07-05-2019, 12:11 PM
(07-05-2019, 07:13 AM)MidTowner Wrote: I'll answer your question "Why does it matter who uses it?" It matters because different people want different types of service. If you buy the author's argument and believe ridership is 75% student (it's not), and that the remainder of the people are on there because they have little choice, then you'll support service a certain way. And that would make sense, if it were true. That matters to me, because I want to take transit, I want good transit service, I'm a commuter not a student, and I don't live near the Universities.
Very well said.
I have a car which I love, but feel more and more guilty about driving because it's a gas guzzling (literally) sports car. Replacing my 50 km daily round-trip with bike + ION costs less than the gas I burn on the same trip and makes my car last longer. I've thought about going electric or hybrid, but the only hybrid that appeals to me is the Chevy Volt which is no longer made (and Consumer Reports documents a lot of issues with its comfort electronics like the radio, adaptive cruise, etc.) while the only electric that appeals to me is a Tesla which is out of my price range (when I bought the sports car I had a one bedroom condo, not a house in the burbs). The cheaper electric cars either have limited range (argh!) or uber-wonky styling (why??!!) and are not for me. (I've always felt that if you don't love your car then you're driving the wrong car, and that's a feeling I don't think I can overcome.)
I'm a tech worker in the upper middle class bracket and ION fits me great, not reluctantly, but enthusiastically.
...K