Public transpo no go

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I really want to make changes in my life. I’m trying to reduce my energy usage, and in order to do that, I want to use public transportation. This may shine some light on reasons why people in Reno can’t and won’t take the bus.

I was going to Billinghurst Middle School for church on Sunday. Here’s the result from Google Maps’ “public transit” function. I’ll fix some punctuation and add a few verbs to make the directions more readable.

Transit directions to 6685 Chesterfield Lane from San Mateo Avenue

$2 (vs. $3.86 driving! [This is Google’s estimate; for my car, it would be about half that.])

Public transit travel time: about 1 hour 38 mins

Walk to Mayberry/Hunter Lake about 43 mins

Bus-16-Idlewild - Direction: RTC CITICENTER East Side

Depart Mayberry/Hunter Lake 14 mins to

4th/Arlington

Bus-3CL-Sky Mtn/Kings Row-Direction: Robb/Mae Anne (SE)

8 mins to make transfer

4th/Arlington: 19 mins

to Robb/(76 Station)

Walk About 14 mins to 6685 Chesterfield Lane, Reno, NV 89523

Driving, according to Google, takes 14 minutes. It takes about 1 gallon of gasoline both ways for about a $4 total—same as riding the bus. Riding the bus, including several miles of walking to reach the nearest bus stop, takes 98 minutes. I guess it all boils down to what 3 hours and 16 minutes of my and my son’s time is worth on our day off.