This is a first world problem and I think it's important because we are trying to encourage public transportation, but when things like this happen the whole effort takes a back seat to us using our own private cars because we can depend on our cars.
I had posted the NY Times story recently called, "Owning a car will soon be as quaint as owning a horse," but not at the rate our public transportation is going.
The last few times I tried to take Mass Transit, it hasn't worked out. It think the problem is that there aren't enough trolleys, Ubers or Freebees on the streets during peak times and it defeats the whole purpose.
During the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and Boat Show it was near impossible to get a Freebee and that's when you need it because it's near impossible to find parking during that time.
They changed the trolley route, making wait times double, so I have not taken it since. I like Freebee but it's not reliable and Uber is iffy.
On Saturday night I was headed to the Opera at Regatta Park. I didn't think I would find parking, so I decided to take Freebee. I summoned the app and it told me the driver would be by to pick me up in five minutes, then it went down to 4, 3, 2 and 1 minute and .... nothing. So I canceled the ride and started over. I did this about four times when finally a driver responded, but he told me there would be a 45 minute wait! 45 minutes! No. That wasn't going to work.
I then called Uber who arrived fast, and that was great.
I didn't stay for the full opera event because I had to be somewhere else, so I summoned Freebee after a bit and I got the same thing as before - no response. I could understand if everyone was leaving at once, but this was an odd time and there should not have been such a long wait. So I walked over to City Hall and summoned Uber because I felt it would be easy for the driver to find me there.
By mistake I summoned a pool car, that's when you share a ride, but I didn't want a pool. Pricing was basically the same for a private ride so I would have chosen that. I didn't know how to cancel the ride, so I went with it. It was a long wait and with the pool, you have to walk to locations to be picked up, they don't come right to you. I was at City Hall and the app told me to go to the southwest corner of Pan American Drive and S. Bayshore Drive, which isn't a thing. There is no such corner, it is the entrance to Grove at Grand Bay condo and the bank next door.
So I walked there, actually I ran because the freaking app told me that the driver would be there in a minute, so I ran from City Hall to the Grove at Grand Bay condo. Only to wait, and wait, and wait in the dark. After about 20 minutes, the app cut off and and said something like, "Start your trip again." So I had to start from scratch.
And they charged me a $6.00 cancellation fee on top of that. This happened to me before, the drivers just apparently get flustered and dump the call, leaving people stranded in the middle of the night.
I ended up calling another Uber, a private car this time, and it arrived fast and got me home.
I don't think Miami will ever get mass transit right.
I had posted the NY Times story recently called, "Owning a car will soon be as quaint as owning a horse," but not at the rate our public transportation is going.
The last few times I tried to take Mass Transit, it hasn't worked out. It think the problem is that there aren't enough trolleys, Ubers or Freebees on the streets during peak times and it defeats the whole purpose.
During the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and Boat Show it was near impossible to get a Freebee and that's when you need it because it's near impossible to find parking during that time.
They changed the trolley route, making wait times double, so I have not taken it since. I like Freebee but it's not reliable and Uber is iffy.
On Saturday night I was headed to the Opera at Regatta Park. I didn't think I would find parking, so I decided to take Freebee. I summoned the app and it told me the driver would be by to pick me up in five minutes, then it went down to 4, 3, 2 and 1 minute and .... nothing. So I canceled the ride and started over. I did this about four times when finally a driver responded, but he told me there would be a 45 minute wait! 45 minutes! No. That wasn't going to work.
I then called Uber who arrived fast, and that was great.
I didn't stay for the full opera event because I had to be somewhere else, so I summoned Freebee after a bit and I got the same thing as before - no response. I could understand if everyone was leaving at once, but this was an odd time and there should not have been such a long wait. So I walked over to City Hall and summoned Uber because I felt it would be easy for the driver to find me there.
By mistake I summoned a pool car, that's when you share a ride, but I didn't want a pool. Pricing was basically the same for a private ride so I would have chosen that. I didn't know how to cancel the ride, so I went with it. It was a long wait and with the pool, you have to walk to locations to be picked up, they don't come right to you. I was at City Hall and the app told me to go to the southwest corner of Pan American Drive and S. Bayshore Drive, which isn't a thing. There is no such corner, it is the entrance to Grove at Grand Bay condo and the bank next door.
So I walked there, actually I ran because the freaking app told me that the driver would be there in a minute, so I ran from City Hall to the Grove at Grand Bay condo. Only to wait, and wait, and wait in the dark. After about 20 minutes, the app cut off and and said something like, "Start your trip again." So I had to start from scratch.
And they charged me a $6.00 cancellation fee on top of that. This happened to me before, the drivers just apparently get flustered and dump the call, leaving people stranded in the middle of the night.
I ended up calling another Uber, a private car this time, and it arrived fast and got me home.
I don't think Miami will ever get mass transit right.
