I grew up in a city, Tom. We had one car, which Dad had on the road two weeks out of every four, meeting with the accounting divisions that he managed in the Northeast.

When I went to visit my grandmother, I took the bus.

When the snow was too deep or the wind too bitter for me to walk home the three miles (yes, I did) after staying late for clubs, I took the bus.

When I had a dentist appointment, I took the bus.

When I wanted to go to the library, I took the bus. Also to the museum, right across the street from the library.

Not to mention visiting friends, elderly relatives in the hospital, the ice rink, the downtown shops.

And today, we had several people in the library using the State Dept. of Labor's website to do job searches. They can't afford the internet at home, and they can't afford a car. How did they get to the library?

I'll give you one guess. And there's only one every hour that comes through this whole part of the county, between 6 AM and 6 PM.

Mass transit provides a means of getting around for people who can't afford cars or who can't drive for a variety of reasons -- youth, age, blindness...

Mass transit also makes it possible for people who insist on driving to find parking. People near DC park in suburban lots and take the Metro into town. (I actually prefer that to trying to maintain my "independence" by cruising around looking for a space for 45 minutes, and then feeding a meter.) New Yorkers hardly ever drive in the City. Other Eastern cities experience the same phenomenon.

I know it's hard to understand this in Carifornia, but please do try.

Regards--
Mary Anne