Entry tags:

portland, public transportation

On my first day back at work today, I tried taking the Green Line to PSU, ostensibly because I had a lot of heavy stuff to bring to my office, but really because omg MAX directly to PSU.

Timeline:
8:25am: leave my apartment by bike
8:31am: arrive on the platform at Hollywood TC
8:39am: train leaves Hollywood TC
9:04am: train arrives at 5th and Mill
9:08am: I arrive at FAB loading dock
total: 43 minutes
time it would have taken me to bike directly to PSU: 25 minutes

Also, in the worst case (if I'd just barely missed the train), it would have taken me 50 minutes -- twice as long as biking.

On days when I can't bike, it would still be just as fast to take the 19 bus to PSU. MAX traverses downtown so slowly ("transit mall" notwithstanding) as to negate the benefits of higher speed on the east side, combined with it taking 15 minutes longer for me to walk to MAX than to 47th and Glisan.

When are we going to have public transportation that's faster than a bicycle?