Getting Around -- Without a Car

August 26, 2007 – Vol.12 No. 23

GETTING AROUND -- WITHOUT A CAR.

I don’t think there’s been a study, and I can’t prove it, but I think the Internet is one of the greatest energy saving inventions ever created.

Instead of driving from store to store, mall to mall looking for just the right thing to purchase, we can shop from the comfort of our homes. Let the package delivery service - already in the neighborhood - bring us our goodies. The gas stays in the tank of our car.

For some, the Internet makes it easy to work from our homes. An instant and constant connection with coworkers allows us to talk and share information, without having to commute to the office.

And we drive more efficiently, too. Weather and congestion information over the Net allows us to take alternative routes to avoid traffic problems. Services like Mapquest give us door-to-door directions before we leave the house, save us from driving in circles looking for a new address we’ve may never have visited. (There’s no doubt that satellite navigation systems help save energy in this regard as well.)

Now there’s another Internet tool that has the potential to be a direct energy saver: PublicRoutes.com. The web offers point-to-point directions for all modes of public transportation - buses, subways, trains, ferries, as well as walking - for local residents and visitors in each covered metropolitan area. It will tell you which bus to look for, which street corner to cross. Other services. like hotel reservations, are also available at the site.

Only a year old, the online direction service covers 26 cities and metropolitan areas in the US along with London, England. (The service just added Phoenix, St. Louis, San Antonio and Salt Lake City.)

Public transit is often (but not always, as you will see) the most energy efficient way to get around.

I thought I’d put PublicRoutes.com to the test (without leaving my desk of course) to see what it would be like to go to some of my usual destinations by transit and on foot, not by car.

First, it wouldn’t run on Apple’s Safari browser but worked perfectly well on Firefox and I’m guessing it runs OK on Internet Explorer.

That’s a minor problem that was easily resolved.

There are other issues that need considered before PublicRoutes.com becomes a reliable transportation planning tool like Mapquest.

Directions often include suggesting you take a cab if the walking distances seem too long, a mile or so. Suggesting a cab assumes there’s taxi service available or you carry a cell phone along with numbers of local cab companies. (You’d have to plan ahead for that.)

The transit times given don’t include the time spent waiting for a bus, ferry or rail vehicle to arrive.

The system gives the option of entering Points of Interest, but doesn’t give you much help with those.

For example in one attempt I tried to find a public transit route to the airport. That airport, officially known as Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is more commonly known as BWI. I entered BWI and PublicRoutes.com asked me for a Zip code. (Right. I keep Zip codes in my head of ALL the nation’s airports.)

I finally got it to work and PublicRoutes.com took me on a two hour, 32 mile journey.

BWI is eight miles from my front door. I could have walked. PublicRoutes.com didn’t suggest I take a cab as it included in other queries.

Overall, however, PublicRoutes.com is a terrific idea. It probably works well within metropolitan areas or within specific transit systems. It’s a concept, too, that transit agencies should look at in unison to increase ridership and make getting around without a car easier and more efficient.

It’s a much needed tool, but one that needs work. For now I’d be wary of using it for complex trips between disconnected transit systems.

Take yourself for a ride - on your computer that is.

Links:

PublicRoutes.com http://www.publicroutes.com