A Transportation Experience

Posted by John Crandall Mar 12, 2007

Being the bargain hunter that I am, both in the stock market and in the real world, I recently gambled on purchasing a used vehicle on e-bay. I didn't really need it. I just wanted it, so I left the security of my own car, and deposited myself into the care of taxis, buses, and trains to go and pick it up. Naturally, it broke down almost immediately, and I was stranded about 4 hours (by car, from home). It took me a full day and a lot of frustration to make my way home after I returned the vehicle for a refund.

Being "lucky" enough to have two days off in the middle of the week, I decided not to burden any friends with driving me up. I left home in a taxi, and it cost $20 to get to the closest bus station. It cost $55 and eight hours overnight riding with frequent stops and multiple layovers at places with heartburn inducing eateries to get within 36 miles of my destination. Then $70 in a taxi in an inopportune snowstorm to get to the vehicle. I then travelled 41 miles on icy roads before dropping a transmission, and calling the seller to ask for a refund. Having worked all of that out. I managed to get to a motel where I could sleep and lick my wounded pride, and regret the situation I had gotten myself in, but I considered myself lucky because there was a Greyhound station listed in the phone book of the town where I ended up.

The next morning I began my trek. I called the Greyhound Station every 10 minutes for about an hour, and kept getting a busy signal. I finally gave up on that and located an 800 number for Greyhound which promptly told me that the local station had been closed. Inquiries informed me that the closest transportation option was an Amtrak station 40 miles away. $70 upfront, and a cab agreed to get me there. The train was supposed to leave at 11:20 am. I arrived at 9:40 am dreading an extended wait. I walked around the downtown of the little town, and found a good place to eat. I returned to wait for the train. When it failed to arrive as scheduled I called Amtrak for the first time that day, and was told there were "freight delays", and that the train would arrive at 1:44 pm. I walked and shopped some more, only to arrive back at the station to discover more people waiting who had already called and been told 2:00pm. I called twice more getting later times each time. The train finally arrived there at 3:10 pm. The fare was very reasonable, but half my day was lost.

I changed trains once and arrived at the end of the train line for that day still an hour by car from home. I proceeded to the Greyhound Station where I was told my delay had caused me to miss two buses and the next for that particular day was not until 3:45 am. I huffed out of the station in a rather bad mood, and asked a cab to take me home. $80 later I had arrived home poorer, but perhaps a little wiser. The train travel would actually have been pleasant had the schedule been accurate. The bus travel was tremendously unpleasant in a thousand ways. I appreciate my car more now, but I might ride the train occassionally on the weekends just for the different perspective it offers on everything, but only on days when time is not of the essence. I now know that there is a local Amtrak station, which I was totally unaware of before, but that trains only run there on certain days. It was an interesting learning experience for a guy who has almost always taken the car regardless of distance.