Search WWW Search GoodspeedUpdate.com
MEDIA
Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor News
University Record
Michigan Radio
WCBN, WEMU

AREA BLOGS
Goodspeed Update
Arbor Blogs
Ann Arbor Is Overrated
Black at Michigan
Richard Murphy

Past the College Grounds
Sam Woll
Steven Cherry (Ypsi)
The Bunker (Ypsi)
Larry Kestenbaum
Edward Vielmetti
Chetly Zarko
Airbeagle
Andrew Vanalstyne
Neoliberal Chopping Block
Michigan MBA
Mouse Musings
Jenny Nathan
Matt Hollerbach
Bob Goodsell
Stephen Darwall

Common Sense Liberals
John Honkala: First City (Chicago)
Washington Oculus (D.C.)
Dave Enders (Baghdad)
Jim Secreto (China)
Josh Wickerham (China)
Ben King (Atlanta)
Juan Cole (Mideast)


MORE MEDIA
Ann Arbor Indymedia
Moment
Consider
Michigan Review
Mich Magazine
Every Three Weekly
BusinessDirect Weekly

Detroit Free Press
Metrotimes
Detroit News
Crain's Detroit
Michigan Indymedia
Michigan Chronicle
Michigan Citizen
Local 4 - WDIV
DetNow 7 - WXYZ

MLIVE.COM
MI AP Wire - Freep
MI AP Wire - MLive

New York Times
Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Chicago Tribune
Omaha World-Herald
Top U.S. Newspapers
MSNBC.com

U-M NEWS
Admin News
LSA News
ITCS News
MGoBlue.com
UMHS News
Engineering News

Michigan Today Mag
LSA Mag

CAMPUS LABOR
Borders Readers United
Graduate Employees' Organization
Lecturer's Employee Organization
American Association of University Profs.
Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality

WORLD
Reuters
Al Jazeera English
Times of India
The Age (AU)

BBC News
The Guardian (UK)
Times of London
The Independent (UK)

MORE BLOGS
Tom Tomorrow
Jim Hightower
Nathan Newman
Paul Schmelzer
Beyond Brilliance
Ted Rall
Aaron Hawkins
Where is Raed? (Baghdad)
Matt Drudge
Jim Romenesko

Michigan Blogs
Detroit Blog

BEAT BUSH IN '04
Wesley Clark
Howard Dean
John Edwards
Dick Gephardt
John Kerry
Dennis Kucinich
Joe Lieberman
Ralph Nader
Al Sharpton

AROUND THE WEB
ZNet
ACLU, ACLU-MI
Open Secrets
The Onion
Memory Hole
Cryptome
Snopes
WhiteHouse.org
Porto Alegre
UN
Labor Start
Arts and Letters
UnderReported.com

ARCHIVES
April04
March04
February04
January04
December03
November03
October03
September03
August03
July03
June03
May03
April03
March03
February03 (Feb. 18-22)
January03
December02
November02
October02
September02
August02
July02
June02
May02
April02
March02
February02
January02
December01
November01
Sept.-Oct01

ADVERTISEMENTS


NEWS

Monday, December 22, 2003

Let's Talk Transit

Like many out-of-state students, this holiday break I flew home via Detroit's Metro Airport. I got to the airport using MSA's airBus service. According to the Airbus website, they will operate 29 trips to the airport and 24 trips from the airport back to Ann Arbor during this Winter Break. Assuming every trip is 80% full (not unreasonable, since many trips to the airport totally sold out) and each bus holds 50 people (an estimate, tour busses are about that) then the service will provide 2,120 "rides" either to or from the airport. Most likely the figure will be higher: during Thanksgiving break, some of the return trips were totally full as well. The success of the service is no doubt due to the hard work of its organizer, U-M undergrad Neil Greenberg, but also because the service provides a much-needed, inexpensive service. With comfortable tour busses, no boot.

I find it odd that such a successful and obviously needed service is operated by undergrads through the student government. They do a fine job, but both the University's transportation service and the Ann Arbor Transit Authority must be slightly embarrassed: here is a transit "amateur" who has developed a service to do exactly what they purport to do - provide needed transportation services. Here's what I had to say about it way back on October 24:
"It's an embarrassment to the University that this financially sustainable and much-needed service must be organized by undergrads through the auspices of student government: the administration should, like many other colleges and Universities, run a shuttle to and from the airport on a regular schedule, with extra trips when demand requires."

I'm not aware of any reason why the University hasn't operated a similar service either now or in the past, and I hope the example set by airBus convinces them to begin regular shuttles to the airport. I know that the AATA has refused to operate such a service because the administration of the Detroit airport has insisted they pay fees to operate regularly scheduled service to the airport - something almost never done for other bus systems at airports across the nation. Back in September, fellow blogger Richard Murphy posted a letter to the editor from the Ann Arbor News suggesting the AATA operate an express shuttle to Detroit's Metro Airport. He opined the AATA should begin operating such a service, and then contest the fees later. I agree: I don't particularlly care how unreasonable Ed Macnamara's cronies are being, transit comes first. The AATA is a non-for-profit service, and while charging a fee might be unfair, refusing to provide a much-needed transportation service because of a petty disagreement seems more unfair.

Also, you may wonder why the Daily hasn't asked Transportation Services why they don't offer airport transit year-round. It may just be they're too busy looking for "problems" with the service at actually think about the underlying issue: the only way to get to or from the airport without a car (or friend with a car) shouldn't be a $50 cab.

Posted by Rob at 2:12 AM
WHAT'S HOT

Inside the Daily
U-M Earnings
Political Giving
Michigamua
BAMN
MSA
My Course

Ann Arbor Cool Cities Task Force
Our Voices Count
Anti War Action!


UMICH
Google
Daily Jolt
U-M Directory
MIRLYN
Lexis-Nexus

mail.umich.edu
ITCS Account Usage
MPrint
IFS Space

Recent Crime
Campus Information

Wolverine Access
Coursetools
(CTNG)
LSA Courseguide
Advice Online
Rate My Professor
ITCS Status (CAEN)

Construction Info
Sculptures Info
Student Policies

EVENTS

(Continue list)

Ticket Master Events: Ark, Blind Pig, Hill Auditorium, Michigan Theatre, Power Center Also see: UMS events, and Current's Lectures, Readings, and Forums

Movie Times
MUTO Events
UM Campus Events
CURRENT's Calendar Ann Arbor Observer
MChalk.com

ONSITE
Borders Strike
Campus Shame
Planada
City Council Elections (Voting)
NAKED MILE
HASH BASH
CRIME ALERTS
BOOKS
CRITICAL FILES
PERSONAL PAGE
CAMPUS TOURS
9.11.01
GU MAINE
MICHIGAN DAILY
SURVEILLANCE
NETPD
PALESTINE CONF.
HADDAD
GANNETT PROGRAM
HOROWITZ
DAILY BOYCOTT

TEXTBOOKS
DogEars.com
Online Student Marketplace
Student Book Exchange
Cordx.com
Half.com
Shaman Drum
Union Bookstore
Michigan Book + Supply
Ulrich's

DORMS
Dining Hall Menus
TV!
Telephone
FIXIT Request

JOBS
U-M Jobs
U-M Student Employment
Career Center

A2 "PLANNING"
City Planning Dept.
Peter Allen
New Course
Ecology Center

STATEWIDE:
MI Land Use Leadership Council
MI Land Use Institute

Ann Arbor
Detroit/A2 Craigslist
A2 Local Market
MLive Town Talk
Local Sites Via GeoUrl
Ann Arbor District Library
City Government

STUDENT POLITICS

Student Orgs
MSA
RHA
LSASG
EQGA
UMEC

ACLU
ADC
AWA!
Dems
CR's
GEO
Greens
PIRGM
SOLE
SSAA
SFC
Students Allied
SFL
Zionists


NEWS ALERTS
<1 email per week
SITE INFO

Rob@ Goodspeedupdate.com

Atom XML Feed

AIM: RobGoodsp

Policies

PAY/DONATE: Paypal or Amazon

Technorati Profile

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?