Amtrak now uses from Philly to Pittsburgh.  I guess it's not so simple in California.

In Los Angeles, I know that they have some trains.  I've seen the station at the far end, at Angels Stadium in Orange County.  I wonder if they're used much, other than for the baseball traffic.  There didn't seem to be any dedicated parking, other than that of the stadium.  Perhaps, when there are no games, people use it for Park-and-Ride?

Update 2014.05.01: Central Florida's SunRail went live today.  There were some minor problems, of course, and running on time couldn't be expected.  There was one photo of an older couple and a man with a walker was trying to get out of the train.  There was no ramp, so he put his walker on the ground that was lower than the platform, in order to get to the final step on the train.  I would imagine that he then picked up his walker to put on the platform, and likely fell trying to step over the gap.

It's still amazing to me that people don't test for wheelchairs and other devices.  One of my first experiences in Central Florida was when Montgomery Road was being widened from two lanes to four lanes with an additional turn lane.  They added sidewalks--with light poles in the middle of them.  I'm not saying that it only happens there, but Floriduh, you do it far too often.  At least, they somehow all agreed to get the light rail going.

Update 2014.05.07: The people behind SunRail are getting quite a bit of experience in their first few days.  While some may be experienced in other places, there is no place quite like Central Florida.  I'm just thrilled that they all cooperated and got light rail into production.  Someone mentioned that they were adding a third car to some of the trains today, to handle the rush.  That's certainly better than living people behind in frustration, when you have extra cars available.  Why not put them there in the first place?  It's likely the cost of the energy to drive them.  You would hope that something called SunRail would have solar panels on the top of each vehicle.

Back in San Jose (and San Francisco), California (updated with photos)

There is something great about feeling comfortable, especially when you've been without that feeling for a long, long, long time.

San Jose, California has special meaning to me.  It's the first place I ever lived in the U.S.A.  It's the third largest city in California, with just under 1 million people.  There are multiple highways/freeways/expressways crossing it.  There are too many cars, but light rail, commuter rail, and buses are available.

Way back when, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) was building down toward San Jose but then, it stopped.  Conflicting opinions and a lack of money forced changes, I suppose.  Building around earthquake central is difficult anyway.

The Light Rail map is fairly extensive

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has put together light rail transit at an amazing cost--$6.00 for an adult day pass.  It not only includes light rail, but also access to buses.  That's just amazing to me, especially having used Philadelphia, PA's SEPTA on a daily basis and New York City's MTA on occasion.  SEPTA's Independence Pass is $12.00 for unlimited travel and their day pass is $8.00 but limited to 8 trips.

A typical light rail car

I am conveniently located at a motel along North First Street, and there is a VTA light rail station across from the motel.  This made it extremely convenient to go to downtown San Jose.  On the Winchester-bound train, I can even connect with Caltrain for a $9.00 (one way) trip to San Francisco.  Consider the price (and headache) of parking and that's a huge, huge bargain.  In fact, public transit almost anywhere is a huge bargain.  The last time I was in Philly, I paid $17.10 for parking near Independence Hall for a little over 3 hours.  Obviously, I was paying for the union and not the parking, as it was about double what I paid in 2012 at the same location.

Even though I am essentially a stranger to the city, people have been extremely friendly.  I remember asking people in Los Angeles for help, and people were rather rude, and either didn't know anything or didn't want to give away the secrets.  I also remember people complaining that LA was just weird!  :-D  Of course, people say that San Fran is weird, also!  :-D

I stopped at Walgreens to get something to drink.  For some reason, 7-Eleven does not have stores downtown.  I found zero convenience stores of any kind downtown.  That seems odd.  However, I found a really expensive breakfast, at almost $20.00 with tip, and it was a casual Mexican place.  I could have made better food, to top it.  In line at Walgreens, I was talking to a few people about the weather, as it's really chilly, not exceeding 80 degrees F when 95 wouldn't be unexpected.  Normally, Summer in San Fran can be under 80 degrees F, but not San Jose.

One of the people from the line was giving me some advice and we talked for quite a while about getting around the city and things that were happening.  In my experience, there are few people like that to help a stranger, but time and again, I find that people from San Jose are willing.

I even went to our old neighborhood and looked for our old house.  The builders had plowed a sugar beet field into non-existence to put up houses.  Things are much the same now, and it's the bad side of town but it has a good view and I can't really see a downside to the area, except in people's minds about location.  It's not cheap, as housing prices have rebounded from the worst.  I won't be buying a house here, or even living in an apartment.

A pleasant backdrop to the old neighborhood, on the wrong side of town

There was a man washing off the driveway at the house and I spoke to him briefly.  I was afraid that I scared him, having parked across the street, looking at the houses.  Funny how the little two lane road has four lanes, parking on either side, and a high school directly across from it.  We grow, and the city grows with us.

I could remember bits and pieces from my early childhood there but nothing too serious, I suppose.  Through it all, I had this calm, secure feeling that was certainly never replicated when we moved to the midwest.

San Jose may not coddle you, but it certainly feels that way.  Chill is a great way to describe it.  Now, if I can just find my way to San Fran for some photography.

Update: Wow, I didn't even write about my trip to San Francisco.  When I returned, I was so tired, and my feet hurt, and my toes felt as though they were going to fall off my foot.

I took the Winchester (like the Winchester Rifle company family) VTA train to San Jose Diridon station.  I crossed under the tracks to the Caltrain side of the station.  I bought a second day pass for Caltrain, which was US$18.00, the same as a two way only pass.  Thankfully, any of the trains were going all the way to San Francisco.  There are some express trains that do not stop everywhere in-between, so you have to be careful with the Baby Bullet trains.

It took something like 90 minutes to get to 4th Street, near the Embarcadero (loading dock!), near the AT&T/Candlestick Park.  I walked with the crowd out of the station, not sure exactly where I was going.  I had been in San Fran as a baby and had zero memories.

SoMa, or South of Market district didn't look very good.  It wasn't the worst area but it looked very worn.  I wanted to see a few things like Ghiardelli, Chinatown, the Transamerica tower, a Crumpler store, and an Apple Store, plus possibly ride a cable car, and get seafood.  Little did I know...well, I have the more interesting (but not really good) luck.

Flatiron Bldg., as in Manhattan

It seemed that all I was doing was walking.  I had my camera bag with me, and I assembled the dSLR with the heavier "normal" lens, so I wouldn't have to carry it otherwise.  In hindsight, I should have planned light, and used the lighter, older equipment to ease my burden.

The cable car that led me astray

I did find a cable car full of passengers, most likely tourists because I doubt people from San Fran bother with being pushed and shoved when they're not on BART.  Now, about that time, I was close to Union Square, but did I realize that? Nooooooo.  A right turn probably would have put me near a Ghiardelli Store, an Apple Store, and the Crumpler store.  Oops.

So, I walked, and walked, and walked.  At some point, I needed to stop for various reasons and saw "Little Henry's" which looked like a coffee shop from the 1950s.  There was a Chinese TV station on the TV, and I was seated and given a menu.  I was surprised to see that it was an Italian restaurant.  I took a look at the menu, and mentioned that I forgot the specials, and there was a piece of paper taped to the wall a bit further up that I just didn't see.  I guess I'd been walking far too long to see what was in front of me.  The linguine with clams sounded just right, as it's normally a favorite.

They brought my iced tea, a small basket of bread, and a skimpy (errr, artfully-placed) salad.  I'd ready on Yelp about the overwhelming portions, so I was finding the reviews to be difficult to believe.  While I was waiting, I messaged my buddy in San Jose, asking where I was, but he'd never been to that section, and had no clue.  In a very short time, the food arrived and there was quite a lot, especially for a special of the day.  Thinking about it, I should have asked for chopsticks, but did not.  It's rather difficult to eat pasta with a fork, except maybe for ravioli.  It was good, but it didn't have a lot of taste.  The pieces of clam weren't very big, though it was more than sufficient.

Every time I looked over to see what was on the TV, the server came over with the iced tea and water to fill my glasses.  When I was getting to the end of my food, I asked her about Stockton Street because I wanted to find Chinatown.  She suddenly didn't understand English, and my Zhong Wen isn't sufficient.  After I used the restroom, another woman, apparently the owner, was able to point me in the correct direction--back the way I came!  She suggested a bus number, but I didn't want to wait.  In hindsight, I should have just taken a tour bus and enjoyed the ridiculous banter--and the ride.  I saw plenty of double-decker tour buses, plus the MUNI buses that transport the city.

Stockton Street tunnel, to Chinatown

I didn't have much luck with Maps applications on my phone.  It seems to me that I tried Apple's Maps, Google's Maps, and Waze eventually.  Waze showed me the streets ahead, so that was helpful.  Once I found Stockton Street, I got a good photo of the tunnel, and ventured into Chinatown.  Surprisingly, it wasn't much different than other Chinatowns in other cities.  Eventually, I found a park with some culture center, and lots of people just sitting.  My feet hurt, and because I was thirsty, I found a small shop selling Aloe drinks, which are usually Korean, not Chinese, but the owner was Chinese.  We had a good conversation, and I went back to the park to sit for a while.

Somewhere along the line, I ended up at the entrance to the Transamerica tower and got a few good photos of it from a very tight angle.  It is very tall and could be seen easily from Chinatown, which is at a higher elevation of the city.

Transamerica Pyramid, from Chinatown

I walked to the Embarcadero, once again passing Union Square without seeing it.  I was told to visit Pier 39 on the loading dock (Embarcadero), and it was of course, at the far end.  Sadly, I did not research MUNI, the city transportation, and had no idea how things worked.  I suspect I could have got a pass on the way, or possible, even in the Caltrain station.

Embarcadero Ferry Station, from Sue Bierman Park

 Pier 39 was as close to a New Jersey boardwalk, as I'd ever seen on the west coast.  It lacked the rides of Santa Monica pier but it had the restaurants and shops and other attractions.  As it was a must-see, I was looking for more but it was interesting to see all of the tourists and how they reacted to their situations.

Pier 39, on the Embarcadero

As I hobbled back to the Caltrain station, I really though about how beautiful everything was.  They were doing some America's Cup preliminary bits and some of the boats were on the water, and it was loud and obnoxious.  Then, I had to pass AT&T Park, and they apparently had a game starting in a couple of hours, as people were making lines.

Using Caltrain to return to San Jose was not as easy.  The had little paper schedules on the walls, and there seemed to be a person in front of each of them.  I finally asked if my pass would work.  I ended up on a Baby Bullet, and it probably reduced the travel time by 30 minutes by not stopping everywhere along the line.

I was never so glad to find my way back to a motel.  I took some ibuprofen and went to lie down.  After a couple of hours sleep, I wanted something to eat.  There was a McDonald's next to the motel, but gaaaah, why eat at a place I didn't like just for convenience?  I looked at Yelp again, and didn't find much there, but the airport, which I didn't know was close.

I ended up driving around the old neighborhood, as I'd seen several places.  I suddenly saw Tacos Autlense and went there, instead of a safer choice like Carl's Jr. or Jack in the Box.  I really didn't know what to expect but I ordered steak tacos, sat down, and when they came to me, I couldn't help but to smile.

When I started eating them, I thought that my adoptive mum must have learned to make tacos from the same person who started the business.  It was like being at home with fresh, fried corn tortillas, just warm, and the meat and lettuce and onions and tomatoes--OMG--it was the best.  It was also a great way to end that day.