transit

The rate of very big things crushing much smaller things - like automobiles and humans - is at record highs.. This has some safety officials baffled. And I frequently hear "It's a train!" when there is news of a pedestrian or motorist being crushed by an 8,000 ton object moving through space on the exact same course it has followed for more than 100 years.

As 2017 draws to a close it is time I confess that this is not the post I expected to be writing a year ago. Following the triumph of America's deep self-loathing, which was the defining moment of 2016, I anticipated a rapid collapse of our duct-tape-and-bailing-wire transportation systems. I was wrong. 2017 turned out to be a year of victories despite the strong political headwinds.

note: Amtrak's fiscal year is from September - September; any ridership numbers reflect the fiscal year.

A 10AM meeting in Dearborn, MI 160 miles away - I am in Grand Rapids, MI - in December [in Michigan]. If driving day-of I would have to leave home at 7AM - assuming there was no weather events between here and there. Probably would leave at 6:30AM to be safe. Then two meetings, concluding around 6PM, and another 160 mile drive back home. If weather was not an issue I would get home ~9PM; also assuming I ate at a drive-thru. That is a ~14.5 hour Saturday. Ugh.

Plotting out a trip from Grand Rapids to Milwaukee by transit is an interesting experience. It clearly illustrates the two primary issues with American transportation services and companies: