A.R.T.

As many of you know, I made the decision to move to Asheville knowing full well that I would have to deal with the public transit here as I had sold my little Hyundai last May.

After going to school in New York, I was unfazed by the notion of public transportation.  In fact, I was excited to continue using it.  I thought I would be saving money and supporting this particular part of my new city's infrastructure (which, to a certain extent, I was).

The bus system in Asheville goes by the acronym A.R.T.

Asheville Redefines Transit.

I find this rather funny as the public transportation here is some of the most inconvenient that I have ever experienced.

I know I need to stop being a snob and recognize the fact that smaller, more residential cities are bound to have less developed transit systems due to population and the fact that people that can afford cars have them.  But let me do a little comparison for you.

Time it takes me to get to work from home by car: 10-15 minutes.

The same trip by bus: An hour and a half.

As my roommate so eloquently put it:

"I don't get how Asheville is redefining transit...by making it extremely inconvenient?"

However, I have been blessed by generous friends and co-workers that have basically served as my personal chauffeurs in the months that I've been here and, after Christmas, I will have a car and hopefully I will be able to truck them around to pay them back.

I'll still kick myself sometimes: I should be supporting public transit, people-watching at the bus station can be fun, I would be saving myself money, etc.

However, as much as I like the ideas of all of these things, I also like that extra hour of sleep.