I Become A Mass Transit Guy

A co-worker friend of mine rushes into my office yesterday and says "Hey, I just rode the Via Express Route from 281 and 1604!" They dropped him off two blocks from where we work, and he strolled into work, having read the newspaper he rarely gets to properly read. My interest was piqued.

So if you didn't click on the blue item above--shame on you--I'll explain. San Antonio's transit company, Via Metropolitan Transit Company, now offers four different routes from various places on 1604 or I-35 to downtown. They have very few stops, depending on which route you take, and which bus within that route.

"What's it cost?" I asked.
"20 bucks a month; unlimited rides."

Mmm...$20 a month. I headed over to the Via Transit headquarters on San Pedro and laid my money down for a month pass.

I've got a 16 mile-per-gallon gas-hog pickem-up truck and on my particular commute, I figure I can shave 24 of my 63 miles-per-day round trip by riding the express line. The part of my drive that's the most difficult, the most stress-inducing, and the worst gas mileage for my truck happens to be the part I'd shave off by taking the bus.

So I found my way to the Park and Ride lot below I-10 and 1604. I wasn't there five minutes before the bus arrived and I joined what ended up being about 18 downtown-bound commuters. My day didn't go without a hitch though. My co-worker's optimistic reporting about being let off two blocks from work was accurate, but only for his particular route. My route gets no closer than about 8 blocks. I walked to and from the bus stop this morning, and while it was humid and sultry, it was a very pleasant walk. I'd never walked through the new courtyard at San Fernando Cathedral. I walked beneath the massive trees at the plaza in front of the old Courthouse. And then across the ornate Houston Street bridge over the River Walk.

Would I do this in the summertime? Forget it! Too hot. But for now, I think I'm going to enjoy this. While I rode on the bus I was able to chew up three chapters on the Maureen Dowd book I'm reading. When it was over and done and I got in my pickup to head toward Boerne, I joined the traffic and was immediately aware of something different. It took a minute to put my finger on it, but I finally figured it out: I wasn't stressed. Usually by the time I'm passing Fiesta Texas I'm wound up in knots after having dodged the gauntlet of bad drivers and merging trucks from Huebner through 1604. That stress just wasn't there today.

This Kendall County Democrat is urging you to consider this new offering by Via. It's easy to talk about doing the right thing for the environment, and embracing the idea of mass transit. Actually doing so means breaking bad habits and putting out a little effort. I can report that at this point, the effort's been worth putting out.