Josh Southwick
Personal Blog # 2
Every teenager dreams of getting their driver’s license, cruising around town in a new car and the freedom that comes with it. I was fortunate enough to have this privilege, and it made traveling during my high school days a breeze. That’s why I was worried I would lose that freedom when I came down to the U, as I wouldn’t be taking the car down with me. I was given a surprise awakening when I discovered the ease of TRAX and Utah’s public transportation system.
Fearing I had lost my freedom to travel wherever, whenever, was something that made me hesitant to give up the car. I knew Salt Lake had extensive public transportation as a part of its infrastructure, but I had never ridden it before and I was afraid I would be dashing to my classes with little time to spare. All of my fears were put to rest after my first week here at the University. The campus shuttles are definitely a life-saver, enabling students to get anywhere around the U in nothing more than a few minutes. UTA’s TRAX system has stops at all of the key areas around the city, which is really convenient for a Friday night movie or a weekend trip to a restaurant. And since the shuttles come every 10 minutes and TRAX every 15, you are never waiting too long for a way to get to class (or a movie) on time.
Of course, one of the benefits to a car is having the ability to travel anywhere, anytime. But the public transportation in and around campus is convenient enough to make the advantages of a car seem marginal at best. Plus, you don’t need to worry about paying for expensive parking passes and, for that matter, finding a place to park on a crowded night.
The best thing about the public transportation? No longer having to pay for gas, those high prices were a bitch.
Plus, you can't beat the people watching on trax. There is literally every variety of person, situation, attitude imaginable on public transportation. Once you get over the sort of nerve racking, what do I do if they start screaming sort of feeling and appreciate it for what it is--life in all its brilliant colors and varieties--you can actually enjoy it. I've found from riding trax regularly that there are regulars--some people (I swear) ride trax all day, meet their friends on trax (maybe a great date spot?), go to work or home or play on trax. It is all things to all people. Stick with it, I promise you it will become a habit that is healthy for our environment.
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