Commuter
By JoeBruin88. Filed in Life |Tags: 4Runner, Coaster, gasoline, Life, Quadlines, Toyota, transportation, Trolley
Last week someone at work mentioned that I should try the Coaster (train) and Trolley to work. I think we had been complaining about the price of gasoline. So anyways, I’ve been riding the Coaster and Trolley this past week since Tuesday. I love it!
I have to wake up pretty early at around 4:00 AM, out the door by 5:00 AM, and arriving at the Coaster station in Carlsbad in time for the 5:33 AM train headed south. The train reaches downtown by 6:15 AM, where I catch the Blue Line trolley, which drops me off in front of the Navy base by 6:45 AM. All in all, it’s an extra half hour in the morning compared to driving my car.
My first day on public transportation last Tuesday went very well. I did not get lost or confused as thought I might, especially when transferring to the Trolley. I exited the train a stop earlier just to be sure to make my connection to the correct trolley. As soon as I got off the train, the trolley was right in front of me. Literally, I walked out of the train’s door and into the trolley’s.
For certain there were more strange-looking people riding the trolley. Yesterday, some scummy-looking guy asked me if I still needed my ticket as I was getting off the trolley. My first reaction was: “Why are you talking to me?” My second thought was: “Why are you riding the trolley without a ticket?”
The trolley I take leaves downtown San Diego at 6:15 AM. After maybe seven or eight stops, it drops me off right in front of the naval base at 6:45 AM. Walking at a brisk pace, I can easily make it to my desk at 7:00 AM. It’s been like clockwork for the past three days.
The way home seems to be more of a challenge for me. The struggle is to wrap up my work and get ready to leave so I’m out of the office by 4:00 PM since it’s a 15-minute walk. In the afternoon when I leave, the trolley leaving the naval base departs every four minutes so there is no shortage of trolleys. However, if I don’t make the 4:25 PM trolley, then I would miss the Coaster, which leaves at 4:52 PM northbound. The next train after that leaves almost 40 minutes later.
The northbound Coaster takes a little longer in the afternoon for some reason, arriving back in Carlsbad at 5:39 PM. Given the afternoon traffic conditions on Palomar Airport Road, I don’t make it back home until a little after 6:00 PM. Compare to driving, it’s about an extra hour. I like the public transportation commute because I can control what I do with my time. Instead of driving, I can read or relax. This will come in handy when I start taking classes again in the fall by providing me with almost two hours worth of reading time.
I plan on riding public transportation every day now. Initially, it costs a little less than $10 per day to do it. But starting in June, when I have my pass, it will cost $132, which is a savings of about $68/month with the pass. Over the price of operating my car . . . gasoline alone has been costing over $400 per month for my 4Runner. So this is a huge impact. I love it.
I bought some Quadline skates. I’ll use them when getting off the trolley and heading into the base and reverse. They are sweet. I haven’t tried them yet as of this writing, but I plan to ride them today. They arrived yesterday. I laced them up and tried them on to make sure they fit. They do, so it looks like I will keep them.
