So as I’ve mentioned previously, when I returned to Houston in August I didn’t bring a car. I’ve thus spent the past month enjoying the city almost exclusively by Metro.
Earlier today I was on a bus rolling through Midtown when a young couple in an Altima pulled up alongside us. They were both eating Coldstone. Now, I scratch my head – why in the world would you grab expensive, hand-mixed ice cream, only to eat it in the car (while trying to navigate Midtown stoplights, nonetheless!) like a cheap Jack in the Box taco. Using transit exclusively forces you to do everything slower, which isn’t entirely negative.
But it’s got me wondering now. See, in the past month I’ve had absolutely no problems getting to where I want to go. I can grab groceries, visit friends. The other day I took my primary romantic interest to dinner and a movie. We hopped a few buses to the Marq*E, headed back across town on a 20-Long Point to Ninfa’s/Navigation, then grabbed two buses back to her place. Thing is, it was a 3:30pm movie. You can get anywhere on the bus, but you have to do it *early*, because if you stay out too late the buses stop running. Transit doesn’t alter your mobility, it alters your lifestyle.
I can hop a 40-Telephone and grab some extra-large CFS at the Dot Coffee Shop. But I can’t do it at 3am. I can catch a 25-Richmond to the drum and bass night. But to get home will require an expensive cab ride, unless I jet the party when other people are still showing up. Basically, transit has an incredible power to make you square. Which leads me to the question.
Why are so many anti-transit people socially conservative, while so many pro-transit people are socially liberal?
Why are good, solid, “family values” republicans from the suburbs opposed to more transit spending? Transit is about as “family values” as you can get. A solid bus network makes it easy to go to work, go to church, and shop for groceries and diapers. A light rail system gives you the added ability to work two jobs across town to save for your kids’ college tuition. In short: with transit you can be fruitful, multiply, and live the American dream.
But there isn’t a single bus that leaves downtown after last call. Afterparties are out of the question. And all of the really underground shit is happening in warehouses, ranches, and other out-of-the-way places that you might not even be able to get to. The privacy of the personal automobile shields you from the outside world, so your friends can suit up in whatever outfits they fancy before heading to a house party or other social gathering. But on public transportation, odd leers and curious glances are the order of the day.
Mass Transit is the domain of squares: a vast force promoting temperance, moderation, and going to bed early. So why do all the “yea” votes for things like “Metro Solutions” come from the most socially diverse urban districts?
Life is funny like that.
8 responses so far ↓
w.igger // September 21, 2009 at 1:04 am
Conservaties=Freedom,
Liberals=Equality
Car=Freedom, Mas-Transit=Everyone must suffer equally.
Alon Levy // September 21, 2009 at 2:23 am
Three explanations:
1. Liberal ideas of how a city should work come from New York, San Francisco, and Washington. In those cities, the subway either closes late or doesn’t close, and the major buses run 24/7.
2. Liberals prefer government services to apply to everyone, including the middle class: universal health care, public education, social security, public transit. Conservatives want to limit those programs to bare minimum.
3. The largest manufacturing and mining corporations in the US, industries which traditionally support Republicans, make cars and extract oil. Thus, right-wing think tanks like Reason get large amounts of money from big oil and the Big Three, and none from pro-transit interests like railroads, public sector unions, and rolling stock manufacturers.
Patrick // September 21, 2009 at 4:22 pm
So, if you want to be hip you either have to live in New York – the only city in the world with a 24-hour subway – or you ride a bicycle.
Like you, I live in a large Southern boomtown – Atlanta – and a make it largely on transit. But I’m not sure what I’d do without my bicycle. For me, the bicycle is pure freedom – it requires no gas and allows me to get anywhere I need.
Alon Levy // September 21, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Hipsters aren’t known for their love of the South.
Also, I just realized there’s a 4th explanation: transit pollutes less than cars, which appeals to liberals and annoys conservatives. (This goes back to the Progressive Era – the Teddy Roosevelt-style environmentalists were often key figures behind the replacement of steam trains with less polluting cars, buses, and electrified trains.)
Ryan // September 22, 2009 at 5:48 am
I’m really glad to hear others are exclusively using mass transit to get around in Houston.
I also take the buses every where I go in Houston since I transferred to UH to major in Architecture.
Your paragraph about hopping bus numbers to get to your desired location is what I do to get around when I’m not working on projects.
I believe Houston is a totally navigable city with metro and I’m glad your out there doing it.
Having said that.
I’m kind of enjoying going to bed early and seeing a sunrise.
-Ryan
Ryan // September 22, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Also this is to Patrick.
New York City is not the only city in the world with a 24hr mass transit.
Chicago is the other American city that operates 24 hours.
Patrick // September 22, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I stand corrected. I should have verified that first.
Alon Levy // September 22, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Even cities without 24/7 rail transit, like Tokyo and Paris, manage to get by at night with buses and taxis.