6/22    Public transit blows part deux:
        \_ If you hated part one, why did you torture yourself with
           part 2? Oh well, I guess you love being tortured.
        So I am in Boston for the week. My hotel is near downtown. I decided
        that since there is a 'T' line right outside my hotel I would take
        \_ T has a lot of problems. You can't take an example of a bad
           mass transit and say "shit I hate all mass transits." It's
           like having a bad experience with a black man and say
           "all black men are bad." Racist.
        the train. Strike One: It takes 47 minutes to get to Beacon Hill if you
        \_ After strike one, you should STOP and evaluate yourself...
           maybe you should step back and say, wait, let me THINK about
           this shitty situation for a while BEFORE I rely on it further.
           What a dumb ass! HAHAHHA you deserved what you got.
        plan your trip so that you don't wait for trains. It can't be more
        than a few miles away, but you have to take a train to hell and
        back to transfer to another train. So I took a cab. Strike Two:
                                        \_ cab is the best thing. Cab,
                                           is always >>> mass transit
                                           except for cost. That's true
                                           anywhere in the world, provided
                                           that you can pay for it.
                                           \_ This is untrue.  I got where
                                              I was going much faster in
                                              Wash. DC using the train:
                                              cabs are in *traffic*.
                                              The Metro is *not*.  My
                                              destination/source were
                                              Metro-friendly.  I concede
                                              that generally cabs could be
                                              superior, but your claim of
                                              "always" is false.
                                           \_ The best thing is to have a
                                              private car with driver,
                                              catering to your every whim.
                                              This is what I do in poor
                                              countries, but can't afford here.
        \_ Try taking a cab in LA. Har har har.
           \_ I don't get it. LA has plenty of cabs.
              \_ So how come I've never seen a cab in Woodland Hills,
                 where I grew up? And South Pasadena? Dumb ass.
        I took the 'T' to Cambridge. It's *supposed* to be a 30 minute
        \_ Again, you need to hang out with a local to understand why
           things don't go the way it's *supposed* to, because in the
           real world, in practice, it is different than theory. DUH!!!
        train ride to go 2.5 miles. Again, that's if you plan your trip to
        coincide exactly with the arrival of a train. You have to transfer
        once. Well, what I got was the line I needed to transfer to being
        closed and everyone herded onto a bus with a belligerent drunk who
        \_ Yeah if you don't like people, don't take mass transit. No
           one is forcing you to take it. Dumb ass.
        the bus driver eventually threw off the bus for being a nuisance
        \_ bus != real mass transit. It is a bandaid to a more serious problem
           \_ Yes, ignore the mass transit you don't like.
        (he was cussing in front of kids, grabbing people, and eventually
        threatened to strangle someone). Then we got on another train line.
        My total cost was $10 per person round trip. Oh, yes, I can't wait to
        \_ Good, you deserve it. Now stay in LA and drive in your smoggy
           city for heaven's sake.
        take public transit again. It is so much cheaper, more convenient,
        and pleasant than driving. My drive out to Cape Cod went well,
                                \_ Cape Cod has a lot of nice people.
                                   And they're gay, and want your ass.
        \_ you're more than welcome to drive in Boston or NYC. Good luck.
           If you're skilled enough to drive, then drive. Obviously, you're
           not skilled enough to take the mass transit. I mean, if you take
           a New Yorker (who normally doesn't drive) and stick him in
           Los Angeles, what would he have to say about driving? Probably
           as much praise as you give to mass transits. You're as dumb
           as your trolls.
        though. $20 in gas to drive by myself 200 miles in air conditioned
        comfort and incontrol of my own itinerary. Imagine that. Next chance
                \_ Oh, yeah, THE 110 and THE 405 are very comfortable. Good one
        for public transit will be to go to the Museum of Fine Art. I am
        anxiously awaiting to see what Strike Three is because I won't
        count being passed by in Berkeley seeing as a bus is not public
        transit. Only high-speed Euro-style rail from LA to Las Vegas
        counts as public transit.
        \_ Obviously, you're a mass transit newbie. You'll get the
           hang of it, but not in 1-2 days. It's a good time to hang out
           with the locals to get to know the nuances of scheduling and
           getting around. You'll get it, trust me. It's an acquired
           taste. Not for newbies, but in time, you'll get used to it.
           Trust me! Automobile is like candies and mass transit is like
           cigarettes, you'll get a taste for it in time. Good luck!
        \_ Why not take your car to the Museum of Fine Art and tell us how
           it goes?
           \_ I've driven in Boston twice now. It's a pain. I prefer it to
              mass transit and I will drive a lot more than I planned
              based on my experiences so far. If I ever go back to
              Cambridge I will definitely drive there. Also, there's a
              rstaurant in Beacon Hill I want to try. I will drive there,
              too. Apparently the best way to get around is by cab. Is a
              cab considered mass transit? I will be in Manhattan in a
              week and I plan on taking cabs there and never touching the
              mass transit.
        \- i have never taken muni in the ~5yrs i have lived in SF and even
           *i* took the T in Boston [even when on expense account so no
           cost to parking, rental etc]. although i walked to the MFA.
           if you go to the MFA see the excellent Dante and Vergil "buddy
           movie' bronze. there is also some total fraud there like this:
           http://tinyurl.com/3zjucq and the stuff like the RRAUSCHENBERG
           cardboard boxes.
           \_ I took it, too, but my experiences have sucked. Having the
              police come to cart a crazy guy off of a bus that you
              weren't supposed to take except that the line you needed
              closed unexpectedly tends to ruin the experience.
              \_ Yeah, I can see how that might tend to ruin it for you.
                 I have riding transit in the Bay Area for 15 years and have
                 only seen anything like that a few times. Do you imagine that
                 you are safer on the bus or in your car?
        \_ Misanthropes should probably not ride transit, if they can avoid it.
           \_ Well, that's the problem with mass transit. Anyone can and
              does ride it.
        \_ http://www.csua.org/u/lsg  (www2.actransit.org)
           "In the face of rising gasoline prices, AC Transit is experiencing
           a boom in ridership. Particularly impressive has been the Transbay
           service where passenger levels have shown tremendous increases
           since December-- including by more than 50 percent on one line."