Long Day's Journey Into Plight: Stephen Dare Goes JTA
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/580318551_69MBk-L.jpg)
Welcome to a summary of one of Metrojacksonville's most popular articles of all time:
Stephen Dare decided to give up car travel and get around depending wholly on the mass transit options provided by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
The result was often a hilarious and ultimately grisly tale and the highlights are compiled here:
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-jul-long-days-journey-into-plight-stephen-dare-goes-jta- (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-jul-long-days-journey-into-plight-stephen-dare-goes-jta-)
The gregarious but adverse adventures of Stephendare goes JTA!
Ok Stephen, the above picture is from Disney, but where exactly?
Ok, seems like things are getting better. Far from perfect, but better. 5 days in 25 to go....
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:15:16 AM
Ok, seems like things are getting better. Far from perfect, but better. 5 days in 25 to go....
Uh huh. Yeah 2009 was so long ago...
Are you on the JTA payroll?
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on September 30, 2010, 10:12:14 PM
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:15:16 AM
Ok, seems like things are getting better. Far from perfect, but better. 5 days in 25 to go....
Uh huh. Yeah 2009 was so long ago...
Are you on the JTA payroll?
I searched for the article on your advice - I told you, I do my homework. My advice is you do the same. That's what makes this site different than most, people with real opinions that appear to be based on experience and education. Just being on the bandwagon of "JTA sucks" may give you a slanted opinion, but it's not based on any fact.
No, JTA hits me up for about 12 hours and 40 bucks a month.
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 10:24:49 PM
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on September 30, 2010, 10:12:14 PM
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:15:16 AM
Ok, seems like things are getting better. Far from perfect, but better. 5 days in 25 to go....
Uh huh. Yeah 2009 was so long ago...
Are you on the JTA payroll?
I searched for the article on your advice - I told you, I do my homework. My advice is you do the same. That's what makes this site different than most, people with real opinions that appear to be based on experience and education. Just being on the bandwagon of "JTA sucks" may give you a slanted opinion, but it's not based on any fact.
No, JTA hits me up for about 12 hours and 40 bucks a month.
You didn't have to look too hard, since Stephen had already bumped it to the top of the transportation forum earlier when he saw my comments. I'm not sure taking the 2 seconds to click a link for an article that someone else already researched, wrote, and then bumped for you qualifies as "homework" and much less would it somehow bestow on you the authority to lecture others on their lack of "homework." I was the one who originally told you about this thread, and now you're lecturing me on doing my homework?
And I'm not on any bandwagon. I simply state the facts as I see them. If you disagree, then fine, that's your right. No need to be disingenuous by acting like clicking a thread someone else bumped for you is akin to writing a doctoral thesis.
Whatever, guy.
I read the first article after doing an MJ search and made a comment, bringing it to the front - before any of the others posted - then the rest started popping up. Chicken & Egg, maybe he posted the others while I was reading the first, I don't care.
You're not stating facts as you see them but only regurgitating others' opinions.
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 07:56:38 AM
Whatever, guy.
I read the first article after doing an MJ search and made a comment, bringing it to the front - before any of the others posted - then the rest started popping up. Chicken & Egg, maybe he posted the others while I was reading the first, I don't care.
You're not stating facts as you see them but only regurgitating others' opinions.
Evidently you have some mis-guided impression of how forums work.
This is the truly wonderful thing about everything being here in black & white. It eliminates that nasty little problem with people lying about what they said in order to avoid appearing wrong. So with that understanding, here is Stephen's bump of this thread following my earlier comments, note the time at 11:04 yesterday;
Quote from: stephendare on September 30, 2010, 11:04:44 AM
Quote from: heights unknown on July 06, 2009, 06:19:00 PM
The gregarious but adverse adventures of Stephendare goes JTA!
And here is your comment when reading the thread 10 or 15 minutes later, after Stephen had already bumped it for you following my comments. As before, please note the time stamp;
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:15:16 AM
Ok, seems like things are getting better. Far from perfect, but better. 5 days in 25 to go....
So again, your "homework" consisted of nothing more than reading an article that I originally suggested to you, and that someone else researched, wrote, and bumped for you. So you may want to rethink your lectures on telling people to do their homework" when the reality is that we already did do YOUR homework for you.
And regarding JTA, I'm happy your bus service works out for you. For most people, it doesn't work as well as it allegedly does for you. You should respect others' rights to form their own opinion. Not everyone who disagrees with you is automatically bad, wrong, or misinformed.
From the article that I read FIRST:
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:00:33 AM
True to form, I read the article and was mildly amused. Very visual and entertaining. What has become of the series, though? One bus trip to the extents of the system and you gave up?
Then the others popped up on the board:
Quote from: stephendare on September 30, 2010, 11:09:19 AM
[quote author
=stephendare link=topic=2629.msg28363#msg28363 date=1214848542]
Its weird posting my own name in the third person.
Starting tomorrow, (actually I got started Thursday last week) I will be going 30 days without a car, relying totally on JTA transit in order to move around the city. I will also be exploring the routes and seeing where they go and what they do.
Already the start has been rocky, and its clear that no one has ever had a discussion with many of the busdrivers as to what constitutes a customer friendly approach.
Anyways, get ready for a month of reports, whining, bitching complaining and insight on how to get around JTA.
First. Must make sense of this cobweb of wildly named bus routes.
They have an almost 0 correlation to any part of town that they go through.
Will begin with explanation tomorrow.
and:
30 Days of Plight. Stephen Dare goes JTA every day. « 1 2 ... 13 14 » stephendare 208 11019 Yesterday at 11:09:19 AM
by stephendare (no additional posts)
and finally:
Long Day's Journey Into Plight. Stephen Dare Wrassles the Transit System. « 1 2 ... 5 6 » stephendare 80 6604 Yesterday at 11:11:53 AM
by stephendare
Yes he reposted, but not until after the comment that I made on his article from 07/16/09, which incidentally, brought it to the top of the front page and probably brought back a few unpleasant memories.
Stephen, do you eat venison?
Once again, guy, check ALL of the facts before you lecture someone. And yes I did read the article based on your suggestion. And the only reason I've carried it out this far is I know when I'm stating a
fact and when I'm submitting and
opinion. I guess that line gets a little blurry after going through law school ;D
Ok so hopefully here's a valid question, to move us away from the above nonsense...
The last time Stephen tried this was well over a year ago.
I think I read in another thread (can't remember which, off-hand. The double "Stephendare goes JTA" threads are throwing me off) that since JTA realigned the bus routes, Stephen was thinking about taking another stab at it?
What's the word, Stephendare? Are we in for a 2010 rendition of 30 Days of Plight? Or is that not in the cards?
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 09:34:43 AM
From the article that I read FIRST:
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:00:33 AM
True to form, I read the article and was mildly amused. Very visual and entertaining. What has become of the series, though? One bus trip to the extents of the system and you gave up?
Then the others popped up on the board:
Quote from: stephendare on September 30, 2010, 11:09:19 AM
[quote author
=stephendare link=topic=2629.msg28363#msg28363 date=1214848542]
Its weird posting my own name in the third person.
Starting tomorrow, (actually I got started Thursday last week) I will be going 30 days without a car, relying totally on JTA transit in order to move around the city. I will also be exploring the routes and seeing where they go and what they do.
Already the start has been rocky, and its clear that no one has ever had a discussion with many of the busdrivers as to what constitutes a customer friendly approach.
Anyways, get ready for a month of reports, whining, bitching complaining and insight on how to get around JTA.
First. Must make sense of this cobweb of wildly named bus routes.
They have an almost 0 correlation to any part of town that they go through.
Will begin with explanation tomorrow.
and:
30 Days of Plight. Stephen Dare goes JTA every day. « 1 2 ... 13 14 » stephendare 208 11019 Yesterday at 11:09:19 AM
by stephendare (no additional posts)
and finally:
Long Day's Journey Into Plight. Stephen Dare Wrassles the Transit System. « 1 2 ... 5 6 » stephendare 80 6604 Yesterday at 11:11:53 AM
by stephendare
Yes he reposted, but not until after the comment that I made on his article from 07/16/09, which incidentally, brought it to the top of the front page and probably brought back a few unpleasant memories.
Stephen, do you eat venison?
Once again, guy, check ALL of the facts before you lecture someone. And yes I did read the article based on your suggestion. And the only reason I've carried it out this far is I know when I'm stating a fact and when I'm submitting and opinion. I guess that line gets a little blurry after going through law school ;D
Seriously?
Ok, then, simple question. Did you, or did you not, only read these articles after I mentioned them?
And before you continue with your "truth-challenged" argument, here is my original post. Note the time-stamp;
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on September 30, 2010, 10:29:24 AM
She reads the forum the same as you or I, so I'm sure she'll see this thread eventually. I'm not normally in the business of planning out ideal bus routes for people and then getting back to anyone about it. That's not really my profession. If you question most peoples' experience with the bus, read Stephen's article about taking 10 hours to go to the equestrian center, or check out any of the comments in other threads on this topic. It is what it is.
You clearly only read this stuff a half-hour later, because I told you about it.
You seriously make no sense. I was originally who told you to read these articles and JTA reviews, which you weren't aware of, and then after you read them you start lobbing them back at me and telling me to do my homework, based on something you didn't even know existed until I told you about it.
Seriously, give it a rest. People aren't dumb, they can read time stamps. As I said before, allow people the right to form their own opinion. People aren't automatically bad, wrong, or misinformed because they disagree with you. And in this case, you weren't even aware of the history on the issue until I told you about it.
Doc K, we're too busy discussing time-stamps and who said what when to worry about whether Stephen tries this again or not!! ;D
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 09:50:37 AM
Doc K, we're too busy discussing time-stamps and who said what when to worry about whether Stephen tries this again or not!! ;D
Well, that's what usually happens when someone is "truth challenged" about timelines or what they previously wrote.
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 09:34:43 AM
From the article that I read FIRST:
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:00:33 AM
True to form, I read the article and was mildly amused. Very visual and entertaining. What has become of the series, though? One bus trip to the extents of the system and you gave up?
And yes I did read the article based on your suggestion.
C'mon Chris - I gave you credit, jeez. So what is it, can you not read or tell time? JK ;D
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 09:57:54 AM
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 09:34:43 AM
From the article that I read FIRST:
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on September 30, 2010, 11:00:33 AM
True to form, I read the article and was mildly amused. Very visual and entertaining. What has become of the series, though? One bus trip to the extents of the system and you gave up?
And yes I did read the article based on your suggestion.
C'mon Chris - I gave you credit, jeez. So what is it, can you not read or tell time? JK ;D
Alright, well I'm more cheerful now that I've had my coffee.
To answer your earlier question, if Stephen is interested in doing an anniversay followup to see what has changed, I'd be happy to ride along for moral support and to fend off any misandristic deer. You should come along too, if my past JTA experiences are any indication, we'd have lots to talk about (or at the very least joke about)!
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on October 01, 2010, 10:05:53 AM
Alright, well I'm more cheerful now that I've had my coffee.
I was 6 shots of espresso in (expresso to the girl at the counter) by 7. Now that you have some clarity.....
I'm already working on a project for Lake that I'll keep everyone posted on, albeit not nearly as eloquent, picturesque or
verbose as Stephen.
And Westsider, just to explain myself a little bit with my stance on JTA (and, I think, many people's), the problem between JTA and the community is that there has traditionally been this attitude that they're somehow doing their customers a favor, and people should damned well shudup and be happy with what they're given.
But the truth is that JTA is taxpayer-supported, and their customers then have to pay fares on top of their tax revenue in order to use the service. It's not a favor, and they're not being 'given' anything. JTA is supposed to be a reliable method of transportation, not run with the attitude that it's a social wellfare program and we don't have to worry about the user experience because we have been so rude and incompetent that the only people who use it are those who have no alternatives.
If I had a car that didn't work right, took longer than reasonable to get me anywhere, was rude to me, that was so unnecessarily complicated that I couldn't figure out how to operate it, and that always forced me to drive downtown and feed it more money before going to my actual destination, then I'd get rid of the damned thing and replace it.
For whatever reason, JTA continues to enforce asinine policies, nickel & dime people, employ some of the rudest bus drivers known to mankind, operates an expensive (both to users, and to themselves) hub system instead of creating point-to-point routes which would take care of most of their ridership's needs, habitually runs unreasonably behind schedule, and doesn't provide basic necessities to a useable public transport system, like bus shelters.
The frustration over these issues, which by the way also prevent JTA from breaking even (since many people who would otherwise use them don't), is compounded by JTA insinuating itself into every push for alternate transportation options, like rail, and then clinging to the bus-based operating model to the detriment of rail iniaitives. This is doubly frustrating, because they can't even run their bus system adequately, and yet they are running around constructing BRT and usurping funding and demand for alternative options. It is just a frustrating situation.
QuoteIve done a few random updates, but I don't think id mind doing another 30 days. I had spoken with Fieldam about doing one, perhaps a few of us could do one.
I will be doing one as soon as my work schedule goes back to a more normal routine b/c from the preliminary test runs and planning I did... its going to represent a pretty significant change to my daily routine. Work should be more normal shortly, so stay tuned!
Quote from: stephendare on October 01, 2010, 10:22:35 AM
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on October 01, 2010, 10:15:56 AM
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on October 01, 2010, 10:05:53 AM
Alright, well I'm more cheerful now that I've had my coffee.
I was 6 shots of espresso in (expresso to the girl at the counter) by 7. Now that you have some clarity.....
I'm already working on a project for Lake that I'll keep everyone posted on, albeit not nearly as eloquent, picturesque or verbose as Stephen.
Try and stick to eloquent and picturesque. ;)
There will never be a cunning linguist quite like you, sir. :)
How about... Bard of the Blog... :)