Technology

Having lived in Seattle, Washington for 2 years, one of the things I grew to love was their public transportation system. I took the bus mostly, but what really impressed me was their ferry system. Getting to and from the islands was fairly easy. Go to a terminal, pay your fare, and get on the boat. If you wanted to take your car with you, just drive it on and pay the extra fee. Once the ferry left you could leave the car and spend some time in their lounge. 30 minutes to an hour later, you walked or drove off the ferry and went to your destination. They even installed free Internet access while I was there.

I got to thinking that what the United States needs is a land-based “ferry” system. Just like the Seattle ferries, you go to the nearest loading point, walk or drive on, and then go up to the lounge and enjoy the trip. At your destination you walk or drive off, and head to where you are going.

What got me thinking about this recently is the need to take a few trips to Chicago, Illinois. I have the option to fly, but I hate having to get to the airport 2 hours early, walk forever to the gate, and then sit there waiting to board. The planes are small, loud, and full of people enjoying the situation as much as I am. At least I am able to get some work done, but the trip is anything but relaxing.

I live in Cincinnati, OH and my destination on the north side of Chicago is 338 miles one way. It is about a 5.5 hour drive but the only thing productive I can do is listen to an audio book on my iPod using a FM transmitter of course. The trip is not as stressful, but I have to watch the road all the time and driving that far makes me tired. If there were a land-based ferry though, I could go to the nearest loading station, drive on, and then do something productive during the trip to Chicago. Once there, drive off and head to my destination. I think demand would be huge since the benefits are so great.

• I can do anything I wanted for the next 5 hours. Sleep, read, watch a movie on my laptop, make phone calls, pretty much anything I could do on an airplane except with a lot more leg room and a lot less noise.
• My vehicle won’t rack up a bunch of extra miles. Less wear and tear so it should last a lot longer. I won’t have to rent a car once I get there. Just drive to wherever I need to go.
• This means fewer vehicles on Interstate highways.
• Fewer accidents from tired drivers trying to push themselves too hard.
• More productivity since there is no need to watch the road. Even if I just sleep the whole trip, I will be refreshed and ready to go instead of suffering from road fatigue.

In the news recently there has been a lot of talk about building a high-speed train connecting Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Ohio. I wondered if I would ever use such a train to get to Columbus, OH where my mom lives. Honestly, I doubt I ever would. A high speed train sounds nice, but how do I get to my mother’s house once I get to Columbus. She lives 17 miles from downtown, but is still within the city limits. I wouldn’t have my car with me so I would have to rent one. Now my trip has cost me more money, and it has become less convenient. One might suggest that she pick me up at the terminal. If it was just myself that would work, but there are 6 people in my family and there is no way we would all fit. I also have to have car seats as I still have little children. It just becomes a huge hassle, and not worth the time savings a high-speed train would provide.

Instead of spending tons of money on high-speed trains that just take people from place to place really fast, create a system that takes them and their vehicle from place to place in a reasonable amount of time. The cost to build such a system would probably be much more reasonable, and people would use it provided that trips were offered frequently or better yet, on demand. It would provide the opportunity of spending the time on better things. And it would cut down on fuel consumption, green house gas emission, and many other enviornmental benefits. I would be very happy to use such a system to get to the places I need to go. Although I wouldn’t get there as fast as a high-speed train, I’m saving in many other ways and I don’t have the problem of how do I get from the terminal to where I need to go.

I don’t think America will give up the freedom it has by driving cars. They are a necessity as much as they are a convenience. People’s lives are not predictable enough for them to loose the flexibility a car gives them. For trips between cities though, it makes sense to have an option besides flying. The drive from Cincinnati to Columbus takes 2 hours. This is shorter than a flight would be if you measure the time it takes to get from door to door. The drive is long enough though to be boring and justifies the expense of using a land-based ferry. Would I take a land-ferry to Columbus? Most definitely. I have better things to do with my time than to stare ahead at the road and making sure I stay between the lines. Would I use the system to go to Seattle? Probably not unless it could be done much quicker than the 55 hours projected by Amtrak. Spending 5 to 6 hours to get to Chicago without having to drive the entire way, and having use of my own car once I got there, sounds like a great deal and could be an enjoyable trip.