Jackson Free Press

Over at the Louisville Eccentric Observer, an alt-weekly in Kentucky, staff writer Stephen George is blogging about his attempts to go a month without his car in Louisville, relying on a bike and public transportation. As I read it, I started to wonder if I could get away with the same thing here in Jackson...and admit it would be extremely difficult. It's at least conceivable for folks living in the Belhaven/Fondren area -- plenty of choices by bike, bus -- and trolley! -- even if the UMC corridor is something of a drag strip (and hilly!). McDade's, Rainbow Co-Op and Walgreens are handy. Downtown meetings would be a possibility, although I'd probably encourage more folks to meet at our office or at Cups in Fondren. Sales calls, of course, would be difficult, and Office Depot runs would be up to someone else.

(Oh, and then there's my habit of going at least once a day to the bank and post office -- usually the downtown PO because of its late drop-off times and automated postage machine. I'd have to pawn that off on someone else, too, or at least rearrange my day so I could get things out by 4:30 at the Fondren P.O. and the bank. ;-)

And, of course, there's the whole sweat-like-a-pig problem once the six months of summer roll around.

Could you do it?

Previous Comments

ID

112415

Comment

I've lived in Louisville, Ky. They have the advantage of having TARC, their wonderful bus system. Jatran is a bad nightmare compared to their system. When we lived up there, we did have to rely on the bus system for over a year, and had little problems doing so. Great guys. Oh, and Yarmuth is the one democrat I could have voted for, with Ann Northrup being about as shrill and as heartless a person you can find.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-04-21T11:38:45-06:00

ID

112416

Comment

The blog's author has relied on the bus system quite a bit from the entries I read, and notes that the bus system is very good, although it sounds like he has had one bus just not show up in the 10 or so days he's been at it so far. Judging from their site, it's a complex system and apparently runs until 11:00pm, which special shuttles for folks who work overnight shifts.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2007-04-21T14:51:02-06:00

ID

112417

Comment

That would be the Night Owl, Todd. I rode it every night for about a year and a half. It's a door-to-door bus for people who have to go to work or go home when the regular routes don't run. It was $1.50 fare then, but I think it's $2.00 now. I worked the 3:30-midnight shift, and I rode it every night from around the airport area to Fern Creek. They would pick me up around 12:15. Believe me, it was a life saver then. Cab fare from the airport to my house was $30. Here, we could not survive without a car. JATRAN doesn't go to Clinton, Madison or Ridgeland. TARC had express buses that would go outside the county to pick up passengers and bring them into the city. Fare was $1.00 during peak hours, .75 off peak: but you could go and buy a strip of passes for .50 each, or a monthly pass for $23. The system is complex, but not complicated. If you need help, all you have to do is call TARC, and they will help you get wherever you need to go. TARC is one reason I miss Louisville. That and Thunder, which is tonight. :(

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2007-04-21T16:28:40-06:00

ID

112418

Comment

OH, and LEO rocks. I'd pick up a copy every week and read it while riding the bus to work. It's the best way to find out what's going on in the city.

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2007-04-21T16:35:08-06:00

ID

112419

Comment

I lived in San Diego for a year and a half and I didn't own a car when I was there. They have a great public transportation system which includes a trolley line, too. There was a Orange Line train that looped from Mission Valley to downtown to the eastern suburbs. The Blue Line ran from downtown to the Mexican border. The trolley ran until 1am and the buses until about midnight. There wasn't hardly anywhere that you couldn't get to by bus or trolley. Another great thing about San Diego's system is that it went far out. If you go far enough, it will run to an area either just inside or outside the Orange County border and link up with the system there (though I never took advantage of that). A monthly pass was $54 and on the job I had, my employer paid for it during my time with them! At that time, gas was about $1.60 a gallon, so imagine how much money I saved from not having to buy gas.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-04-21T22:05:22-06:00

ID

112420

Comment

There was in interesting article in the New Yorker this past week about people that need to commute a long distance to get to and from work, and how the quality of life goes down as the commute time goes up. Three years ago, two economists at the University of Zurich, Bruno Frey and Alois Stutzer, released a study called "Stress That Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox." They found that, if your trip is an hour each way, you'd have to make forty per cent more in salary to be as "satisfied" with life as a noncommuter is. My goal in life is to get to a place some day where I no longer need my SUV and can walk anywhere that I need to go- but it's pretty hard to do, and it isn't going to happen in the near future...

Author

Rico

Date

2007-04-22T00:30:29-06:00

ID

112421

Comment

I'm an alligator well I m a mama papa callin for ya I was a space invader I'll be a rock and rollin beotch for you keep your mouth shut

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-04-22T01:30:42-06:00

ID

112422

Comment

I had a friend who lived in San Diego and she always picked one day a week to not use her car. Said it was good for her ch'i (vital life force). I admire that, I mean, think about it, were humans meant to be barrelling down a highway risking their lives each and every day?

Author

Izzy

Date

2007-04-22T07:43:31-06:00

ID

112423

Comment

iTodd, how would you get your clubs to the course? Weren't cars invented to get you to the golf course? ;-) As far as the post office goes, the Lefluers Station on Old Canton, by the Office Depot, is open until 7pm now. And, they have the automated machine for mailing packages. If you were to get one of those baby buggies that hook behind the bike, you could maybe even make that trip to Office Depot - as long as you don't get copy paper! They deliver!

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-04-22T10:28:17-06:00

ID

112424

Comment

It would be great if Jackson had a real transit system.One that went to all parts of town and didn't stop at 6pm.You don't need your car for a month if the transit system is up to par.In fact you prefer to leave the driving to others.Jackson is so behind in this regard.Not only are the bus routes crazy but there are no sidewalks to walk to the bus stops.You would get ran over trying to get to some of the stops.Rankin and Madison don't have mass transit yet.When the population shifts the urban folks to those areas then the transportation system will open up to all counties surrounding Jackson.It is proven that eventually Jackson will become a most want to be lived in city by more those of us who already know its a diamond in the rough.It will need a transportation system that actually works and not just survives off its users.

Author

GRNY1

Date

2007-04-22T13:50:33-06:00

ID

112425

Comment

Therein lies another problem; Money. Jatran's been battling low funding for years, before Frankie-Boy. They've had some good people down there, and they've done their best with what they've been given, but... You know, it only goes so far. It all comes back to money.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-04-22T18:00:26-06:00

ID

112426

Comment

It all comes back to money, which comes back to taxes, which is linked to population. Insteas of trying to make things better for the people who are already in jackson, and enticing people to move there, Jackson decides to use anexation to bring populations up. The trouble being, people who don't live in Jackson, don't live in Jackson for a reason. We don't want to. So, annexation just causes people to sell their house and move further away. I feel the city of Jackson should not be allowed to annex anything until they fix the problems they have already. Like roads, water, sewer and crime. It is proven time and time again that people will live in a city if you give them safe, clean, exciting areas to live in. You want a good transit system? Make the city worth living in and the money will be there.

Author

kdbstlrfan1

Date

2007-04-23T05:47:31-06:00

ID

112427

Comment

I'll agree with the annexation issue, but I would love to have a working mass transit system as an option.

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2007-04-23T08:09:34-06:00

ID

112428

Comment

I've gone for years at a time without a car. I got around by bumming rides and offering gas money. If I could find no one to pick me up and it was something I couldn't afford to miss, I'd call a taxi. Yes, the bus is cheaper, but when I need immediate transportation and the bus doesn't run at certain times, I'm willing to cough up a few extra bucks because. Actually, I've never used JATRAN because most of the bus stops are too far from my destinations.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-04-23T08:35:50-06:00