[Mt-blind] City Busses

[Bruce & Joy]

Hey Rik, I'm so glad Bozeman is getting a bus system.  Everybody's gotta start somewhere, and with Bozeman growing the way it is, it has to get nothing but better.  

I happen to like the Billings bus system pretty well, from what I can remember of it when I lived there.  As in every city, there are places that have more frequent routes than others, and places that are easier to get to than others, but you can't really say much about a bus system until you learn it and make it fit into your lifestyle as much as possible.  For a town the size of Great Falls, we have one of the best bus systems, in my opinion.  But there again, it depends on where you live, where you want to go, and how often the bus goes where you want to go.  There are places I don't get to because the bus doesn't go there, so I find other places it does go.  Like most downtown areas in cities these days, Great Falls has a lot of specialty stores and some restaurants, and it is fun to go to if you know what's down there and are looking for a specialty item, but malls and strip malls have changed the way shopping areas are located, and many city transportation planners seem to cater more to drivers than pedestrians.  Many cities are trying to revitalize their downtown areas so people will come there to stay in hotels and to shop.  I remember growing up in a town with parks, neighborhood grocery stores, branch banks, churches, etc.  Although some of that has changed, you can still find some neighborhoods where you can walk most places and walk two or three blocks to catch a bus to get out of your neighborhood and go to a mall or a downtown shopping area.  

I remember really liking the Missoula bus system, too, the few times I have ridden it.     

        I think you do have to have some time to kill to use a bus to run errands.  It is so much quicker in a car. 

It is difficult to live somewhere where you feel like you are stranded and can't get somewhere when you want to, though.  It seems I always want to go somewhere on Sundays when the busses don't run, and when I have the option of going when the busses are running, the thing I want to do doesn't seem as urgent.  I guess you have to schedule your life around your transportation options and not fight it.  Great Falls has two times in the middle of the day when there are breaks in the coverage, when it changes from half-hour to hour service.  If you don't want to get stuck downtown with no way home, you don't take the bus down there during those times, and if you do have things that might take awhile, you work that into your schedule.  I for one think it's great to have a city bus system at all, so I use it whenever possible so we don't lose it.  The more you use it, the more comfortable and familiar you become with it, and the more you can use it to your advantage.  

Joy

-------------- next part --------------
Hey Rik, I'm so glad Bozeman is getting a bus system.  Everybody's gotta start somewhere, and with Bozeman growing the way it is, it has to get nothing but better. 
 
I happen to like the Billings bus system pretty well, from what I can remember of it when I lived there.  As in every city, there are places that have more frequent routes than others, and places that are easier to get to than others, but you can't really say much about a bus system until you learn it and make it fit into your lifestyle as much as possible.  For a town the size of Great Falls, we have one of the best bus systems, in my opinion.  But there again, it depends on where you live, where you want to go, and how often the bus goes where you want to go.  There are places I don't get to because the bus doesn't go there, so I find other places it does go.  Like most downtown areas in cities these days, Great Falls has a lot of specialty stores and some restaurants, and it is fun to go to if you know what's down there and are looking for a specialty item, but malls and strip malls have changed the way shopping areas are located, and many city transportation planners seem to cater more to drivers than pedestrians.  Many cities are trying to revitalize their downtown areas so people will come there to stay in hotels and to shop.  I remember growing up in a town with parks, neighborhood grocery stores, branch banks, churches, etc.  Although some of that has changed, you can still find some neighborhoods where you can walk most places and walk two or three blocks to catch a bus to get out of your neighborhood and go to a mall or a downtown shopping area.  
 
I remember really liking the Missoula bus system, too, the few times I have ridden it.     
 
        I think you do have to have some time to kill to use a bus to run errands.  It is so much quicker in a car.
 
It is difficult to live somewhere where you feel like you are stranded and can't get somewhere when you want to, though.  It seems I always want to go somewhere on Sundays when the busses don't run, and when I have the option of going when the busses are running, the thing I want to do doesn't seem as urgent.  I guess you have to schedule your life around your transportation options and not fight it.  Great Falls has two times in the middle of the day when there are breaks in the coverage, when it changes from half-hour to hour service.  If you don't want to get stuck downtown with no way home, you don't take the bus down there during those times, and if you do have things that might take awhile, you work that into your schedule.  I for one think it's great to have a city bus system at all, so I use it whenever possible so we don't lose it.  The more you use it, the more comfortable and familiar you become with it, and the more you can use it to your advantage.  
 
Joy