Day 16, Transportation in Atlanta
Aug. 16th, 2010 11:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparrI get asked a lot why I don't have a car. My modes of transportation change on a regular basis, everything from pedestrian to driving a gas guzzling pickup truck for work over the past few years, and there are many factors involved in deciding when it's time to change.
First, I need to explain how public transit in Atlanta works, since that influences my decision. Other cities would have far different situations, which would mean I would make different decisions. MARTA provides bus and train routes in the city of Atlanta and slightly outside in a few directions. Riding MARTA costs $2 per one-way trip, regardless of how many transfers are involved, or $60 per month for unlimited rides. The train routes describe something like a + or * through the city. They run every 5-10 minutes most of the time, and every 20 minutes at worst. If you can get to a train station, and your destination is near a train station, the trip is likely to be shorter than the same trip in a car. Otherwise, you have to use the bus system, which is much less ideal. The average Atlanta resident probably lives about 1/4 of a mile from the nearest bus route, and the average route runs every 20-30 minutes from 6AM to 10PM. Some routes run 5AM-1AM, and some only at rush hour times. This is far too sparse coverage, spatially and temporally, for everyday use for most people. If you live outside the perimeter, then you may not have bus service at all, or may have to resort to another county's service, which adds further delays and costs.
The most common mode of transportation around these parts is to own your own car. This gives the greatest potential amount of long distance mobility, at the greatest costs. It involves purchasing or leasing a car, earning a driver's license, and maintaining registration and insurance for the vehicle, all of which have ongoing costs. Parking for a car downtown can cost anywhere from $1/hr to $30/day to $100/mo depending on the location, and parking elsewhere can incur daily or monthly fees depending on the situation. 80% of the time, a car will get you where you are going in the least amount of time, at a cost of somewhere in the vicinity of $0.25/mile depending on whose estimates you believe. The other 20% of the time includes rush hours, when MARTA or even a bike is faster than sitting in gridlock in a car, and/or trips short enough that the minutes of overhead in parking/maneuvering the car take longer than the trip (I'm looking at you, people who drive one block to the grocery store).
The next option is a big scooter. This incurs most of the same costs as a car, but at a lower initial investment and without having to pay for parking in most places. Long distance mobility is reduced a bit, as max speed may only be 40-50mph, but short distance efficiency is increased since it is far faster to park and unpark. Gas efficiency is a bit better than a car, as well. Additional caveats are that you have to be willing to avoid driving in the rain, or not care about getting wet, and not require air conditioning.
Next comes a small scooter, <50cc, which doesn't require registration or insurance and costs even less to purchase. Gas efficiency goes up again, often into triple digits MPG. Speed is likely limited to 25-35mph, which reduces distance and makes some roads unsafe (I recommend avoiding 400 and 78) and some illegal to be on (any interstate).
Next is the bicycle. This is my current mode of transportation, although recently I've added an electric motor for a small slice of the perks of a scooter. A reasonably priced minimal street bike in good shape can be had for as little as $100, and there are almost no ongoing costs. In addition to easy parking and the ability to occasionally cheat by riding on the sidewalk when traffic is bad, a bike can be taken on the bus and train, which greatly extends the viable range and overall speed. The major caveat here is that you have to be in decent shape, since Atlanta is a pretty hilly town.
The last option is traveling on foot. Effectively zero recurring cost, but extremely slow and inefficient. No parking hassles, free to wander wherever you want. I've done this in the past, and often still do when I decide that my bike is not worth hauling along on a complex trip around town.
Of course, this doesn't cover every option out there, just the most common ones. Any of these options can be mixed together with each other, or with less common options like ZipCar (an hourly car rental service). A few options fall in between these, which I've omitted them for various reasons, including motorcycles and electric scooters and skates.
Right now, my ideal vehicle would be a Velomobile. That is, a recumbent tricycle with both human and electric power systems and a fully enclosed body. This offers the best of all of the options listed above below a car, imo.
PS: I'm probably upgrading from an e-bike to a gas or electric scooter in the next month or so.
First, I need to explain how public transit in Atlanta works, since that influences my decision. Other cities would have far different situations, which would mean I would make different decisions. MARTA provides bus and train routes in the city of Atlanta and slightly outside in a few directions. Riding MARTA costs $2 per one-way trip, regardless of how many transfers are involved, or $60 per month for unlimited rides. The train routes describe something like a + or * through the city. They run every 5-10 minutes most of the time, and every 20 minutes at worst. If you can get to a train station, and your destination is near a train station, the trip is likely to be shorter than the same trip in a car. Otherwise, you have to use the bus system, which is much less ideal. The average Atlanta resident probably lives about 1/4 of a mile from the nearest bus route, and the average route runs every 20-30 minutes from 6AM to 10PM. Some routes run 5AM-1AM, and some only at rush hour times. This is far too sparse coverage, spatially and temporally, for everyday use for most people. If you live outside the perimeter, then you may not have bus service at all, or may have to resort to another county's service, which adds further delays and costs.
The most common mode of transportation around these parts is to own your own car. This gives the greatest potential amount of long distance mobility, at the greatest costs. It involves purchasing or leasing a car, earning a driver's license, and maintaining registration and insurance for the vehicle, all of which have ongoing costs. Parking for a car downtown can cost anywhere from $1/hr to $30/day to $100/mo depending on the location, and parking elsewhere can incur daily or monthly fees depending on the situation. 80% of the time, a car will get you where you are going in the least amount of time, at a cost of somewhere in the vicinity of $0.25/mile depending on whose estimates you believe. The other 20% of the time includes rush hours, when MARTA or even a bike is faster than sitting in gridlock in a car, and/or trips short enough that the minutes of overhead in parking/maneuvering the car take longer than the trip (I'm looking at you, people who drive one block to the grocery store).
The next option is a big scooter. This incurs most of the same costs as a car, but at a lower initial investment and without having to pay for parking in most places. Long distance mobility is reduced a bit, as max speed may only be 40-50mph, but short distance efficiency is increased since it is far faster to park and unpark. Gas efficiency is a bit better than a car, as well. Additional caveats are that you have to be willing to avoid driving in the rain, or not care about getting wet, and not require air conditioning.
Next comes a small scooter, <50cc, which doesn't require registration or insurance and costs even less to purchase. Gas efficiency goes up again, often into triple digits MPG. Speed is likely limited to 25-35mph, which reduces distance and makes some roads unsafe (I recommend avoiding 400 and 78) and some illegal to be on (any interstate).
Next is the bicycle. This is my current mode of transportation, although recently I've added an electric motor for a small slice of the perks of a scooter. A reasonably priced minimal street bike in good shape can be had for as little as $100, and there are almost no ongoing costs. In addition to easy parking and the ability to occasionally cheat by riding on the sidewalk when traffic is bad, a bike can be taken on the bus and train, which greatly extends the viable range and overall speed. The major caveat here is that you have to be in decent shape, since Atlanta is a pretty hilly town.
The last option is traveling on foot. Effectively zero recurring cost, but extremely slow and inefficient. No parking hassles, free to wander wherever you want. I've done this in the past, and often still do when I decide that my bike is not worth hauling along on a complex trip around town.
Of course, this doesn't cover every option out there, just the most common ones. Any of these options can be mixed together with each other, or with less common options like ZipCar (an hourly car rental service). A few options fall in between these, which I've omitted them for various reasons, including motorcycles and electric scooters and skates.
Right now, my ideal vehicle would be a Velomobile. That is, a recumbent tricycle with both human and electric power systems and a fully enclosed body. This offers the best of all of the options listed above below a car, imo.
PS: I'm probably upgrading from an e-bike to a gas or electric scooter in the next month or so.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-17 07:07 pm (UTC)However, I might feel differently about it when it's cold and snowing!