The Onion hits home with an insight about public transportation that Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has been taking advantage of for years.
Houston's Clear Thinkers
Longtime Houston attorney Tom Kirkendall's observations on developments in law, business, medicine, culture, sports, and other matters of general interest to the Houston business, professional, and academic communities.
The Onion is funny as always, and there is an element of truth, but… when public transit works well, people are enthusiastic about riding it. Look at the number for New York, Boston, and Washington DC, all of which have systems with their own challenges but which work pretty well.
When I lived in DC, I did not ride Metro much, simply because there was no stop near by northern Virginia office. As bad as the traffic was, and as frustrating as it was to watch Metro trains zipping down the median of I-66 while I sat in traffic, I was glad it was there because I realized that all of those other riders would be sharing the road with me for a portion of my trip if not for Metro.
The problem is Houston is that the system is incredibly limited, and the costs of commuting downtown are not that great. When I worked downtown, you could park in the garage for $5/day which is nothing compared to other large cities. And my employer picked up the tab (but would not pay for a bus pass).
As downtown gets more development and parking rates inevitably rise (scarcity will do that), Metro will become a more appealing alternative. You need to look at transit planning thinking about what Houston will look like in 25 years, not just what we’ve got now.