cww.blog!

Get out and vote!First, I am obligated to point out that if you are an American citizen presently in the country, you need to take ten minutes and go cast your vote. Go. Right now. You don't need your voter ID card or anything. Just tell them your name when you get there. Go!

And, if you don't know where your polling place is, you can look it up. It's that easy!

Now, then...

A couple times over the past few weeks while riding the venerable 61C bus to and from Carnegie Mellon, I have been approached by a lady who has been handing out surveys to people who utilize the mass transit system in Pittsburgh. The survey is a quick little thing that, in each instance, I've completed and returned before alighting from the bus.

The premise of this survey, apparently, is to gauge system ridership and to become more familiar with particular riders' habits, so as to minimize the inconvenience of an inevitable downsizing due to a lack of public funding. That's right: according to the lady on the bus, the Port Authority has contracted a third party to figure out how best to downsize the bus system.

I've never been particularly fond of the transit system here, as compared to other systems I've used, but I use it often, and it lets me down less frequently now than it did when I lived in Shadyside.

This morning, I received a stern reminder of the plight of Pittsburgh's transit system. After I cast my vote at the polling place in the elementary school down the street from my house, I went to wait at the bus stop where I usually catch my morning buses. I waited there for about 25 minutes before a 61C, overflowing with people, pulled up and opened its door. The driver told us the bus was full and that we'd have to wait for the next one to come along. At that point, my class had just about started, so I figured waiting another 20-30 minutes for the next 61C, 61D, 61F, or 59U would be somewhat pointless. Besides, standing in the cold, damp air had caused last week's respiratory ailments to become irritating again, and that wasn't particularly pleasant. So, here I am, skipping class in the comfort of my study at home, drinking some hot coffee and writing an entry in my blog.

For the sake of all the people who depend on the Port Authority to get them from one place to another every day, I hope the situation here doesn't degrade too badly any time soon, but it certainly doesn't look like it's getting any better right now.