Post by nickv on Mar 8, 2008 21:58:42 GMT -8
Mini Transit Excursion - RTA Commuterlink Weekends
Jump aboard RTA Route 206
for a 41 mile luxury bargain ride!
.........................
Imagine this: You live in Temecula. You have a family member whose birthday is coming up. She likes (to be disclosed after 3/11) and stuff from (to be disclosed after 3/11). Those two stores are not anywhere in town, and ordering this stuff on the Web will blow the surprise.
Well, I was in that boat today, and I figured that I had to get to the nearest shopping mall that had those two stores or somebody wouldn't be so thankful. That would be the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside. Oops, Mom told me to stay in town because gas prices are so expensive. So that meant I had to drive 41 miles each way on the freeway system and put the high gas price purchase on my credit card, right...
...Wrong! For $3.75 for an unlimited ride day pass, I ditched the car and took RTA Commuterlink 206. Not too many people know about this Saturday express bus line, but now might be the best time ever to try this line out if you're in the area on Saturdays since gas prices are so expensive.
Passengers wait to board Route 206 at the Promenade Mall
Park & Ride to begin the 41 mile freeway journey to the the
Galleria at Tyler. Next stop-Murrieta Wal-Mart P&R, followed
by Lake Elsinore Outlet Center, followed by Dos Lagos Plaza,
Corona Metrolink, and the Galleria at Tyler. All aboard!
This route, being a chief backbone bus route of SW Riverside County deserves to perform at its best. The line serves the park & ride commuters very well; so well that this line has seen lots of crowding. But this line does suffers from some fundamental flaws that I and other members of TTC are addressing now to the transit people. One flaw is that the bus stop above has no local connections on Saturdays. The nearest local bus stop is about a 3/8 mile walk from this stop. That's why I didn't see a whole lot of transit dependent people board. The first and last trips (that connect to Metrolink IEOC Line) also run outside of the service span of the local routes in Temecula, making these trips very unproductive. Well, I'm working with the TTC on this issue.
Anyway, off we go. Before we get to the freeway, there's one area of town that I've got to share. It's the Intersection of Ynez and Winchester Rd. Some of the most-used local bus stops are near this intersection and Commuterlink doesn't stop there. Again, I've addressed this issue and the bus driver even informed me that RTA has received several calls about this too.
This is Ynez Rd and Winchester Rd at 10:30 AM on a Saturday
morning. This section of roadway carries more than 76,000 cars
per day. Some of the most-used local bus stops are in this area.
There's no passengers in the pic because the local bus
departed before I got here.
We made it to the freeway and the freeway stops were short and brief. No passengers were picked up at any of the intermediate stops on the way up, but the freeway had a lot of cars. As you can see in the image below, there is a clear indication that the I-15 corridor needs an express transit line on Saturdays.
This is what you get for $3.75: Unlimited ride day pass in a clean
express bus coach, soft reclining seats, trays and outlet plugs
at select seats, and limited stops. Drop an extra $.25 in the
farebox and you can take a newspaper too. Did I say you can
recline the seat too and take a nap or enjoy the passing
scenery? BTW, some of the nicest bus drivers too are on
Commuterlink...Now, that's luxury travel!
Anyway, the bus made it on time to the Galleria. Relaxed and walking past the (actually it wasn't too crowded today) busy parking lot, I ran my errands (Somebody was wondering why I was so happy--I took the bus!), got a bite, and jumped aboard the next southbound 206 for the ride back home. One other passenger boarded at Lake Elsinore. The bus arrived right on schedule and we got home on time!
The 'miles until empty' meter on my car read 97 miles when
I started the car this morning from my house. Had I driven the
whole way, chances are I would have to stop at a gas station
when I got back home, but there was about 89 miles worth of
driving left when I got back to my house since 'the bus stops
here'.
The bag of gifts is sitting right next to me as I finish typing this little story. If you've got a transit story to share, please share it with some pictures. I think this will make riding transit more attractive to our board readers. Let's get Southern California Moving!
Jump aboard RTA Route 206
for a 41 mile luxury bargain ride!
.........................
Imagine this: You live in Temecula. You have a family member whose birthday is coming up. She likes (to be disclosed after 3/11) and stuff from (to be disclosed after 3/11). Those two stores are not anywhere in town, and ordering this stuff on the Web will blow the surprise.
Well, I was in that boat today, and I figured that I had to get to the nearest shopping mall that had those two stores or somebody wouldn't be so thankful. That would be the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside. Oops, Mom told me to stay in town because gas prices are so expensive. So that meant I had to drive 41 miles each way on the freeway system and put the high gas price purchase on my credit card, right...
...Wrong! For $3.75 for an unlimited ride day pass, I ditched the car and took RTA Commuterlink 206. Not too many people know about this Saturday express bus line, but now might be the best time ever to try this line out if you're in the area on Saturdays since gas prices are so expensive.
Passengers wait to board Route 206 at the Promenade Mall
Park & Ride to begin the 41 mile freeway journey to the the
Galleria at Tyler. Next stop-Murrieta Wal-Mart P&R, followed
by Lake Elsinore Outlet Center, followed by Dos Lagos Plaza,
Corona Metrolink, and the Galleria at Tyler. All aboard!
This route, being a chief backbone bus route of SW Riverside County deserves to perform at its best. The line serves the park & ride commuters very well; so well that this line has seen lots of crowding. But this line does suffers from some fundamental flaws that I and other members of TTC are addressing now to the transit people. One flaw is that the bus stop above has no local connections on Saturdays. The nearest local bus stop is about a 3/8 mile walk from this stop. That's why I didn't see a whole lot of transit dependent people board. The first and last trips (that connect to Metrolink IEOC Line) also run outside of the service span of the local routes in Temecula, making these trips very unproductive. Well, I'm working with the TTC on this issue.
Anyway, off we go. Before we get to the freeway, there's one area of town that I've got to share. It's the Intersection of Ynez and Winchester Rd. Some of the most-used local bus stops are near this intersection and Commuterlink doesn't stop there. Again, I've addressed this issue and the bus driver even informed me that RTA has received several calls about this too.
This is Ynez Rd and Winchester Rd at 10:30 AM on a Saturday
morning. This section of roadway carries more than 76,000 cars
per day. Some of the most-used local bus stops are in this area.
There's no passengers in the pic because the local bus
departed before I got here.
We made it to the freeway and the freeway stops were short and brief. No passengers were picked up at any of the intermediate stops on the way up, but the freeway had a lot of cars. As you can see in the image below, there is a clear indication that the I-15 corridor needs an express transit line on Saturdays.
This is what you get for $3.75: Unlimited ride day pass in a clean
express bus coach, soft reclining seats, trays and outlet plugs
at select seats, and limited stops. Drop an extra $.25 in the
farebox and you can take a newspaper too. Did I say you can
recline the seat too and take a nap or enjoy the passing
scenery? BTW, some of the nicest bus drivers too are on
Commuterlink...Now, that's luxury travel!
Anyway, the bus made it on time to the Galleria. Relaxed and walking past the (actually it wasn't too crowded today) busy parking lot, I ran my errands (Somebody was wondering why I was so happy--I took the bus!), got a bite, and jumped aboard the next southbound 206 for the ride back home. One other passenger boarded at Lake Elsinore. The bus arrived right on schedule and we got home on time!
The 'miles until empty' meter on my car read 97 miles when
I started the car this morning from my house. Had I driven the
whole way, chances are I would have to stop at a gas station
when I got back home, but there was about 89 miles worth of
driving left when I got back to my house since 'the bus stops
here'.
The bag of gifts is sitting right next to me as I finish typing this little story. If you've got a transit story to share, please share it with some pictures. I think this will make riding transit more attractive to our board readers. Let's get Southern California Moving!