Who else is tired of having to drive everywhere we need to go in Metro Detroit ?

**darwinism** · September-15-09, 10:40 AM

So much time and patience is being spent in traffic each and every day, just commuting to work and back home.

It would sure be wonderful to leave the 'chore' of driving to someone else, so that I could simply sit back and enjoy browsing a magazine, reading/responding to e-mails, or to catch a cat-nap during the trip.

The future of our region and our state will be very bleak, if it isn't already. Owning a car sucks away thousands of dollars from our bank account a year, that should have been going towards our financial well-being, instead of our perpetual decline into debt. Personal debt, household debt are on the micro-level, as our regional and state follows the same path towards more and more financial pains. This cycle needs to stop.

I've enjoyed the reasonably efficient transit system in San Diego, San Francisco/Oakland, Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York City, and even Cleveland. Detroit needs to make it happen.

Who else, besides me, is truly tired of having to drive everywhere we need to go in Metro Detroit ?

**daddeeo** · September-15-09, 10:47 AM

Detroit won't be a first class city until it gets a better transportation system.
That is a long way off and probably won't happen in our life times. It's a shame. When you travel to other cities like Chicago, Toronto, Wash. D.C. and New York, you can see the difference.

Stosh · September-15-09, 10:56 AM

I'd just as soon fly. Or maybe a transporter ala Star Trek?

**Diehard** · September-15-09, 11:02 AM

I'm curious where you live and where you work?
I drive very little, but I live near a bus stop and work downtown.
I agree, though, this region is built all wrong and we pay the price in wasted money, wasted time and pollution.

**Det_ard** · September-15-09, 11:13 AM

Sometimes I wish I could take a subway or bus to get somewhere. I could read a book for an hour or so. Or I could just hop in my car and be there in under 20 minutes, leaving when I please, making quick unplanned stops and smoking a fatty.

**Gsgeorge** · September-15-09, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Det_ard

Sometimes I wish I could take a subway or bus to get somewhere. I could read a book for an hour or so. Or I could just hop in my car and be there in under 20 minutes, leaving when I please, making quick unplanned stops and smoking a fatty.

If only Detroit had a high-speed subway, where the smoking of fatties was allowed... then we would be a REAL city...

**ghettopalmetto** · September-15-09, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by Det_ard

Sometimes I wish I could take a subway or bus to get somewhere. I could read a book for an hour or so. Or I could just hop in my car and be there in under 20 minutes, leaving when I please, making quick unplanned stops and smoking a fatty.

And just the same, I'm sure there are people who would rather relax and read that book instead of contending with you, stoned off your ass, operating a large piece of machinery on a public right-of-way.

**exdetroiter** · September-15-09, 01:14 PM

I would not take public transit unless it were available, unless I was with a group of friends/family. I've taken public transit often times in New York, but I've been sure to make it back to my hotel before the sunsets.

**EastsideAl** · September-15-09, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by exdetroiter

I would not take public transit unless it were available, unless I was with a group of friends/family. I've taken public transit often times in New York, but I've been sure to make it back to my hotel before the sunsets.

What a bizarre notion. I lived in NYC for 15 years and rode the subways day and night. Never even a hint of trouble. For that matter, NYC, despite its reputation, is generally safer than most other American cities. And the city is really at its best after dark.

**exdetroiter** · September-15-09, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

What a bizarre notion. I lived in NYC for 15 years and rode the subways day and night. Never even a hint of trouble. For that matter, NYC, despite its reputation, is generally safer than most other American cities. And the city is really at its best after dark.

Although that may be the case, keep in mind the rumors throughout the years of the crime in New York, for a visitor to not take precautions would be ludicrous particuarily in a unfamiliar environment. In contrast I will admit I seen someone trying to steal a car during the middle of the day in China Town; I've seen a man snatch a purse and police pursuit in the Garment District, so there are crimes being committed in the middle of the day, thus not being a resident, you better believe I was off the street by night fall.

**mam2009** · September-15-09, 01:28 PM

Lived in Atlanta for awhile. Loved the Park & Ride option. Oh, the gas money I could save...

**mwilbert** · September-15-09, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by exdetroiter

I would not take public transit unless it were available, unless I was with a group of friends/family. I've taken public transit often times in New York, but I've been sure to make it back to my hotel before the sunsets.

I think you were wise to become an exdetroiter; people who won't ride the subway after dark in NYC probably shouldn't live in Detroit.

**exdetroiter** · September-15-09, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

I think you were wise to become an exdetroiter; people who won't ride the subway after dark in NYC probably shouldn't live in Detroit.

You can say that again. Particularily after having my spouse murdered at 1:00 pm on a busy street in Detroit by two bullet wombs and not one witness would come forth; Not to mention having my home robbed; Having my mom and toddler accousted by car jackers pointing guns at the driver window as well as the back window [[only to awaken my child sitting in his car seat) in the middle of the day on Six Mile and the Southfield service drive-YOU BETTER BELIEVE I AM AN EXDETROIT!

**iheartthed** · September-15-09, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by exdetroiter

I would not take public transit unless it were available, unless I was with a group of friends/family. I've taken public transit often times in New York, but I've been sure to make it back to my hotel before the sunsets.

You might as well not have come then.

crawford · September-15-09, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by exdetroiter

I would not take public transit unless it were available, unless I was with a group of friends/family. I've taken public transit often times in New York, but I've been sure to make it back to my hotel before the sunsets.

The NYC subway is actually at its safest late at night, even on a per-passenger basis. Strange but true. I guess any potential wrongdoers are sleepy or something.

In any case, the NYC subway is VERY safe, and at all hours. I really wouldn't worry about it at all.

**jtf1972** · September-15-09, 11:17 AM

If only they had begun...

http://books.google.com/books?id=Yj4...age&q=&f=false

**Pam** · September-15-09, 12:03 PM

You could try car pooling or tele-commuting.

lilpup · September-15-09, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by darwinism

So much time and patience is being spent in traffic each and every day, just commuting to work and back home.

Move closer to work.

**DetroitPlanner** · September-16-09, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by lilpup

Move closer to work.

No kidding the closer to work you live the more options you have. If you choose to drive you can get there faster and burn less gas/contribute less to congestion/put less miles on your car.

Chances are that if you move closer transit would become easier to use, requiring less transfers, and you could walk or ride your bike to work if you choose.

**Tarun** · September-15-09, 01:21 PM

I work downtown and live close by....i take the public transport to work but travelling anywhere else is a pain

**Tarun** · September-15-09, 01:31 PM

what about MARTA?

**Ray1936** · September-15-09, 02:58 PM

I'll get on a bus when you pry my cold, dead hands off'n my steering wheel.

**ZRX Doug** · September-26-09, 04:08 AM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

I'll get on a bus when you pry my cold, dead hands off'n my steering wheel.

Amen, bruddah..only add handlebars & clip-ons to the "steering wheel" part.

I've never been able to figger out why anyone would prefer an hour on a slow & lurchy bus to 15-20 minutes in their own vehicle..buy a cheap used motorcycle, folks..my old CM400 "commuter bike" costs under a hundred bucks a year to insure, has under $500 invested in it, and gets close to seventy mpg..and I never have to wait for it to show up or figure out how to get the remaining three miles from the "stop" to my destination..
And on top of that, it's stupid-fun..

**NoHeartAnthony** · September-26-09, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by ZRX Doug

I've never been able to figger out why anyone would prefer an hour on a slow & lurchy bus to 15-20 minutes in their own vehicle..buy a cheap used motorcycle, folks..my old CM400 "commuter bike" costs under a hundred bucks a year to insure, has under $500 invested in it, and gets close to seventy mpg..and I never have to wait for it to show up or figure out how to get the remaining three miles from the "stop" to my destination..
And on top of that, it's stupid-fun..

You're white.

**ZRX Doug** · September-27-09, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by NoHeartAnthony

You're white.

Which means what, exactly? Do you think I get discounts on all my motorcycle stuff thanks to the lack of melatonin in my skin?
Look around, dude..90+ percent of the bikes you see in the city are owned by the folks who make up the majority of the population..newsflash for ya, that ain't "white."
Should I tell the three guys who currently have bikes being repaired in my garage that they shouldn't be riding 'cuz they ain't "white?"

I honestly don't understand your comment..is it that only whites ride, only whites can afford, only whites would be silly enough to commute on a motorcycle in Detroit?
'Splain, Lucy..