Occasionally, I wonder how those advanced europeans drag home a 4x8 sheet of plywood? We have big roads, big toys, big shopping centers. Americuh's differnt!
Occasionally, I wonder how those advanced europeans drag home a 4x8 sheet of plywood? We have big roads, big toys, big shopping centers. Americuh's differnt!
Steve Chryssos wrote: Occasionally, I wonder how those advanced europeans drag home a 4x8 sheet of plywood? We have big roads, big toys, big shopping centers. Americuh's differnt!
In my 30+ years, I have never needed to drag home a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Is this really all that common?
We own five vehicles. I couldn't get a 4x8 sheet of plywood in any of them.
Steve Chryssos wrote: Occasionally, I wonder how those advanced europeans drag home a 4x8 sheet of plywood? We have big roads, big toys, big shopping centers. Americuh's differnt!
PHeller wrote:Jaynen wrote: What if their was like a "smart" shuttle system.Instead of static bus routes you dynamically build routes based on where people want to goI think that this will be something accomplished by the private industry eventually. The problem with subsidization of mass transit is that the transportation authorities buy large buses, big buildings, and give those at the top a pay raise. Instead, they should be making buses smaller, adding more drivers, and adding more routes. Maybe Wally can chime in on that topic.
A 40ft bus is not that much more expensive than a 30ft bus and doesn't use that much more fuel, and the times you need a big bus it's there. Most transit systems run a dial a ride type service for handicapped and elderly people as required by the ADA. My father drives for one on Long Island. They are pretty inefficient. The buses rarely carry more than one passenger, and are often empty going from one call to the next. Without being forced to subsidise it it would never work. It would be cheaper to reimburse the people for cab fare.
The best model of it being profitable for a private company would be a taxi. You have a small vehicle and take people point to point. Waiting until a dozen people wanted to go to the mall and sending a van sounds like you would get the frustration of taking a bus, maybe more so as you didn't know the wait time without getting the benefits as the cost is only being split by a few people.
When I go to work today I can take the bus from the train station in about 30 min for $2.25 or a taxi in about 8 min for $10. Neither is too bad a deal, if I'm running late $10 isn't unreasonable to get to work on tiome and 30 min isn't an unbearable trip if i've got the time.
Not 10-15 people but think of it more like car or van pool. Plus I think you could be a lot smarter about how you manage the system. The handicapped shuttles are for getting people to drs appts at certain times and whatnot. If it was setup so the price of the trip reflected how many people were splitting with it (kind of like when you take a cab with friends) people could a) pay more to get a ride right away or b) take advantage of when its cheaper to split the cost
ReverendDexter wrote: In my 30+ years, I have *never* needed to drag home a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Is this really all that common?
It is for me. In the past few years, I've moved the following material with the help of a 1/2 ton pick-up truck:
Add to that many trips with furniture, building supplies (like plywood and sheetrock), etc and my trucks have gotten plenty of use. I've towed a utility trailer, a cherry picker, and a bucket loader that I rented for a week.
I'm not saying that everyone needs a full-size truck/SUV, but there are people out there who actually use them. One important thing to point out is that I'm only a weekend warrior, so I spend 5 days a week camped out at a desk.
stop buying plywood, no need for trucks then, save the environment
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