Three Come Along At Once

I'm sure that most people from the UK who read this blog will have heard the phrase that the post title alludes to - y'know, the one about public transport, specifically buses. I have often uttered this phrase over here in the US - usually in the sense of 'It's like buses...etc. etc.' yet this has rarely referred to public transport as over here in the US and certainly down here in Charleson, public transport is virtually non-existent. Okay, perhaps that's not fair - there is a modicum of public transportation here in Charleston - but it's not a lot - consisting of a few buses that, frankly, everyone bitches about. There are also a couple of trains that pass through from New York going on to Florida and vice versa but, believe me, if you thought delays on the UK rail system were bad, then you haven't seen anything.

The interesting thing is that talking to people about it, they always seem quite enthusiastic about the idea. Recently, there has been talk of a rail connection between Charleston and Summerville - about a 20-30 min drive away, probably more in traffic - and people here at work seem quite keen. What's more the track is already there, so it wouldn't take much to maintain - it would cut pollution, cut cars in the city centre, save people money on gas and pricing, and generally be a good thing for the area (help development), yet there is a lot of hemming and hawing by the authorities as to whether it's necessary - and also as to the cost (crazy! They would make a fortune off it). Y'see, whilst the public seem to be interested in public transport, it's the authorities who don't. Coming from an administration that doesn't believe in global warming, is that any surprise??