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The vehicles wouldn't be running near empty if they were usable and reliable.
People could take the bus to and from restaurants to go out to eat, people could take the bus to and from their favorite nightclubs, people could take the bus to their favorite casinos, people could take the bus to the beaches, people could take the bus to and from their favorite amusement parks, people could take the bus to shop at a 24-hour grocery store after midnight, and so on... and still get home again at any time of day... if the transit systems ran 24-7 at 5 to 10 minute frequency.
California: Land of f***ups 2304transit It doesn't, not ever--even if the round trip there and back takes a full tank of gas (approx $27.00 or so right now), it's still a better choice to drive rather...
In fact, having put up with public transit for six months back in 2002--which is why I continue to buttert that I'll drive and public transit in its current form can go to hell--any gas savings are offest by wasted time... LOTS of wasted time. Eliminating runs and-or eliminating stops due to so-called "improvements" is just further incentive to not even consider transit at all, unless one is just simply too poor to actually afford any type of vehicle to drive. Missing a bus because of a missed connection easily costs someone 30 minutes to 1 hour of their time waiting for the next unreliable bus. Plus, if it takes me two hours to get to a destination using multiple buses, then I am cut short at my destination by at least two hours because I still have to get home (preferably not missing that last bus)... which means my quality of life is totally affected by transit schedules, the longer it takes to go somewhere, the less time I have before I have to return home by transit again.
Light rail isn't the answer either, because inevitably, light rail has to connect with buses so people can complete their trips.
Price of gas rising 13% a day 2307God forbid we should spend money to help Americans!! But lets spend $200 billion on Iraqis? That's fine right? A small fraction of that could rebuild New...
So, it's perfectly clear that the only solution is driving, which is what most people are doing now, rising gasoline costs be damned. Even if they drive shorter distances or less often, the fact is that transit sucks and driving is the only way to have a high quality of life in California.
As such, public transit needs to prove itself first--make the big investment now with more routes, more efficient timetables, and route connections that actually connect--instead of insisting that people settle for the very poor routing and scheduling that it currently offers now.
