Reminder: air summit today

Just a reminder that Boise City Council plans a town hall meeting at 7 tonight (Tuesday November 27) at City Hall to discuss the area's declining air quality. The meeting will also air live and taped on Channel 24/7 several times over the next few days. Click here for more details.

It's a TRAIN! No... it's a BUS! No...

[Guest post by bikeboy.]

Japan Rail, the company that operates passenger trains on the islands of Japan, has just completed testing on a vehicle they call the Dual Mode Vehicle (DMV).

It looks like a bus. But it runs on rails... OR on the street! An informational web brochure about the vehicle can be found by clicking here.

The visionaries in Treasure Valley like to imagine that light rail from Caldwell to Boise might someday be feasible. A few years back, Mayor Brent even spent thousands bringing in a "Regional Sprinter" train from Germany for a demo.

One of the obstacles is, once the train arrives at the Boise Depot, most folks are still quite a distance from their ultimate destinations. Well, imagine if the train, upon arriving at the Depot, could retract its rail-wheels, and continue on down the road to downtown Boise, where people could catch a bus. Huh? Huh?!!

This visionary is imagining a half-dozen of these DMVs loading up passengers at various park-and-rides, etc., around Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, and then getting on the tracks (with all track-traffic eastbound in the morning). They take the tracks - blowing past that Interstate bumper-to-bumper - to the Boise (train) Depot, where they hop onto the pavement and proceed downtown, depositing the passengers at a downtown Boise multi-mode transit depot. Once downtown, passengers could catch a real bus or taxi, or maybe even walk. (Or, the DMVs could deploy directly from the Depot to various destinations around the city. Throw on some bike racks, and they would be even more flexible.) Then, in the afternoon, those half-dozen DMVs load up their passengers at the same downtown depot, drive to the train Depot and hop the rail... which is all-westbound in the afternoon. They speed, unimpeded by rush-hour traffic, to their various destinations in west Treasure Valley.

Toot! Toot!

A bit more about the author: I personally lean toward bicycles-as-alternative-transportation, but realize the 2-wheeler isn't practical for everybody. I share Julie's enthusiasm about public transit, and appreciate her allowing me "guest poster" privileges. As a native Boisean, I am deeply concerned about the current direction (L.A.-style sprawl) that my home town is headed.

Just the facts

Here are some interesting statistics distributed at the recent Idaho Transit Summit:

Miles of bus transit
Oregon 2,970
Utah 1,612
Idaho 217

Miles of light rail transit
Oregon 77
Utah 30
Idaho 0

Transit passenger miles/2005
Oregon 486,880,700
Utah 174,424,500
Idaho 6,900,000

Miles of public road
Oregon 66,902
Idaho 46,456
Utah 41,852

Population/2006
Oregon 3,620,771
Utah 2,507,417
Idaho 1,432,664

And here are a few more eye-opening statistics from the Idaho Statesman's November 18 editorial on air quality:

2007 good air quality days (to November 14): 181
2007 days with air-quality alerts: 139

2001-2006 average good air quality days: 269.7
2001-2006 average air-quality alert days: 95.5

(Space here to draw your own conclusions ... )

By the way, the Boise City Council will hold an air quality summit at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, November 27, at City Hall.

Draft legislation available

The Valley Regional Transit website has links to the proposed legislation that would allow voters to decide on local option taxes to fund construction and maintenance of public transportation and highways. Public comments are welcome through November 29.

As I write this, I'm sitting in Spokane, a city that is almost exactly the same as Boise in land mass and population. Somehow, Spokane manages to have at least twice as much transit as we do: more routes, longer hours, evening and Sunday service, you name it. Three years ago, more than two-thirds of Spokane residents voted to double their local transit sales tax from three-tenths to six-tenths of a cent to make up for lost state funds.

It saddens me greatly that in Idaho, we have to make road-building part of the package if we want to get better transit. But hey, we're Idaho, where the legislature is still run by ruralites who don't give a damn about Ada and Canyon counties, and - let's be frank - a few urban legislators who still haven't come around to the fact that traffic is killing our valley. The Boise Bus Blog will probably support the proposed legislation because it appears like the only way to improve what has to be the worst transit system for a metro area of our size anywhere in the United States.

Bus baby arrives; Seattle votes

I'm a big fan of Seattle's Bus Chick, whom I learned about via the Transit Blog Aggregator. Bus Chick Carla and her husband Adam (a.k.a. Bus Nerd, whom she met on the bus, of course) rode two buses to the hospital to give birth to their new baby. Her name is Rosa, after the "original bus chick," Carla writes. Read more here.

Meanwhile in Seattle, voters will decide Tuesday whether or not to pass a Roads and Transit package (Proposition 1), which would fund both a 50-mile light rail extension and more roads and bridges in the Puget Sound area. Many environmentalists are torn over Prop 1 because it would mean a lot of new roads in addition to new transit. In a preview of what we may face here in the Treasure Valley (where transit proponents are now backing a local option tax that would allow money to be used for roads and transit), Michael at Carless in Seattle genuinely agonized over his vote and finally voted yes. Read his deliberations here.

Could Amtrak help TV transit?

Idaho Statesman columnist Tim Woodward has a fine essay today about the possibility that Amtrak might return to Boise after more than 10 years. He writes:

A generation of Idahoans is growing up not knowing what a passenger train is. They don't have a clue that they're missing out on one of the most civilized ways to travel.

Sen. Mike Crapo would like to change that. Crapo is considering co-sponsoring a bill that could bring Amtrak trains back to southern Idaho. That's good news for young people whose idea of a train is an antique locomotive in Julia Davis Park — to say nothing of former passengers who have alternately fumed and sulked since our trains were taken away...

... "They're looking at expanding or returning service in some areas, and there's a huge gap in the Mountain West," Crapo spokesman Lindsay Nothern said. "We want to see a train back in southern Idaho. There's been a lot of growth in Boise, Portland and really all along the line. There potentially are a lot more passengers than there were when the Pioneer was cut."

Woodward's column got me thinking: If Amtrak comes back to Boise, it would come back to Nampa, too. Depending on when the trains run, would there be a possibility that some people could use Amtrak to commute between Idaho's two largest cities?

Probably not. You can commute from Seattle to Tacoma on Amtrak, but it would cost about $22 a day with an advance purchase. (Woodward boasted of traveling 350 miles on Amtrak for $48. The farther you go on Amtrak, the cheaper the per-mile cost.) Still, considering gas, parking, and the relaxing train vibe, perhaps $22 is worth it for some well-to-do Puget Sound commuters.

Another potential dilemma: We wouldn't have the amount of service that West Coast and East Coast train riders enjoy. If it turns out that the day's lone westbound train leaves Boise at 11:30 a.m. and the only eastbound comes through Nampa at 3:15 p.m, that obviously wouldn't work too well for commuting.

OK, so maybe we can't count on a resurrected Amtrak to relieve rush-hour traffic on Interstate 84. The train would still help whet local appetites for more public transit and give us all a great long-distance transportation alternative.

I agree: Let's bring back Amtrak. You can write Sen. Crapo in support of this idea here.

Notes from the transit summit

I was only able to attend the latter third of Tuesday's Idaho Transit Summit, so feel free to add info in the comments below if you caught the earlier sessions. But while I was there, I learned:

1) There is solid, bipartisan, statewide support for giving Idahoans the opportunity to vote on a local options tax for our transportation needs. Many speakers spoke in support of a compromise bill proposed for the 2008 Idaho Legislature, which would allow communities to seek approval for funding for both public transit and highway needs. "How do we get legislators to understand that people want the right to determine their own future?" Idaho Falls councilwoman Karen Cornwell asked to enthusiastic applause.

State Sen. John McGee (R-Nampa) and House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet (D-Ketchum) also expressed support for local option taxing authority, as did Coeur d'Alene city councilwoman Dixie Reid, businessman Chuck Winder, Eagle Mayor Nancy Merrill, and Nampa Mayor Tom Dale. The only naysayer on hand seemed to be Rep. Scott Bedke of Oakley, who suggested that leaders of communities outside the Treasure Valley may be OK with watching the metro area struggle because urban transit woes might mean better odds for their own economic development efforts.

Idaho is currently one of only four states that does not have a dedicated funding mechanism for transit - and Bedke is one of the House Rev & Tax Committee members who refused to let the local option question go to the full House last session. "My area of the state has benefited from the old system," Bedke said.

2) Some Idaho communities are doing impressive things with the limited funding we have. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization, the State of Idaho, and Kootenai County all teamed to create Citylink, a free bus system that began two years ago and serves almost all of Kootenai County plus parts of Benewah County. In that time, ridership has grown from 44,000 to more than 250,000. "The more services we can provide, the higher our ridership is getting," said Reid.

3) Keynote speakers LaVarr Webb of Utah and Charlie Hales of Oregon told how transit benefits their states. Describing himself as a staunch lifelong Republican and allowing parallels between the conservative Utah and Idaho legislatures, Webb added that nothing in his philosophy rules out giving voters the power to decide whether to tax themselves, as Utah voters have done for public transit.

Hales, a former Portland city councilman, stressed the need to get business leaders on board for any proposal. "Donald Trump was right: Greed is good," he noted, adding that a robust transit system has been a boon to the Portland area's economy. Webb echoed this, saying that business and chamber support can give cover to an otherwise reluctant legislature. At this, Chuck Winder made note of the Idaho National Laboratory in Eastern Idaho - which provides private bus transportation for its employees - and wondered, "I still don't understand why Micron spends millions on parking lots when it could spend that on transporting its employees. But we have to have a better system before people will use it."

Hales pointed to the example of Tucson, where voters repeatedly turned down transit funding initiatives before finally approving a compromise proposal similar to the one contemplated here. Quoting Theodore Roosevelt, Hales said, "Above all, try something." He suggested that some cities have done well by funding transit projects with means other than added tax dollars, "to give people an opportunity to experience good transit" before asking them to pay more for it.

Idaho Transit Summit set Oct. 16

Thank you all for your patience with my sporadic bus blogging these days. I started a new job (as online organizer for the Study Circles Resource Center) a month ago. Beyond that, I am working nights to finish the seventh edition of my guidebook Idaho Off the Beaten Path. Together with various and sundry volunteer activities, I don't have a lot of time for extracurricular blogging. But there's a lot going on, so I will try to bring us up to speed ...

Next Tuesday morning (October 16), Boise State University and more than a dozen mayors from all over Idaho will play host to the Idaho Transit Summit. Speakers from Utah and Oregon will discuss what's happened in their states, and Idaho leaders will try to come to grips with what is and isn't possible here in the Gem State. Click here for more info. The free events run from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Jordan Ballroom at BSU's Student Union. No RSVP is required.

Transit funding is certain to top the agenda next week, and The Idaho Statesman editorialized today about the likelihood that transit backers will float legislation that would also allow local option taxation for road projects. A snip: "For transit backers, splitting local tax dollars with road projects represents a half-a-loaf compromise. But it's better than nothing, considering that Idaho is one of but four states that provide no dedicated state or local dollars for public transportation." Read the whole editorial here.

Also in today's Statesman, a report on the Boise mayoral race included this: "The candidates had different approaches to mass transit, with (Jim) Tibbs emphasizing the need for a functional bus system in Ada and Canyon counties before looking to commuter or light rail trains. But (Dave) Bieter said he's sold on the benefits of a commuter rail line along the region's existing tracks. He also emphasized the need to make the Idaho Legislature's adoption of a local option tax to pay for transit a 'political inevitability.'"

Finally (for now), Idaho Smart Growth is seeking people to help with a transit Neighborhood Outreach Day on October 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m . If you can help, email Rachel at idahosmartgrowth dot org or call 333-8066.

We're doing something right

There was a fascinating collection of transit-related articles in today's Idaho Statesman. A cover story featured the Ada County Highway District's van pool program which - who knew?! - is the "oldest multi-employer vanpool program in the country." It's been rolling since 1976 and currently has 65 van pools serving more than 700 people. Many users of the program live in Canyon County. In fact, more than 13 percent of Canyon County residents commute via carpool or vanpool, compared to 10.7 percent nationally. The number is rising as growing numbers of Canyon County workers (many of whom work in Ada County) have commutes nearly as long as people in Seattle.

A sidebar to the article gives a handy overview of the current transit situation in Idaho which, in a word, is bleak. Disappearing federal funds, $1.7 billion in unfunded transportation needs, and lack of local funding mechanisms are all conspiring to put the Treasure Valley farther behind on meeting existing needs, never mind preparing for the future. The article adds that the same transportation coalition that worked for a local option tax will be back for the 2008 Legislature, and that if lawmakers balk again at allowing southwestern Idahoans to vote on a local option tax, transit backers will take the matter to voters via an initiative.

Three minutes early

I've been either missing or waiting on buses a lot these past few days.

Last Saturday, I wanted to catch the 1:15 bus from downtown to the Hyde Park Street Fair. I had to be there by 2 to help out at a booth. When the bus didn't show up by 1:30, I decided I'd be better off walking.

Yesterday, I took the State Street bus to meet friends for lunch. The bus back downtown was two minutes early, but fortunately, I was at the stop in time. I transferred to the Vista bus downtown, only to sit on the bus a full five minutes past departure time before the driver showed up.

Today, I was running a little late to catch the Vista bus downtown, but it's usually pretty much on time, so I wasn't worried. But I watched from a block away as it pulled up at Overland three minutes early. It was a little too far for me to run, so I missed it- and since the Vista bus only runs once an hour at mid-day, I decided to drive instead.

My lessons (re)learned? It's always wise to be at the bus stop five minutes early. Still, I can't help but think about the people who miss these buses by a minute or two, but who are not riding the bus by choice, like I am, but out of necessity. I hope the days comes that Valley Ride can run all its city routes every half-hour minimum, and preferably every 15 to 20 minutes on the major routes. If people know they can rely on another bus to be available in a reasonably short time frame, they'll be much more likely to give bus riding a try.

Green show

Tune in Monday, September 17, as KBCI Channel 2 in Boise airs its latest Project Green special, this one focused on Treasure Valley transportation options. Yours truly even makes a cameo appearance.

The show airs at 7 p.m. Monday, and I believe it will repeat at 10:45 p.m. on September 18 and 19. Click here for more on Project Green.

Update: Here are the airing times, straight from KBCI:
7 p.m. Monday, September 17
10:30 a.m. Saturday, September 22
10:35 p.m. Sunday, September 30

Pro-transit blogs, everywhere!

Check out the new addition to my blogroll, the "City Transit Advocates" blog aggregator. Just launched last week, it features 38 blogs that cover transit issues in cities across North America. Let the Seattle Bus Chick to tell you how "it is possible to lead an active, fulfilling, fabulous life without a car." (It's actually pretty easy in Seattle, compared to here.) Marvel at the cool "transitography" visuals - from way beyond Florida - at Transit Miami. Read about the Illinois State Legislature's failure to pass a transit bill at the CTA Tattler. (Nice to know we're not alone ...)

Thanks to Pantograph Trolleypole of The Overhead Wire for including the Boise Bus Blog in this notable and compulsively readable effort.

No parking at Art in the Park

This weekend is Boise's annual Art in the Park, one of our city's favorite festivals. The main entrance of Julia Davis is closed to traffic during Art in the Park, and parking anywhere in the immediate vicinity is extremely limited. So take Valley Ride downtown on Saturday and save the hassles.

If you must drive, or if you plan to attend the festival Sunday (when no Valley Ride buses run), park downtown and either walk the short distance to Julia Davis Park or catch the shuttle bus that's circling from the park to the heart of downtown. Shuttle bus service also is available from the north side of the Boise Towne Square mall, near Dillards. The shuttle buses will be running from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Have fun at Art in the Park!

New options for BSU commuters

If you ever travel to Boise State University - whether for classes or community events - you know it's a huge hassle to park on or near campus. Moreover, the majority of BSU's 19,000+ students commute to school, adding to the valley's growing traffic load. But BSU seems committed to addressing these issues.

The Arbiter, BSU's student paper, had a story this week on a few new options that may make travel to BSU a bit less wearing. Free shuttle service is now available between the main campus and the BSU West campus in Nampa (which is also set to be home to the new College of Western Idaho). Free service will also be available to BSU from other outlying communities. Read more here.

Don't forget that shuttle service is also available between downtown Boise and BSU on football game days - like today. Go Broncos!

In related news, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter had a re-election fundraiser last night. I wasn't there in time to hear him speak about his vision for a second term, but people told me that his pledge to improve transit got the most applause by far.

Take the bus to the fair

I took a new-to-me route yesterday, the No. 8 Chinden to the Western Idaho Fairgrounds. I was one of three people who got off at the stop at Chinden and Kent in Garden City, a short walk to the entrance gates. The other two were teenage girls probably arriving to take advantage of the fair's special rate for rides between noon and 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Of course, since bus service ends around 6 p.m. and most people stay at the fair well past that, it'd be hard for many fairgoers to rely on Valley Ride for a trip home. But the lack of evening service wasn't an issue for me since I was meeting my husband, who arrived later.

How many times have your family fair schedules been staggered so that you wound up with two vehicles at the fair? How many times have you gone out of your way to shuttle your older kids to the fair when they could've taken the bus instead, saving you at least one trip? Both Route 8 and Route 10 (Hill Road/Maple Grove) serve the fairgrounds.

Why not take the bus to the fair this year? Hint: If you have to transfer to a fairgrounds route (as I did from the No. 3 Vista), a $2 day pass is your best bet even if you are only riding one way. Also remember that most Valley Ride routes (including Nos. 8 and 10) run only once an hour during the middle of the day, so make your plans accordingly if you need to arrive by a certain time. And since there's so Sunday service at all, forget about riding the bus for the 2007 fair's final day.

Back soon. Really.

I'm finally done with my summer travels, which involved a sublime week in which I didn't get in my car at all in mid-July, followed by a week in ferry-full British Columbia, then a business trip on which I made full use of Chicago's fine CTA, then another biz trip on which I experienced the full force of this summer's screwy air travel. (I spent seven hours at O'Hare last Wednesday on what was supposed to be an hour layover, but I've heard of far worse.)

Now that I am home for good, more or less, I went to buy a one-year pass at Valley Ride yesterday. Denied again - but they sold me 12 one-month passes for the price of an annual one, so I can't complain. Word is that Valley Ride may be phasing out the annual passes. I think it's still possible to get one, but only when the right person is in the office at a certain phase of the moon, I guess.

I'll be back on the blog on a bit more regular basis pretty soon.

Summer break

I'm taking a midsummer blogging break. I'll be back online in a few weeks.

Bikeboy tells it!

In an excellent guest post at the Boise Guardian, Bikeboy says a mouthful about Treasure Valley growth, air quality, and leadership (or lack thereof). He writes that he wants to elect a mayor who would support "improved mass transit, both rhetorically and monetarily. Mass transit will always have to be subsidized by the taxpayers, just like the roads. But I don’t think
it’s adequate to just keep throwing taxpayer dollars at the current system, which is obviously of very limited value to very few citizens.

"Perhaps the traditional 'spoke and hub' system has run its course. Maybe it’s time to explore alternatives, like shuttle buses for downtown and other business/office centers, more park-and-ride lots out at the periphery, etc. I am NOT an expert, but I know people will be reluctant to ride a bus that’s a major inconvenience at both ends."

I think we need to keep the spoke-and-hub system, mainly because it serves people who have no other transportation, or who choose to use it (and who live close enough to do so). I'd argue somewhat with the "major inconvenience" statement. Aside from lack of service in the evenings and Sunday, I find it very easy to ride the bus from my close-in home on the Bench. Yes, it often takes planning to make my schedule mesh with the once-and-hour midday bus runs, but it can be done.

Still, Bikeboy's right that the system needs to be configured to take traffic off of I-84, via shuttle buses, more park-and-rides (since the commuter routes are a hit), and other services that will help curb the area's growing traffic and air quality woes. He also has a lot of creative ideas for bike paths along canals, bike-friendly workplaces, and restrictions on parking lots, and he hammers home the key point: that if we all chose to live closer to our work, this would not be happening. Check it out.

Riding the bus is cool

For so many reasons, it's cool to ride the bus - especially on days when our air quality is moderate or worse. Bus riders are always cool because we're helping keep extra vehicles off the road.

But literally, it's cool to ride the bus. I climbed abroad a Vista bus at 8th and Idaho about 12:15 today, after a hot walk from the YMCA. It was probably about 75 degrees on board. It felt so good.

Some of the buses seem to overdo it: One I ride on the Overland route is frequently so cold that I need to put on a sweater. But the chill still feels nice on these hot summer days.

My bus pass expires

My six-month bus pass expired the other day. Due to upcoming vacations, I am not going to buy a new one until August, when I hope to get a full annual pass. (If you've been reading the bus blog since the start, you'll recall that I tried to buy an annual pass as my New Year's Resolution last last December, but Valley Ride couldn't sell me one. I hear that's been remedied - but I'll still need to drive to Meridian (off the bus route) to buy my pass!

Did I get my money's worth from the six-month, $165 pass? I rode the bus about 140 times which - at $1 per ride - equals about $140 in bus fares. I estimate I traveled 450 miles on those trips; my car gets about 25 mpg in the city, so that's about a $55 gas savings. Add in maybe $50 or so in downtown parking fees I avoided and the small monthly discount on my car insurance, and I probably saved about $100 using the bus.

That's not a lot, but I'm not really in this for the money. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do. People who ride the bus farther and more frequently than I do can save much more, of course - and have an even greater impact on keeping our roads and air clear. People who walk or bike save even more!