Study Shows METRO Riding is Cheap & Easy

Dear Al Gore & all those people who keep telling us that driving cars causes global warming,

An inconvenient truth of a misplaced vehicle led to Houstonist riding the bus to work yesterday instead of driving. Turns out that things were a bit more convenient that our assumptions about the use of mass transit in car-centric Houston. So, we thought we'd share a bit of our experience with you in hopes that other non-mass transit riding type folks, a.k.a. most Houstonians, would realize that METRO riding kicks ass.

The trip was cheap and easy. METRO's Trip Planner plotted out our options for the 11-mile trip downtown including stop locations, bus names and departure times. For a buck, the one-way fare, we got picked up two blocks from the house and dropped off three blocks from the office. Sure, the 45 minute trip took about three times as long as driving, but we didn't have to contend with morons who are trying to drive whilst yapping on their cell phones, putting on make-up, reading the paper, swatting the kids, eating breakfast or any combination thereof.

Mr. Gore, we can't promise that busing into downtown everyday will become a regular deal since we like the flexibility offered by driving. But, we'll pledge to ride METRO when we've got some time to spare and our conscience starts to eat away at us for killing the planet. We would like to suggest that you might reach people a bit more quickly, particularly the self-absorbed, if you change the spin from "save the planet" to "you don't have to drive in traffic when you're hungover."

Sincerely,

Houstonist

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Photo: flickr user j-a-x.