Transit problems

So I'm back in DC now--conducting the job search from here, as 1) it's as good a place as any, 2) my girlfriend is here, and 3) I found a cheap month-to-month room to rent.

Unlike the Twin Cities, it's far too hot here. BUT, also unlike the Cities, DC has a beautiful, comfortable subway system. I can't imagine the one-two punch of St. Paul bus stop wait times and the DC summer.

Former Sec. Labor Robert Reich sums up nicely the problems facing public transit: $4/gallon turns out to be the tipping point for many drivers, evidenced by the sudden swell in public transit demand. But

the nation doesn't have nearly enough public transportation to handle the new demand. Even more absurdly, right now when it's needed the most, public transportation across the land is being cut back. This is because transit costs are soaring by the same skyrocketing fuel prices that are forcing people out of their cars, at the same time transit revenues are shrinking because most transit systems depend largely on sales taxes, now dwindling as consumer purchases decline in this recession.

Infuriating, no? Read the whole thing.