Okay, so I (like everybody else) have been really freaking out about gas prices lately. This morning the gas station around the corner was selling a gallon of regular for $4.70, and while I realize that in a month I will look at this post and wish that a gallon of regular was only $4.70, this morning it gave me a little shock.
So... on this mornings newscast the weather girl on the local news said "well gas prices are bad at least its making traffic good". She said this while looking down at her blackberry. I think she was sending a text message while on the air. Wow. She is right, traffic has been much lighter the last couple of weeks, but how insensitive! Allot of people have to drive across town to get to work. In Los Angeles the bus system is a joke. The buses only run to parts of town, and leave huge areas that are not covered. The "subway", and train systems are very expensive for the average person. So if you have to commute from the west side of LA to Pasadena you are out of luck.
I wonder how many people will lose their jobs because they just can't get to them.
5 comments:
Rant away.
I've had mixed feelings about the gas prices. They are a bit cheaper here than they are in CA and loads cheaper than they are in Europe, which is a blessing... but, then again, we drive almost nowhere anymore now that Dan is jobless and I am working at home, so we can avoid even thinking about the gas cost issue somewhat. Still, it comes up in unexpected places. For instance, we think of the driving cost to our friends that live an hour from here when we invite them over for dinner. In response I have an urge to make dinner even more than usually worth the drive somehow. I am also aware enough to realize that gas prices may force the issue of where we live -- I love this house, but one of the most viable Dan job opportunities this week is *gulp* 87 miles away. It's a real issue... even for those of us who don't leave the house, and you are right to think it is rude to be dismissive of the cost it has to others.
While I agree that the LA bus system can be a pain in the arse most of the time (I looked up how to get from your place to PCC and it was not pretty), I have to disagree a little about the cost issue. I used to buy either a day pass or pay the fare for each bus, but I have since found that it is much more cost effective to use a bus pass. I don't know which routes you use, but the EZ pass should cover all of them (light rail included). I think they go for about $70, but you can sometimes get discounts.
Best of luck to you!
Yes, Moose :), you can get discounts if you are older or if you are a student (and under 20 years old), my family quilified for no discounts and $70 times 4 is still more than we are spending on gas per month.
Also, there is the issue of time lost. In order to get to work in Studio City, a trip that takes 15 minutes in the car, I would be in a bus for over 2 hours, church would take 5 hours on the bus because of the limited bus routes on Sunday mornings.
BTW- my ranting now includes the price of the bus, as I have just come from the MTA store at 3rd street.
Ja, I suppose if you are paying less than $210/month on gas then a bus pass isn't the best alternative. Sorry that couldn't work out for you guys :(
No argument here about the issue of time lost... It takes us 2+ hours to get to the church we're getting married at, which is pretty ridiculous. And! Since the only time we can go there is on Saturdays, we have to deal with the weekend schedules as well. Bah!
Another thing that is pretty lame is how early some lines stop running. I mean, when an elderly woman is complaining that a line should run later, you know there's a problem!
Ashleigh, I am with you! After being couped up in air conditioner free house for nearly a week (the smoke is so thick they say it is like smoking unfiltered cigarettes), I dream about strolling around the air conditioned mall. But wait, that would cost me $10 in gas alone! Jon's weekly trip to stockton costs around $30 (in a fuel efficient compact car). Gas prices really affect those of us in rural areas where a drive to get your mail is 3 miles, the nearest grocery chain is 20 miles, and the closest mall is 60 miles round trip. There is no public transportation. These are our scruples, but I wonder about the truly needy. How do they get to work? How do they pay for the rising costs of food and goods? Don't even get me started on our government's response to this problem!!!
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