Today, I'd like to share one of the hidden benefits from using public transit and carpool. I am sure many of you have already heard about benefits such as reduced carbon emission, cost saving, physical health, etc. These are no-brainers. These were also the benefits I anticipated when I began the adventure. But I didn't think about one thing until I faced it – socializing with more people.
I have to go to so many meetings and events due to my job as well as my volunteer work for USGBC. If the meeting is too far, then I had to rent a car or fly or take Amtrak. So not having a car for such meetings wasn't giving me any trouble. Always the challenge was meetings in the Triangle area. Because of the limited bus schedule and available lines, it was not easy to get to meetings in Chapel Hill, Durham and other areas. So I always had to plan ahead and figure out who could give me a ride. In order to do it, I had to find who's going to the meeting and contact them if they could carpool with me. Yes, it was a bit of hassle. However, I was really lucky that most people I asked for a ride didn't turn me down. The first and most obvious reason is because, of course, all of them are so nice and generous. Another reason, I feel so blessed, is because most meetings/events were related to USGBC and the folks I asked for a ride were also volunteers for the organization who are very supportive in carbon emission reduction or any good environmental cause. They all were trying to help me achieve my goal. I was very conscious of whom I ask for a ride. Because they were so generous, some people even didn't mind detouring off of their routes way farther than their normal route. I tried to avoid it because it didn't make sense to detour long distance to give me a ride which would negate my purpose.
Anyway, I would like to thank you all who have given me a ride. I know some of you might not have this luck if you get rid of your car. TTA and local transit authorities should develop the comprehensive transit system that can provide people transportation without relying on rides. Not all of them will have the same luck I had.
OK, going back to the benefit, because of the carpool, I could have conversations with many folks that otherwise I could not have had. I counted how many have given me a ride. Total 34 different people. I felt a lot closer to them after riding together for however long the ride was. I am not going to reveal who they are to protect their privacy. But if you have helped me achieve this year-long journey and are reading this, I thank you so much! I couldn't do it without your help. THANK YOU!
It was May 29, 2009, the first day that I used Triangle Transit's bus. For some reason I was nervous in the morning on the way to the bus stop. I don't know why. I felt just not comfortable. Probably I had looked at Triangle Transit's website more than five times the night before. At 7:58 AM, the bus came. The bus door opened. I walked up. There was a card swiper/cash machine in front of me. In a second, my brain went everywhere – where do I insert cash? Of course everything was off the plan. A one-dollar bill didn't go in. The bus driver just looked at me. I looked up at her and she finally helped me. I am sure it was just less than 30 seconds but it felt like 30 minutes.
Hew~ everything was all right then. As the bus approached where I was supposed to get off, I began to look for the signal. There was no sign. But I remembered a city bus in Chicago (not sure actually if it was Chicago or Atlanta) which had a touch bar to signal a stop request to the driver. 'All right! Here it is!' I found a black strip. I pushed softly. Huh? It didn't work. OK, I pushed real hard. No sound. I looked around to ask people but no one looked at me. The bus had passed my bus stop while I was trying to find the signal. This was very embarrassing. I walked up to the driver and asked. It turned out that I was pressing window strip. Hahaha....She pointed out another black strip ABOVE the window. (Triangle Transit should put a sign in old buses. New buses with a green pull wire have a sign but not the old ones.) Because it passed the bus stop, I had to stay in the bus for another 15-20 minutes to come back from downtown. Well, at least I learned and could get to the office. What a start!
[Posted by Bae-Won Koh - August 27, 2010]
Oh, I didn't say how far it is from home to the office. It is only 7.5 miles. With a car it takes about 15 minutes without traffic. With the bus that I take, it takes 20 minutes stop-to-stop and 45 minutes door-to-door since I have to be at the stop 5 minutes before bus schedule and walk 15 minutes from the bus stop to the office. It was Saturday June 6th. I practiced biking from home to the office and back to home – a bit safer on the road since it was Saturday. Well, surprisingly my thighs were ok but another place of my body was not – if you are a bicyclist you know what I mean. Man, it was burning. I couldn't sit on a couch.
I was not listening when my colleague told me, "Bae-Won, are you going to buy a pair of bike pants?" "No, why do I need them? I have good shorts." "I bet you will need them." After sleeping the night, my thighs were like not moving well. But I knew that I had to keep it going to build the strength. So I decided to go out to a store, of course riding a bike, to buy something to protect my "burning" body part. Honestly I don't like the cyclist's look – with spandex pants and shirts. Don't sermon to me whatever the functions of those are. I just don't like the look. So I decided to buy a cushion seat filled with gel. Hah! It was heaven compared to what I had. Anyway my first round trip to the office was successful. Hey, I did it!
[Posted by Bae-Won Koh - August 11, 2010]
It was May 26, 2009 when the Celica died. One of my colleagues at the office gave me an old bike. Yes, it was a 25-year-old Peugeot 103 in a very good shape after I dusted it off. I immediately took it to a bike shop, Cycle Logic that is just a block from the office for a tune-up service. It took 4-5 days until I got the bike back from the shop. In the meantime, I explored the bus route and carpooling. I am very lucky that four of my co-workers live within 1-2 miles from my place. I carpooled with two of them until I got the bike.
It had been 24 years since I biked last time. Well, I didn't forget how to bike. The "never-forget-how-to-bike" myth was true. However I had not jogged or run on a treadmill in over a year. You know what I mean. Yes, I didn't have the necessary muscles well developed. So I tried to ride a bike to Cameron Village during the lunch hour on June 3rd, which was only less than 1 mile, to test my physical capability to ride back home which is about 8 miles. Guess what? I COULD BARELY WALK! One of the co-workers who lives in the same neighborhood carries a bike rack in his car so he transported the bike to my home. What a first day! It started as a long way to go.
[Posted by Bae-Won Koh - July 23, 2010]
Sara did it so why not me?
Well, I read Sara Bongiorni's book review – I confess I did not read the whole book, A Year Without "Made-In China", in 2007. She tried to live an "ordinary consumer" life without buying products made in China for one year and her conclusion was that it was impossible to function as an "ordinary consumer" without Chinese products. It got me an interest on environmental aspects. I asked to myself, "Hmmm....what about Without Car; Without Processed Food; Without Petroleum-Based Goods?" And then as an architect I started thinking, "A Building Without Products Made and Harvested Outside 500 Miles; A Building Without Potable Water, Public Sewer & Electricity; A Building Without Parking..." It kept going and going. (Actually my office has designed a building that has no tie to any water, sewer and power. They will be all treated or provided on site.) Thoughts were thoughts back then. Nothing put me into serious consideration or trial.
