[nabs-l] Public transportation in my area

[Jim Reed]

Hello all, 
 
Amtrak only runs along the "high-line", AKA the Canadian border. Since most Montanians live in the southern part of the state, with or without vision and a car,  most Montanans find the train to be inaccessable and/or impracttical.

East- and west-bound Greyhound buses leave Billings Montana twice a day, traveling along I-90. There are only 2-3 places (in Montana) along I-90 where east- and west-bound buses connect with north- and south-bound buses, thus most of the state is inacesable via bus without some additional form of private transportation.  

Regarding city bus travel: I have lived in 2 cities in Montana with a bus system, and both systems are inadaquate  when compaired to the public transportation system I grew up with in Chicago, IL. First, buses only run once an hour. Buses stop running around 6-7pm. Busses do not run on Sunday. Because there are so few connecting routes, you often have to take a tour of the city to get to your destination. On the plus side, both the Missoula and Billings buses have bike racks on the front of the buses. If I am traveling a long way from home, this allows me to bus most of the way, and bike the restof the way. 

Regarding city cab service: The only thing I have to say is it is expensive. I once heard that Billings, MT has one of the most expensive cab rates in the country. In Billings, the cab fare is set up in zones. Depending on the price of the zone you are traveling to/from determines the price of your fare. For example, on the outskirts of town (the most expensive zone), you can take a cab one block and it would cost you nearly $15.

For another positive, all the university towns I have lived in in Montana have great anti-DUI programs. The University of Montana and Montana State University-Billings have "home-free" -- university students (with university ID) can get a free taxi ride from the bars to home, or from the bars to campus. The University of Montana also has what is lovingly refered to as "The Drunk Bus". The Drunk Bus is a University ran shuttle bus that travels a loop between the downtown bars and campus. The bus runs Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 8pm-2:30am The bus iis free to university students.

Wanna move to Montana?
Jim



Homer Simpson's brain: "Use reverse psychology." 
 Homer: "Oh, that sounds too complicated." 
 Homer's brain: "Okay, don't use reverse psychology."
 Homer: "Okay, I will!"