Technology advances and public transportation

[alivenwell]

Please check the following link. I found it extremely interesting:
http://www.todaysengineer.org/2007/D...sportation.asp


And also the following link:

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/59...scription.html


Both deal with technology that make individual driving unnecessary or not really required. I found the 2nd link to be the most interesting.

[brain]

Actually none of the public transportation
is available to me, so therefore I have
to ride my bicycle. The Public Transportation
(buses), I would have to ride quite aways to
be able to get to the routes I want to go
and where it goes doesn't even take me
close as I would have to take several buses
to get there.

It's easier to just get on my bicycle and
ride 1 mile to my Primary's Office or 5
miles over to my Cardiologist / Neurologist's
Offices. (That's one way)

You can forget about the Taxi Service, it's
far too costly, and with 2008 SSDI & SSI
being a laughingstock in their raise and the
Food Stamps being cut way back to
"compensate" for the increase ... You
should read the LOUNGE section of the
Epilepsy Foundation e-Communities Forum
regarding that area. It was hard enough
just trying to survive in 2007; it's going to
be a rope around our necks in 2008 - and
not to mention the Drug List for those on
CMS - that's been cut-off (not approved).
It's going to be a very long rough and harsh
year for those with Epilepsy.

But also keep in mind ...

Not everyone with Epilepsy resides in Metro
area - tons of them resides in rural areas!
Many of them have to drive anywhere from
2-10 hours just to see their epileptologist / neurologist!
So any form of public transportation is totally
out of the question. And some do not just
have any public transportation available
at all or some have very limited transportation
availability.

So the option of N/A or None - to select
is missing.

[alivenwell]

Sorry, I never posted one of those surveys before. I have also found public transportation really poor. I do not live in a rural area because I do not think I could do without any independence via buses. When we were looking for houses, the salesman was insensitive enough to continually take us out to remote rural houses. I complained about him and went to another realtor. He must have been reprimanded because he continually harassed me at work for several months. I wished I would have had caller id.

I am convinced that there is no such thing as retirement for people with a disability like this. I know elderly people who are hitting that doughnut hole with Medicare Part D and they are barely making ends meet. The system has to improve.

It does appear like some people have patents out there and they are currently trying to automate driving, especially for those of us who do not drive. That would be a blessing if they ever got that technology working!

[brain]

I live in a Metro area - go figure!
And they're cutting back everything
and the public has been complaining
for years and yet the public continue
to complain, and they're paying taxes?

[keyna]

Public transpo? no access, if they did make the access better, how do I pay for it? Cabs are uber expensive, and I live so far away fro anything that If I had to walk I would be dead by the time I got there.
My biggest dream is to be able to drive myself again. Sorry, I'm just a little crabby.

[alivenwell]

My dream is to see how we handle the next gasoline crisis. Our traffic jams may be a thing of the past if nobody can afford to drive their cars. We might have to.....CARPOOL! What a new concept! I hope somebody gets a grip on the poor public transportation in this country and decides to reinstate more bus and train routes. It's downright dangerous to walk along some roads. I'd walk to work if it was half safe! Within the past year, they finally picked up the pace and put together a few extra bus routes. I hope that trend continues. My parents' generation had a lot of heavy public transportation. We'll have to give up our gasoline hogging SUVs and share the roads. It will only happen when we can't access gasoline at the pumps.
My area has a county-wide transportation. The riders have to call ahead for drivers of mini-buses to come to their door and pick them up. I think some people get discounts. For people who have a normal income, it costs the same as a taxi.
I do drive, but it's both a hassle and a convenience. I find walking to be a much better stress buster. They say we should do 10,000 steps per day.

[xenome]

We need to have cars like they have in the movie, Minority Report. That would be awesome.

[alivenwell]

News recently reflected cars able to potentially go along a road without a driver behind the wheel. The vehicles may be available within 10 years.

[BIGMAN131307]

I'd personally like to drive myself around. But two things prevent me from that desire: uncontrolled seizures & $$. I know that it isn't safe for me to drive, so I don't. The funny thing is that I never had any seizure activity when I drove. If I did I wouldn't have gotten my license in the first place.

As for public transportation, it's ok for now. But I would like better service, well designed buses, and new rules for the riders. The current system isn't fair to all riders. Here is a list of changes they need to make.

* Better designed buses (current buses don't have enough seats)

* More buses for main bus routes (weekends can be a real pain with buses running every hour)

* More routes (some prime locations can only be reached by taking several buses, then walking)

* Having the wheel chair bound riders use the special buses (this is to help to keep the buses running on time, and to prevent accidents)

* All baby carriages must be folded before they are brought onto the buses. (If they can't be folded then they can't come on the bus)

* No loud radios or loud talking (We don't need to hear your music or conversation)

* No talking on cellphones (You are not so important, we don't need to hear your music or conversation)

* No swearing

Some of those may seem harsh, but a really needed. I've been riding buses for over 20 years. The things I've seen would turn you green with disgust. People are so ignorant at times, it makes me want to leave society for the country.

Taxi service isn't to bad, you just need to know which Taxi company to call. As for trains & subways, I've never been on either yet.

If I could do it without the risk of being run over, I'd ride a bike most places. But not you typical mountain bike or 10-speed. I'd ride a tad-pole recumbent trike. That type of bike would be much better for me.

[alivenwell]

I totally forgot to list teleporting like the crewmen did on Star Trek. That show had some futuristic devices on it that we use today. I could set a destination, a GPS device I'm wearing would communicate with another device for an available location near my destination, and poof- I'd get sent there in an instant.

StarTrek also reflected one of the best role models for diversity, technical and medical advances. The scientific part was always fascinating, but it still reflected great people skills.

That would be a novel thing, get us around to wherever we wanted to go and cut down on fuel emissions. But, we'd need some form of energy to operate this and maybe we could teleport several people at once.

Live long and prosper! Beam me up Scottie! LOL

Caution, the following link has some flashing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80_HKdvNhgA

[alivenwell]

I didn't think of this one either:

Horseback riding!

Obviously, it's not safe around highways, but if somebody lives in a remote area, maybe they can invest in, maintain or own a horse. In my area, they have a therapeutic association for people with various disabilities involving various types of animals. They use horses for people who have limited mobility. I may volunteer for this one. I love animals, but I know little about horses. It sounds like a fun thing to do on the side.

I saw a recent association's film where they either strap people on the saddle or hold him/her on the horse as a precaution. They claim it helps people with ADD, ADHD, autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy...etc.

I may volunteer simply to be around the various dogs, bunnies, deer, horses, cats and other animals. I have NO knowledge about horses, but I'm willing to learn this stuff. I know how to feed them. That's kind of easy.

Any other ideas?!

[xenome]

After my city won... uh, I mean stole, the 2002 winter olympics, they built a light rail system here that runs up and down along the salt lake valley and to the university of utah, as well as a couple of hospitals. Its actually pretty decent, I ride it all the time. Everyone just kinda keeps to themself when they ride it. My only complaint is your allowed to bring bikes on it and they just get in the way. Another cool thing is they are expanding it that can take you to most of the surrounding cities and the airport. I still wish I could drive though.

[ashmstng]

Where I live there is no transportation except buses and it is better of to walk. Where the bus stops are located it too far. My parents are my transportation to work.

[hawke86]

Where I live people use public transportation. It's getting to expensive to drive. I use the busses mostly.