Jack's Electric Bicycle

On The Bus

Last week while my car was in the shop getting a new Johnson rod, I thought a lot about how we could survive with a single car.

Say, for example, one of our two vehicles completely died. Would I plunk down another $10,000 to replace it? Or would I save $10,000, use a bike and just share a single car? Part of the allure of this idea is that I’d save from $3,000 to $4,000 a year when you calculate car payments, insurance, oil changes, repairs, etc. That’s a lot of clams.

The obvious downside would occur when I need to use a car and CP needs to use a car at the same time. But how often would this happen? It wouldn’t be an issue for trips in McKinleyville, where you can use a bike or electric bike. But what about Eureka?

This got me thinking, which usually leads to trouble. I had to visit Eureka today to pick something up, so I decided to get there without a car.

I visited the Redwood Transit System website and found out that a southbound bus would arrive a few feet away from my office at 2:10 p.m. Each bus is equipped with a nifty bicycle rack on the front, so I could pedal from my house to the bus stop, take the bus to Eureka, pedal to my destination, and then reverse the process to get home.

I arrived at 2:05 p.m. About a half dozen people were waiting for the bus. Most of them were mentally or physically handicapped. This reminded me of how incredibly important it is to have public transportation. If it wasn’t for the bus, how would these people travel?

At exactly 2:10 p.m. the bus arrived. It was on time. I attached my bike to the rack and climbed aboard. I paid $4 for a day pass which would allow me to ride all day long between Trinidad to Scotia if I wished.

I grabbed a seat and it wasn’t long before I realized why I don’t use public transportation. We made stop after stop after stop. I looked at my watch and looked at the bus schedule. I did the math. A trip that would take no more than 45 minutes in my car was going to take at least 2 1/2 hours.

The entire afternoon was shot. I should have thought about this before committing myself, but it was too late.

The bus picked up some questionable characters along the way. One guy looked like a serial killer. Another fellow emitting a foul odor sat in front of me. Fortunately, once the bus got rolling, the air flow solved the problem.

When we reached Humboldt State, several lovely college girls climbed aboard. Riding the bus no longer seemed like a bad idea. The college kids talked about fluoride in Arcata’s drinking water.

By 3:08 p.m., I reached my destination – the Bayshore Mall. We were right on time, but it took nearly an hour. I could have driven to Eureka, conducted my business, came home and made a sandwich within this period of time. Instead, I was less than half done with the journey.

From the Bayshore Mall I got on my bike and pedalled about a mile up West Harris Street, visited a business and pedalled back to the Bayshore Mall.

Once again, I arrived exactly 5 minutes before the bus I wanted was about to leave. It arrived on time and I started my journey back to McKinleyville.

Most of the people on board seemed to be working folks on their way home. There were about 30 people on the bus. One guy climbed aboard and looked a little out of it. He started shaking and looked like he might vomit. I think he needed a fix.

But, in fairness, I’m just pointing out some of the characters that stood out in my mind. Most of the people on the bus seemed like normal working folk, students or the disabled.

Just as advertised, I arrived in McKinleyville at 4:30 p.m. I biked home and my mission was accomplished.

The lesson is that you don’t need a car to get to Eureka. For a minimal fee, the Redwood Transit System will drive you there. You can get all over Humboldt County without a car.

The downside is the time differential. If you take the bus, plan on spending at least twice as much time travelling than you would in a car.

If I had to do it over again, I would have used the car. But it’s nice to know there’s a workable alternative.

posted by Jack Durham @ 8:30 PM