coffee grounds

Riding the rails bus

Rep. Phil Krinkie (R - Useful Idiot & Shoreview) has distinguished himself made his name with obsessive opposition to light rail. However, at the end of a long rant about light rail he actually has a sensible idea or two:

Krinkie would propose redesigning the routes so the system no longer looks like a wheel, with all the routes passing through the hubs of downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Under his vision, the buses would run on dedicated lanes on the freeways, with other buses or circulating vans picking up people to get them to the major lines. Many of the bus stops would have platforms, just like light rail, so people and wheelchairs could slide right in. They would also have heat in the winter, air conditioning in summer and feel safe, Krinkie said. Riders could buy coffee or a newspaper, and it should be legal to eat and drink beverages on the bus, he said.

The bus and train stops in the Twin Cities seem as if they have been imported from coastal California or Seattle, or somewhere temperate where you might have to worry about rain, but rarely worry about temperatures below 0, and rarely worry about 90° with mosquitoes.

I can understand why people take their cars when waiting for the bus is uncomfortably hot or cold 8 months of the year.

Of course, of course, the devil is in the details with an idea like this. I'm sure Krinkie wants to reduce the bus services inside the city so people in the suburbs can have better bus service. But as an addition to the bus system, a good idea.

Posted by robe0419 at March 18, 2005 2:00 PM