“Having teenagers drive early is a whole other subject on which I should do a future blog.”

I’m looking forward to that discussion!
~PM

I am sure you are right. However, having seen the traffic approaching the schools in our community and others close to the time school starts, the heavy traffic comes after the buses have passed by, not before. As in my household, many children cannot get up soon enough to catch the bus. In high school, it is not cool to use buses. By junior or senior year, many students want to drive to school, for no other reason than that they have after-school activities or want to have the freedom to drive. Having teenagers drive early is a whole other subject on which I should do a future blog.

- mike

I could agree with you to a point however. Some parents need to leave early for work before the child’s schedule bus pickup, what would your solution be?

Thanks,

~PM

Paul,

You have made two points: first, that there needs to be enough parking for people to access trains; and, second, you have wondered why a company like ours so committed to public transportation would not provide a shuttle service from Stratford, Connecticut, to Shelton Connecticut.

Wherever there are rail stations, there needs to be sufficient and safe passenger access that people who want to travel by train can do so. On the New Haven train line, there is insufficient parking for many stations, but there are specific challenges in increasing parking.

The major challenge is that many stations are in congested downtown areas in which rail station parking ties up spaces that could be used by shoppers or others who need to transact business during the day. When you think about it, a parking space at a train station is often occupied for 10-12 hours and cannot be used for any other purpose. The second major challenge is that people coming to a crowded urban rail station by car create traffic congestion during morning and evening commutes, which results in environmental hazards.

In the long run, we need to have alternative ways for people to get to and from rail stations. Amsterdam has ample room for commuters to use bicycles and scooters. We also should look at golf carts in warmer climates or during warmer seasons in more temperate climates. We should also encourage car-pooling to and from train stations, as well as providing parking away from the station and shuttles to and from it.

As for your second point, I should note that we have been a leader in providing transportation subsidies and services to our employees. We have shuttle services to our Stamford facilities, and we have had a TransitCheck program for employees anywhere that public transportation, car-pooling and van-pooling are viable options. Several hundred employees participate.

With respect to the idea of a shuttle between Stratford and Shelton, shuttles do not work well when the distance between a rail station and the destination is 15-20 minutes driving time away (as it is between Stratford and Shelton), especially when that trip can be lengthened by traffic delays. Shuttles work best over short distances when they can do a continuous route back and forth from multiple trains. Unfortunately, like many companies, we built the Shelton campus in the late 1980’s when mass transit was not a priority. The better solution is for you to find a car-pooling or van-pooling alternative from where you live to Shelton.

Thank you for your comments.

- mike

While it’s not a perfect parallel to the transportation problem (that would be health care, probably), take a look at how recycling programs have evolved. When they were first instituted, people complained about having to wash and sort recyclables, haul more stuff to the street, etc. It was so much more work! As a result, compliance was slow and difficult. I don’t know how the program works in Fairfield County, but in Seattle they eventually started using one big bin for recycling and another for yard waste. It was a simple switch, a no-brainer that offered more convenience for the same cost. Of course the background processing became more complex, but the main selling point was that the end user saw only the benefit — wow, no more sorting! Compliance went up and so have the ambitions for the program.

A multi-step plan, implemented over time so a benefit is realized at each stage, can work very well. If the concept could be applied to other systems, we might actually get somewhere.

I used to take the train back and forth from Old Saybrook to Bridgeport (work) until a lay-off occurred; fortunately, I found a position in our Shelton facility.

Back in December 2006, PB did have plans on getting a shuttle bus that would provide transportation (two-way) from the Stratford train station to our Shelton facility. Unfortunately, that idea fell through the cracks due to budget constraints???

As suggested, I tried the Nu-rides and the Metropool programs, no commuters within the network commute from the East Haddam area (home). I even added a 10 mile search extension to my drive, no change.

The State promotes commuting due to the congestion on our hi-ways and stresses on taking the rail (one example) but, there is one problem. There needs to be more commuter parking (no charge) near the train stations. From my experience riding the train (3 ½ years), the rail that extends from Old Saybrook to Branford, the parking is free (‘Shoreline East’). However, the train stations that run from New Haven to Stamford (Metro North), the parking lots have either a long waiting list for parking which not free, or there are commuter lots that charge a costly fee in the surrounding areas.

On a positive note, many companies in the Stamford area provide shuttle buses for their employees that use the rail like PB head quarters and Barry place do. Why hasn’t PB offer a shuttle bus yet for their Shelton employees (i.e. Stratford train station to Waterview Dr., Shelton and back)?

Months of searching for alternate commuting options, I finally came to a dead end! I also contacted: Tom Cahill, Leo Petry (rideworks) and Marsha Aarons (metropool.com), no solutions were available other than ones mentioned above.

I also contacted Edward Houghton and Melissa Gardner from PB and proposed an idea. At our Shelton facility, we have security personnel driving around in a Mini-van that PB provides. If plausible, an employee (i.e. grounds keeper) could drive the van a couple times in the morning and in the afternoon Back/forth to the Stratford train station. The answer is in its pending stages.

I also looked at ways to telecommute but to be honest; it seems to be a touchy subject here at PB.

In closing, if the State is so concerned on getting cars off the road, why don’t they provide more shuttle busses to and from companies? Any assistance you can provide on the road “most traveled,” I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for your time and concerns,

~Paul Michael