I've taken the train from Detroit to Toronto twice.
I’ve ridden many forms of public transportation in my day, from wheels to rails to boats. It’s gotten me from place to place on vacation, on educational trips, and even to and from work. I’ve seen how valuable it is, especially when visiting a large city without, or when you don’t want to have, a car.
You can imagine that I’m keeping a close eye on the announcements of Detroit and southeast Michigan being awarded federal funding for public transportation. There’s no question that this region is lacking in that aspect, no only getting from place to place in the region, but also to and from other larger cities. Sure, we have Amtrak, and Greyhound, and Megabus, for that matter. But compared to other countries and other large cities, our public transportation system is a joke.
I was thinking about all the methods of transportation I’ve ridden in my day. Of course, I rode the big yellow school bus, but in high school, I lived far enough away that I had to take the city bus in. I did an internship in Chicago one summer in college, and got pretty darn adept at riding the trains and buses there. The next summer, I took a trip to the UK, and took all kinds of buses, trains and even a ferry while I was there.
When I did a semester in Spain, I took their train system, the Renfe, everywhere; even small towns have a Renfe station. I visited a couple of big cities with train systems — Barcelona and Madrid, and even Athens — and got around just fine. On our honeymoon across Canada, we prided ourselves on taking the tunnel bus to Windsor, the Windsor bus to the ViaRail station, the ViaRail to Toronto, and the TTC around the city. Then we took ViaRail further into Canada and more city buses to our bed and breakfasts.
I’m a living, breathing testament that you don’t need a car to enjoy a city. If I’ve done it as a tourist in many, many different cities, we can all do it as visitors and residents of southeast Michigan.
What do you think about the funding for rail? Will it help the region?
This post is brought to you by the fine folks at Paragon Aparments, offering apartments across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and the Paragon Patio, where residents connect. We’d love to talk with you on Facebook and Twitter!
This post is brought to you by the fine folks at Paragon Apartments, offering apartments across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and the Paragon Patio, where residents connect. We’d love to talk with you on Facebook and Twitter!
