Phoenix metro has been my home going on eight years now. During those seven years, I lived 14 months in Tempe and the rest in Phoenix. I’ve lived in two different locations during light rail construction, and another two after it was finished. My experience with public transportation is light, as my only experience in Arizona has been taking a bus from downtown Phoenix ASU to Tempe, a bus ride to my car after a tire had gone flat. I did live in Chicago and NYC for a month and used public transportation extensively there.
But Arizona is different. The people are different, our cities are different and the way we use the light rail is different. Why I would love to give up my car completely, the logistics involved in making it to a client’s place prove daunting, and let’s not forget about the heat.
Now forget all of that, because the light rail is cool, it’s here and it’s far better than sitting in traffic. Since my time in downtown Phoenix is now finite, I’m going to share two months of stories while I get my money’s worth out of the light rail. While I don’t commute, I’ll pretend to. When I want to go tanning, I’ll hop on the train. When I need groceries, I’ll do that same. Let’s see the cost and time difference between taking your care everywhere versus using it only for long trips.
Now if only the Light Rail went all the way to Gangplank…
(Tyler Hurst is a downtown resident who’s desperately trying to love the Light Rail after living next to its construction for many years.)
Lightrail to BRT to Gangplank in January!?
I’m interested to see how this goes for you. I take the light rail from Tempe to Downtown Phoenix for class three times a week and I am very tempted to just drive. It seems like it would save me a lot of time in the mornings. However, I force myself to take the rail because (I think) it is much cheaper than paying for gas and a parking pass. Good luck!