After a long project off site and a great thanksgiving break, I'm back in the Inetium office for a new project. I'm really happy about it because 1) it's a much more challenging and interesting project, 2) I like being in the Inetium office, and 3) I don't have to commute to downtown Minneapolis.

As for that last point, I think I've gained a new perspective on the mass transit "issue" in the twin cities. There is a traffic congestion problem on most of the major highways in the twin cities and there are few mass transit options for commuters. You can either take an express bus during rush hour from your suburb to downtown or light rail along the airport/downtown corridor. There are no viable mass transit routes from suburb to suburb, and there are barely enough express stop times during rush hour.

After beginning riding the bus downtown, I considered taking the bus to Inetium once my downtown gig was done. I found that I'd need to transfer buses twice just to get from home to the office, and at the 2nd transfer, the buses only run every 30 minutes. It'd take me about an hour to get to work when it takes me 20 minutes by car. Unless you're going to travel downtown, there is absolutely no incentive to take the bus (unless you're strapped for money for making car payments or something).

In order for mass transit to work in the severely sprawled twin cities metro area, there needs to be more routes along non-downtown corridors. Not everybody works downtown. In addition, buses and trains would need to stop frequently enough so that riders don't get significantly delayed during their commute. Downtown, buses stop anywhere from ten to thirty minutes apart. However, I still felt like my hands were tied... catching a bus 15 minutes later could get me home 45 minutes later (because of slightly different homebound routes, traffic, etc).

I'm not suggesting that mass transit should be more accessible in outlying and non-downtown areas. I imagine the money and effort needed to make all of it happen would be astronomical. What I've learned though is that I have a different perspective on mass transit after actually riding a bus. It messes with your life. You adjust yourself and your schedule to leave your car at home. The adjustment becomes an unacceptable tradeoff when the support for routes and frequent stops isn't there.

Here's hoping for a new light-rail line from Chaska to Bloomington.