Brainshrub Bus Project

I've gotten several requests for information on the best places in Asheville are to live if one wishes to use public transit as the primary means to get around town.

To answer these queries, and as a public service, I created a Google Map with shaded zones which represent areas I consider ideal living locations for access to the bus routes.

Here is the direct link to the map.

While most of Asheville gets excellent coverage, the zones I chose to highlight feature an exceptional combination of the following:

1. On time buses. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it's better to have a bus arrive once an hour that you can set your clock to - than more frequent service where there is some question as to when it will arrive.
2. Day and night service. If you can't get home at night, the usefulness of public transit is severely limited.
3. Walkable bus stops: Ideally, you don't want to be more than two blocks away from a good route.
4. Frequency. Notwithstanding point #1, I did take frequency into account.
5. Proximity to shopping. All highlighted areas feature easy access to a diverse range of shops and services.
6. Decent neighborhoods. Just because I didn't shade an area does not mean it's a slum. All it signifies is that it's a decent neighborhood and it met the above criteria.

Click the image below to go to the Google Map:

IMPORTANT NOTE: The map is a constant, ongoing work-in-progress. As the transit system evolves I'll update it to reflect new routes, park-and-rides and other features.

If you have suggestions for new zones or how to improve this map - feel free to leave comments or email me.

This post will document the changes to the map over time.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Asheville - Public Transit - Asheville Transit - Bus - map - Google Map - Best places to live in Asheville if you want to use public transit.

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I have found the best possible place for you to park your car when you go to downtown Asheville on the weekend. It's 100% free, and best of all, no matter how many tourists descend on our city, you'll have access to it.

Lean forward toward the screen, 'cause I'm going to whisper the secret location. I don't want those other people to know where this parking spot is.

The location of the super-secret down parking spot is:

Your house.

When you go to downtown on the weekend, don't drive. Take the bus.

To prove this can be done painlessly, retired professor and public-transit supporter David Peacock invited me to come along with his family to take in a performance of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. Rather than fight crowds searching for a parking spot, we took the bus.

These pictures were taken on the evening of Saturday, February 17th.

Behold how Professor Peacock & Company school you on how it's done:

(above) David and I partake of wine and eat cheese to warm up. You can tell we are sophisticated because our pinkies are in the air when we toast.

I'm not much of a drinker, but in this case I felt it was my duty to get a healthy buzz going - for research purposes on behalf of the Brainshrub Bus Project, of course.

(above) Deanne, David's wife, was originally planning to come with us - but she got into an accident earlier in the week and had to stay home. The attractive woman on the right is her daughter, May, who drove up from Charlotte to take care of her mom.

All together now: "Awwwwww."

(above) Since Deanne was incapacitated, Marcia, a family-friend, came along. The young man on the right is David's son, Fletcher.

(above) Our party walked about three blocks to this sheltered bus-stop on the corner of Merrimon and Lakeshore.

It's a good idea to get to the bus stop a few minutes before the expected arrival time. I've observed this is the hardest aspect of public transit; not because of time constraints, but because many Americans, myself included, don't know what to do with themselves for five minutes without a television or computer.

Here's what our group did to pass the time: We discovered an analog method of communication called a "conversation."

Try it when you wait with other people at the bus stop. It's lots of fun.

The #2 came by to pick us up. Note the complete lack of pain or discomfort from anyone in our party.

It's almost as if taking the bus is just like driving a car... except it's safer, cheaper, and cleaner.

Sadly, this band-new bus that still smells like new-car, which goes straight to downtown, is empty on a Friday night. Please remember this when you see the last picture in this series.

We got to downtown Asheville in less than 12 minutes. While other people were driving around fighting for parking outside - we settled into The Early Girl Eatery for food and beer.

Okay, David and I did most of the drinking. And why shouldn't we? No one had to drive.

After the concert, David, Fletcher and Marcia took the #52 bus home. They were safe-and-snug back at the house before most cars were able to get out of the parking deck.

Thank you to David Peacock and family for volunteering for this demonstration. David even paid for my dinner!

Get well soon Deanne.

Tags: Bus - Asheville Symphony Orchestra - Parking - The smart way to get to downtown

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

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I've been engaged in the Brainshrub Bus project for about seven months; and longer I use the bus as my primary means of transportation, the more I realize that the Asheville Transit System (ATS), like so many other transit systems in the United States, is caught in a Catch-22 situation that prevents more investment:

People would take public transit, or at least they say they would, if it could meet their needs; but until more people use the bus, such a system can't be funded or built.

I have an idea to break this cycle, and make it politically feasible to completely revamp the ATS. I'm talking about an upgrade that would make western Europeans jealous. Imagine it: A bus/trolley infrastructure that runs 24/7; where no citizen would have to walk more than three blocks to get to a sheltered stop, and vehicles arrive every 15 minutes during daylight hours.

To make this happen, all I need is your butt.

Allow me to explain.

According to this May 24, 2006 report,* ATS gives about one million rides a year - 1,019,330 to be exact. Out of a serviceable population of 68,889 - 14.8 percent use the bus at least once a year. This breaks down to approximately 10,195 Ashevillians. Each person has one butt.

Think about it: 10,195 butts who ride the bus a minimum of once a year is enough to justify maintaining eighteen routes here in Asheville.

The way I figure it, if we could get another 10,000 butts to ride the bus once a year - it would be politically feasible to expand the public transportation utility to meet the needs of more citizens.

But where to find an extra 10,000 new asses?

Thankfully, there are many here in Asheville! I'm referring, of course, to Democrats. (What??? The symbol of the Democratic Party is the mighty ass. What did you think I was talking about?) According to the Buncombe County Election Commission, there are 27,767 registered Democrats in Asheville as of 2005.

Let's say that half of these Democrats are opposed to the Iraq and/or Afgan oil wars. Half of these Democrats are concerned about the effects of sprawl. Half of these Democrats cared about air quality.**

Half of 27,767 is 13,883.

If these people, who complain the loudest about the inherent problems an automobile-based transportation system creates, would just take the bus once in the next 12 months; they would collectively more than double the amount of people who ride, at least on paper. And "at least on paper" is how legislators decide how much money goes into funding.

More people on paper --> More funding --> More routes --> More people.

"But Paaaaaaaul," some Democrats may bleat. "I care about those issues, but taking the bus so haaaaaaaard. My busy schedule is too demanding to ride public transit. Now excuse me, I'm late for my Yoga class in downtown - and that means I have to get there extra early to find a parking spot."***

To this I reply: Take the bus for only one block.

During your next jog, or when when you have five minutes to blow - just hop on the bus, pay a buck, travel a block, then get off. The collective effect of this simple action would be tremendous, and greatly increase lobbying power for advocates of public transit.

So, if you want to see a better public transit system, vote with your butt.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: bus - Asheville Transit System - ATS - Catch 22 - butt - Public Transit

* Yes, I recognise the irony of using a study from the John Locke Society to support increasing public transit.

** I used registered Democrats in Asheville for my data set. I could have used Republicans, who also care deeply about the health of the city. However, by-and-large Democrats are a bit more gung-ho about community transportation.

*** Someone actually said this to me.

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Here are a few laurels and brickbats to Asheville Public Transit:

Laurel: Map improvements.

On the old schedules, there was a map on the front with colored lines representing the different routes, and a schedule grid on the back with departure times. The problem was that the map-side didn't have reference numbers to make it easy to cross-check between the two.

Reference numbers have finally been added, making it much simpler to navigate the transit system. Good job APT!

Brickbat: The plastic billboards are STILL not being used.

A friend of mind waited over an hour for a bus that never arrived this Monday because there is no transit service on Martin Luther King's birthday. I'm not criticizing APT for taking the day off, but why aren't they using the plastic announcement-boards that were installed last year for situations like this?

The working poor don't get most holidays off, and they deserve better warnings if they need to find another way to get to their jobs.

Posting announcements INSIDE the bus does nothing for those waiting OUTSITE for a ride on a holiday.

Laurel: Many buses now run as late 10:30 and monthly passes are now $15.*

I've reported before how great it was when bus service was expanded to 9:30pm. Now it's expanded again to as late as 10:30pm.

Also, the monthly passes are down to $15. 

All I have to say about this is: Nicccccce.

Just: niccccce.

Brickbat: No way to travel between routes without going to downtown.

This last point isn't so much of a criticism as it is an observation.

I live in West Asheville, near Haywood Road, south of Patton Avenue. I just took a job in West Asheville, on New Leicester Highway, north of Patton Avenue. By car, I can get to work in just under seven minutes.

But if I take the bus, it takes me 40 minutes.

Why?

Because Asheville's transit system works like a bicycle-wheel: There is no way to get to another spoke without first going through the center. If I want to go to New Leicester from Haywood, I have to ride to the main station in downtown Asheville - about 20 minutes away by bus.

There should be at least one vehicle that connects routes without having to make a trip to the center.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Bus - public transit - improvements - laurels - brickbats

* Certain routes to the colleges run even later.

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(Editor's note: There is an interesting behind-the-scenes story with today's post. To read about it visit this Open Letter to the Coral Square Mall.)

Sometimes, when it gets cold here in North Carolina, my friends ask me why I left South Florida.

It was the parking fights.

Seriously.

South Florida, especially Broward County where I grew up, is essentially one huge asphalt parking deck connected by bumper-to-bumper traffic. The suburban sprawl of greater Ft. Lauderdale is almost completely devoid of personality, community or soul.

After Thanksgivings Day the parking-lot nature of South Florida is exacerbated as everyone heads to the mall for an orgy of consumerism that would make a French monarch blush.

What made the situation unbearable to me was how downright nasty Floridians get while they are looking for a spot to park for the spending frenzy. I've seen fewer fist-fights in college bars than I've seen in the parking lot of a Florida mall during the Christmas shopping rush.

No matter how huge the parking area, everyone wants a spot right next to the entrance - and they'll do almost anything to get it.

For example, the scene below is from the parking lot of The Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs, Florida:

Yuck!

The day before I took this picture, I visited several other mall parking lots. They were all the same: Frustrated drivers fighting over spaces like hyenas over carrion. I randomly timed cars as they came onto the property, and discovered that it took about 9.5 minutes for a person to drive into a lot, find a space, and walk to the front door.

Incidentally, while doing this unscientific research I also witnessed one screaming argument between drivers and three separate incidents of mommies in SUVs giving each other "The Finger."

However, there is good news! As a public service, I have developed a solution to the holiday parking crisis; not only for Florida - but also for most of the country!

Behold:

The Coral Square Mall, like most malls, has a bus stop right in front of the main entrance.

So if you park your car at an empty lot up the street, then hop on a bus - you can get to the mall in far less time than it takes to drive. As an added bonus, you won't have to deal with the stress losing your car in a vast parking deck when you'd rather go home.

Using public transit is a better way to get into the mall so that you can spend all the money on your credit-card without risking your sanity.

Dealing with the shoppers inside the mall is still your problem.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Bus - public transit - mall - shopping - parking

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The Asheville Free Fare promotion, which ran for 90 days, ended on November 11. During this time, anyone was able to hop on a bus and take it anywhere within the Asheville public transit system without paying.

Overall, Asheville Free Fare was a success, since many people rode the bus for the first time.

How much of a success has yet to be seen. Will people who rode for free continue to use public transit? Has the experience for the new riders been positive enough so that word of mouth will encourage more frequent use?

While the numbers to answer these questions are being crunched by accountants and experts, I'd like to discuss a problem with the Free Fare promotion that began to manifest itself about six weeks into the promotion:

Asheville's homeless problem began to spill into the bus system - thus making the drivers de-facto baby-sitters.

At the start of the Free Fare promotion this wasn't much of an issue: If an employee noticed someone spending an inordinate amount of time on the bus, s/he would simply tell that person to get off. Within a few weeks, unfortunately, the homeless population began to learn how to get off and on the buses so that they could spend the entire day jumping from one vehicle to the next.

Understandably, the drivers began to deeply resent this, and it showed in an overall decrease in job performance. (You try getting yelled at by an irate homeless man once a day - and see if that doesn't effect your job satisfaction.)

If a free-fare is to be done again, it should be limited to 30 days. After the 30 days, the drivers should be given a bonus. This would go a long way to solving the morale problems from the influx of new riders.

The fare is now $1 per ride, which should solve the problem somewhat since to a homeless person or drug addict 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 equals a lot of money.

But even with the fare increase there is a deeper lesson here: The problems of homelessness cannot be separated from the desire to run an efficient, accessible public transit system that serves everyone. Otherwise they will hold back whatever you build.

To improve the safety, efficiency and cleanliness of the buses; the homeless need access to mental health care, shelter, drug rehabilitation and jobs that pay a living wage.

This makes the problem of improving public transit look overwhelming. It's like deciding to clean your kitchen, but then finding out you have to re-plumb the entire house first.

The goals of homeless activists, labor unions, heathcare professionals, environmentalists and public transit advocates overlap significantly.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: bus - public transit - Asheville - homeless

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Someone stole my bike two weeks ago.

It was properly chained to a bike rack on Battery Park Avenue in downtown Asheville; yet a few hours later it was gone.

I didn't realize how the decision to go car-free was dependent upon a bicycle until it was no longer available. For example, without a bike it takes an added 15 minutes to get home at night because the evening routes don't drop me in front of my house the way the daytime ones do.

The theft bothers me on many levels. This particular bike was purchased for me by a friend for $40 at a garage sale two years ago when I was flat-broke. It sucks that I lost such a treasured gift.

This bike wasn't a toy, and I don't want to win a triathlon: It was my primary means of transportation and a personal symbol of activism. Whenever I had to go up a steep hill, I would think to myself: "It sucks that I'm sweating, but this is one trip that doesn't depend on a soldier sweating in Iraq."

The silver lining is that now I understand why many people who don't bike find Public Transit inconvenient. Walking a few blocks takes far longer on foot, and in a society that measures life in nano-seconds, it's easy to get impatient.

I'll be buying another bike this week. It will be used, but I'm going to splurge on the lock this time. I'll probably spend more on the it than the bike.

To the person who stole my bike: I hope you enjoy it. A lot of love was in that thing.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Bus - Public transit - bike - theft

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The Brainshrub Bus Project is now over three months old, and at this point I'm surprised to report that my regular vehicle the more cumbersome method of transportation. I actually get annoyed when I have no other choice but to drive it.

I move through the city of Asheville quickly, efficiently and with minimal energy. I know the bus schedule well enough that I don't even bother looking at it as I run my errands.

I use the roads just as much as you do, only I haven't needed to re-fill my car's tank in six weeks.

Six. Freaking. Weeks.

In other words: I'm a public transit ninja.

Becoming a public transit ninja wasn't an overnight process. It took a solid month to understand how the bus-system worked, and another few weeks to internalize the habit so that it became second-nature.

A public transit ninja is similar to being a vegan in that most Americans consider a 100% animal-free diet as an alien concept. When people meet a healthy, active vegan, it challenges their assumptions about their own diet.

Similarly, when people find out that I'm dedicated to public transit in a small city, I'm quizzed as if they don't believe that what I'm doing is possible. The same questions are asked over-and-over again:

Question: Doesn't it take you longer to get around?

Answer: If you time it right, no. In fact, I've never been on-time more often than these past few months.

Question: I hear that Asheville busses are unrelaiable.

Answer: That is a myth. Asheville public transit does a great job 95% of the time. Before you condemn them for the 5% they might run a tad late - are YOU on schedule 95% of the time in your car?

Question: Don't you hate it when you miss the bus?

Answer: If you arrive at the bus-stop at least 5 minutes in advance you'll never miss the bus. The key is to stop being scared of waiting a few minutes.

Question: What about places where the bus doesn't go?

Answer: If you look at the public transit map, you'll notice that with a bicycle, you can get to pretty much anyplace you need to be within 5 minutes.

Question: What about the people you meet on the bus?

Answer: That is part of the fun! But if you don't want to meet anyone, a set of headphones and a book drowns them out.

Question: What's it like being a public transit ninja?

Answer: It's great! I have more money to spend, more time to read and it's much less of a hassle to get around town when you are letting someone else do the driving. As an added bonus, I've lost 7 pounds from the biking!

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Bus - public transit - Asheville - ninja

Credits: The images in this post is a photoshop job I did with the following images:

• The bus was by xxn1927.
• The ninja was by victorward.
• The blue bus stop was by gradient.

Last Edit: 10/16/2006 @ 12:30 EST.

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On June 21st, as a courtesy, I went before the Asheville Transit Commission and told them that I was going to blog about the bus system starting in July, and, if they had any questions, they could email or call me.

I also said that while Asheville Public Transit was very good, I'd post suggestions for them on Brainshrub.com.

Bruce Black, Director of Asheville Transit & Parking, leaned forward in his chair a bit and asked:

"Would you care to tell us some of the suggestions you have so far?"

This was something I hadn't expected. Usually when I talk to public officials about blogs, their eyes glaze over.

I took a deep breath and replied:

"Working folk are always asking each other the time at the Transit Center. The only clock in the station behind the ticket counter. Therefore, people have to go out of their way to see what time it is as they wait for the bus."

"We have a large computerized board planned for the budget eventually that will predict when each bus will be arriving," Bruce countered.

"No, no, no. I mean a simple clock where everyone can see it. Something cheap," I said.

A week later, Mr. Black put up two clocks.

Hooray! Kudos to him!

I'm bringing this up because this is the first tangible proof that my blogging has made a difference on anything. These clocks improve the lives of the working class about .001% because now they don't have to wander around the station looking for someone with a watch.

It's also proof that Bruce Black, and the Transit Commission, listens to citizens who take the bus.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Bus - public transit - Asheville

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I was curious to see how Asheville Public Transit (APT) would deal with a sudden influx of people, so it was fortunate that the Bele Chere festival happened at the tail-end of the Brainshrub Bus Project.*

Bele Chere is a huge music and art festival. To put into perspective as to exactly how big this event is: Consider that Asheville's normal population is a little under 70,000. Over three days of the festival, from Friday to Sunday, this number swells to over 375,000 people.

So yeah, this is a big event.

On Wednesday, as Asheville geared up for the coming festivities, I noticed there was a hot-dog vendor at the end of the transit building on Coxe Avenue. Danny and Dee, former concrete mixers, had gotten permission to set up there.

They were beaming with pride at their new hot-dog stand. It may as well have been a full-fledged 5-star restaurant, they were so happy. Dee, apparently still new at her trade, took a bit longer at serving food that what you'd expect.

I hope they are a permanent addition, although I do see potential problems. For example, this may encourage people to bring food and drinks with them on the bus.

On the other hand, I've observed that they answer questions to customers that would normally take up a driver's time, and, their presence adds a sense of community that wasn't there before.

On Thursday evening, the city began putting up barriers around downtown to re-direct traffic. This was a minor hassle for the bus drivers because the people who placed these blockades decided, for some reason, to block access to the transit center from Asheland Avenue. In one case, a driver had to just about run over the barrier to get back to the station.

Thankfully, these barriers were moved back to accomodate APT by Friday morning.

On Saturday evening the pressure was on as the festival reached its height. The #1 bus was 15 minutes late because our driver seemed to be particularly cautious. At first this irked me, but then her quick thinking prevented a major accident:

While the driver was making a left turn onto Michigan Avenue, a small white car ignored the bus's turn signal and passed to our left at at least 50 miles an hour. If she hadn't been paying attention, that car, and the passengers inside, would be splotches today.

Those inside the bus gasped, but we were never in any danger. In a contest between a 25-ton bus and a two-door car, it's not difficult to predict a winner.

Later that night while I waited for a ride to take me to a friends house, I had an opportunity to ask one of the drivers about what he thought of the festival.

"I don't care much for alcohol and I don't care much for people driving like idiots. Holidays like Bele Chere and St. Patrick's day make my job a lot harder."

He wasn't kidding. At 10:30pm I got on the #29 and for the first time I heard the driver grunt in disapproval at other cars on the road.

What I found surprising about my ride from Bele Chere was how many people were walking along Tunnel Road to get to their vehicles on the other side of the tunnel. Including myself, there where only three people on the #29, and we could have easily accommodated them.

Furthermore, the #29 also passes in front of a number of hotels, those people stumbling to their cars shoudn't have needed to drive anywhere in the first place.

APT could probably do a better job co-ordinating with hotels so they can tell their guests that they are located on the public-transit routes. This would make a perfect selling point.

Heck, hotels might even be willing to pay APT so that their guests can ride for free.

In any case, overall I was impressed with APT during the Bele Chere festival.

* The Brainshrub Bus Project was only supposed to last the month of July. But I'm going to extend it for awhile because there are many stories that still need to be told.

For the explanation behind the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.

Tags: Bus - public transit - Asheville - Bele Chere

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