Bush to lift offshore drilling ban

[Martin2]

Originally Posted by ReefHound

Because it isn't economically feasible given our demographics and current development. More could be done with mass transit but the primary mission of most transit agencies is urban development rather than transit. And the light rail industry has all the transit agencies hypnotized.

Light rail is too expensive to be a good answer in most places. But commuter rail is a good option, IMO.

[SlvrDragon50]

I made the statement earlier based on what I've observed..

The mass transportation isn't very popular since they are insanely expensive for an efficient method to move people from one place to another due to the large distance between places in most cities. I know that the distance between one city and another in my area is well over 15 miles.. Especially with the pit the economy is in, people are not interested in spending money right now.

We moved into the personal transportation because this is where most people are affected.. environmentally, I think it is relatively safe and it just means more places for us to dive. Economically, I'm against it.

[ReefHound]

Originally Posted by Martin2

Light rail is too expensive to be a good answer in most places. But commuter rail is a good option, IMO.

I agree but I refer back to the points I made about transit agencies. Nearly all the new rail systems the last 30 years have been light rail lines.

[dinger340]

I remember seeing an older Minnesota governor bumper sticker from the Ventura era that said, "My governor can beat up your governor..." A funny bone tickler at the time. Good points by all and I tend to agree with Reefhound, but easy does it...At the end of the day we're just normal joes schlepping our way thru our nine to fives to put enough away to make our next dive trip...And by the way, do we all really do enough to be a part of the solution instead of the problem?

[John Yaskowich]

Very interesting discussion.
In any transportation situation we need a mix of options available to us and a willingness to compromise. In my family we have 2 cars; my wife’s Honda Civic and my Ford Focus wagon. We use her car for a lot of the day-to-day running around because it gets better gas mileage, but we really appreciate having mine available when we need to load it up or move awkward shaped objects. My wife usually takes her car to work because her office in not convenient to the transit system (it would take 3 transfers and close to 2 hours to use the bus system). I use a mix of modes: I drive my car about 3 miles to a bus station then have a direct shot to downtown – one bus, about 30 minutes. I like not having to negotiate rush-hour traffic and being able to read the paper while someone else does the driving.

Another example of the mixing of options available here: many of the buses have a bike rack mounted on the front. A rider can bike to the bus stop, rack their bike for the bus ride, then have it available at the end of the bus ride for the rest of their trip, wherever they are going. The rack folds when not in use and holds 2 bikes. A practiced user can rack or unrack their bike in about 15 seconds.

An interesting alternative to owning a vehicle has been set-up here in Ottawa: Virtucar. You buy in on a timeshare of a fleet of cars. You can reserve / use one when you need it but when you don’t, you don’t have to worry about parking it, insuring it to sit in the driveway, etc. It is gaining popularity, especially with people who live downtown and can walk or bike to work so they don’t need a vehicle more than a few times a week / month. VRTUCAR Carsharing Ottawa Canadian car share

[captain]

Oil rig education.

Type of oil platforms

[SlvrDragon50]

Exactly what I believe!

There is a similar system of tenting cars called the zipcar. I believe it is only implemented in the larger cities though.

Originally Posted by John Yaskowich

Very interesting discussion.
In any transportation situation we need a mix of options available to us and a willingness to compromise. In my family we have 2 cars; my wife’s Honda Civic and my Ford Focus wagon. We use her car for a lot of the day-to-day running around because it gets better gas mileage, but we really appreciate having mine available when we need to load it up or move awkward shaped objects. My wife usually takes her car to work because her office in not convenient to the transit system (it would take 3 transfers and close to 2 hours to use the bus system). I use a mix of modes: I drive my car about 3 miles to a bus station then have a direct shot to downtown – one bus, about 30 minutes. I like not having to negotiate rush-hour traffic and being able to read the paper while someone else does the driving.

Another example of the mixing of options available here: many of the buses have a bike rack mounted on the front. A rider can bike to the bus stop, rack their bike for the bus ride, then have it available at the end of the bus ride for the rest of their trip, wherever they are going. The rack folds when not in use and holds 2 bikes. A practiced user can rack or unrack their bike in about 15 seconds.

An interesting alternative to owning a vehicle has been set-up here in Ottawa: Virtucar. You buy in on a timeshare of a fleet of cars. You can reserve / use one when you need it but when you don’t, you don’t have to worry about parking it, insuring it to sit in the driveway, etc. It is gaining popularity, especially with people who live downtown and can walk or bike to work so they don’t need a vehicle more than a few times a week / month. VRTUCAR Carsharing Ottawa Canadian car share

[ReefHound]

Originally Posted by John Yaskowich

An interesting alternative to owning a vehicle has been set-up here in Ottawa: Virtucar. You buy in on a timeshare of a fleet of cars. You can reserve / use one when you need it but when you don’t, you don’t have to worry about parking it, insuring it to sit in the driveway, etc. It is gaining popularity, especially with people who live downtown and can walk or bike to work so they don’t need a vehicle more than a few times a week / month. VRTUCAR Carsharing Ottawa Canadian car share

Yeah, the idea has been around awhile, aka "car rental".

[SlvrDragon50]

Originally Posted by ReefHound

Yeah, the idea has been around awhile, aka "car rental".

It's not the same thing. They have the cars all over the city and when you need it, you just grab one. Look it up on google.

[ReefHound]

Just like rental car agencies. I can't see how it works any different whatsoever except you can pay based on mileage. Looking at the Virtucar site, there aren't any more locations than there are rental lots. You have to reserve in advance (subject to availability) and return to origin. And you get fined if you are late.