Comments for Cedar Rapids Bus Party

Comment on Amtrak with a Baby by OAuth and Google Transit « One Armed Coding

OAuth and Google Transit « One Armed Coding — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:48:39 +0000

[...] CodeMash trip went well even though Tabitha still had some of her [...]

Comment on Drawing a Line by Samantha

Samantha — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:40:30 +0000

Thanks for the tips Josh. The two main criteria that we have are 1) more interior space, and 2) fuel efficiency. We are mostly looking at used ones and plan on using it for longer trips too, like to visit the grandparents. The car needs to have a bigger interior than our Civic so that taller people sitting in the front can move their seats back farther. Right now Keith can’t set his seat at the most comfortable setting for him with the car seat behind and he’s not extremely tall. How long does a short trip need to be to keep a car happy?

Comment on Drawing a Line by JOsh

JOsh — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:52:04 +0000

2 things:
1 – I wouldn’t go looking to buy a new, new car, unless you plan to replace Keith’s car with the ‘new’ car. If you’re planning on having it sit around that much, a good 10 year old used car will be much cheaper on initial price, insurance, and if you do your due dilligence in finding it, might be cheaper on upkeep too.

2 – Driving from your house to the daycare and leaving it is really bad for your car. Short trips don’t let it fully warm up and burn off any condensation in the oil, as well as other things like letting all of the moisture in the muffler evaporate, causing accelerated wear on stuff. You’re really better off driving it in to work, especially in winter.

–JOsh

Comment on Tips and Tricks: Busing for Your Car by Samantha

Samantha — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:58:24 +0000

Do you make appointments or just show up? We’ve always done appointments and have been lucky enough for the car to not need to stay overnight, but I could see that being a problem. This may be best for small work like oil changes and check ups. We did have one case where they needed to replace something that they didn’t have on site, but we were able to take the car home that night and bring it back in for service once the part arrived.

Comment on Tips and Tricks: Busing for Your Car by Samantha

Samantha — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:49:56 +0000

You’re right about the signage on the buses. It would be beneficial to have the destination and this would help with the route 5 confusion at Lindale. Riders would be able to see if the bus was going to north Marion, south Marion, Hiawatha, or downtown. I don’t think Cedar Rapids thinks it has world class transit though. At least those involved with CR Transit know most of their short comings. The city just doesn’t consider public transit a high enough priority to improve significantly.

Comment on Tips and Tricks: Busing for Your Car by Ryan McMahan

Ryan McMahan — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:05:34 +0000

This is a great tip. I’ve done this many times. Luckily there are bus stops across the street from where I have work done. The only tricky part is the return pickup. Too often they’ll call to say that my vehicle is ready for pickup…20 minutes before they are closing. That makes it tough with every hour bus service.

Comment on Tips and Tricks: Busing for Your Car by pdx77

pdx77 — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:22:20 +0000

To a new rider, the bus system is probably the most customer unfriendly system I have ever seen. Rude employees, drivers that don’t know how to drive and love to slam on their breaks. Old and uncomfortable busses. One thing would help is for the buses to show where it is going on the destination sign.. Having it say Route 12 means nothing to me if I was new…. It should say something like Westdale Mall via Wilson Ave or something like that.

I never understood why Cedar Rapids thinks it has a world class transit system.

Comment on Shelter Me by Samantha

Samantha — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:47:26 +0000

Thanks for the first hand report Brady! It is disappointing to hear that there are some very negative aspects to these shelters. No seating inside and an existing bench outside of the shelter?? I suppose the external bench is due to CR Transit maintaining the bench and COA maintaining the shelter, but that is completely user un-friendly.

The complete lack of seating inside is terrible in my opinion. I assume that most shelters are placed at high use stops, and since our most frequent service at a stop would be every 20-30 minutes, a bench may be necessary for some people.

I agree that better implementation on the first try is necessary. We’re seeing progress, yes, but that isn’t the end game. The quality of progress needs to be improved so that the changes actually serve the users’ needs, not just allow us to check off an item on a list.

Comment on Shelter Me by Brady Dorman

Brady Dorman — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 08:46:34 +0000

I think some of the shelters are new, not replacements. There is a new one on First Avenue NE by the Cellar Door and another one by Coe that had formerly just been a concrete pad and bench.

Honestly I’m a bit disappointed in these new shelters. Aesthetically I think they look really awkward and the (plastic?) roof material looks kind of cheap. Functionally the actual shelter space appears very small and do not include seating (an existing bench at the Cellar Door remains outside of the shelter). Also there is a large gap between the top of the side glass and the edge of the roof so I’m a bit skeptical how well these would actually shelter from the elements, especially if there is even a slight wind.

Also I wish CR Transit would install transit information at the new and their own existing bus shelters – at the very least a time table for the routes that serve that particular stop.

Nonetheless, a good step for progress, I just wish things could be done a little better the first time.

Comment on Free Bus Rides for Bicyclists by Tips and Tricks: Summer Discount Opportunities « Cedar Rapids Bus Party

Tips and Tricks: Summer Discount Opportunities « Cedar Rapids Bus Party — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:45:45 +0000

[...] This event reminds me that summer is already here, and it also reminds me to buy a Freedom Festival button for $3 that will get me into some great events, and also get me free bus rides until the 4th of July! You can’t beat that deal anywhere, except maybe the week that bicyclists get free bus rides… [...]