Jason Williams

jwilliams@enquirer.com

The experts say Americans are using the nation's trains, buses and commuter rail systems at the highest levels in 57 years – numbers driven by riders taking public transit by choice, not necessity.

They just aren't riding here.

Only 20 percent of Downtown Cincinnati workers commute on Metro buses. And while bus ridership across the U.S. remained mostly steady last year, down just 0.1 percent, it fell about 3 percent here.

Riding by bus, of course, is the only public transportation our region has. And realistically, outside of the Downtown streetcar under construction, regional passenger rail transportation will be a nonstarter for years.

"The demand for rail transit has never been higher, but the funds have never been scarcer," said Mark Policinski, executive director of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments regional transportation planning agency.

"We have to face reality: Washington is bankrupt," Policinski said. "It's pie-in-the-sky to think we're going to have a full-blown regional rail system. We have to embrace what we have, then we have to figure out how much money we can raise to make improvements."

Metro has big plans to build a regional, bus rapid transit system to provide express, limited-stop service. Its goal is to attract more riders, who are key to obtaining money from Washington.

But can drivers here be convinced to give up their cars and get on the bus?

Enquirer transportation reporter Jason Williams set out to find answers by spending time last week commuting on Metro. Here's his review:

Me: I'm a typical gas-guzzler solo guy when driving

I consider myself a typical middle-class Ohioan. I've driven only gas-guzzling SUVs (seriously, I've never owned a car).

And I've never even thought about taking public transportation, except while traveling for work in cities where transit systems are widely available and just easier than driving – New York, San Francisco, Boston.

My view, however, started to change last week when I hopped on Metro two days to travel the 10.7 miles between my house in Columbia Township/Mariemont and The Enquirer offices Downtown on Elm Street.

Cost: Taking the bus saves $18.38 a day

Transportation experts say there has to be a clear-cut incentive to lure a "rider-of-choice."

How's the realistic possibility of saving $4,500 a year? That's what I could save if I parked my 2003 Chevy Tahoe and rode the bus every work day for a year, minus three weeks for vacation and holidays.

It would cost $5.30 round-trip ($2.65 one-way) daily, since I live in a more expensive zone outside the city limits. It costs me $23.68 on average to drive each day (including parking, gas, vehicle maintenance and insurance).

Most of my work meetings are in Downtown, but I'm not a typical 9-to-5er. I occasionally need to get to meetings and breaking news situations outside of Downtown. For pre-planned meetings, I still could take the bus to most places, even out to the airport. However, I have to take my 16-month-old son to his babysitter in Madeira on Monday and Tuesday. It would be a waste of time to deliver him, then turn around, drive the 4 miles back home and get on the bus – or find the closest park-and-ride.

Realistically, I could take the bus half the time, saving $2,250 a year.

Time: Morning drive saves 20 minutes

Morning commute: I'm not a rush-hour commuter. I like getting to work about 10 or 10:30 a.m., so I took the No. 28 bus that arrives in front of the Mariemont Inn at 9:29 a.m. It took 5 minutes to walk the 3 1/2 blocks from my house to the bus stop. The bus dropped me off at Sixth and Race by the dunnhumby construction site. It was a 6-minute walk and elevator ride to my desk.

The first day it took exactly 1 hour from the time I locked my front door until I arrived at my desk on the 19th floor of The Enquirer. As a rookie, I arrived at the bus stop 10 minutes early and the bus was 3 minutes late. The next day, it took 42 minutes.

It takes me 24 minutes to drive, park in my $45-per-month lot at Third and Central and walk 2 1/2 blocks to the office. However, I found that I used the extra 20 minutes or so on the bus to catch up on work emails, prepare for a meeting, check Twitter and just relax – all things I can't do while driving.

Commute home: The bus stop is a block closer to my office. The last outbound, limited-stop express bus leaves at 5:36 p.m. The first day, it took 42 minutes to get home – exactly what the Metro website said it would take. The next day, the commute took 52 minutes because traffic was brutal and it had been raining. It's the route I'd take home in my SUV – Fifth Street to Columbia Parkway/Wooster Pike – so the rush-hour commute time by personal vehicle or bus is about the same.

But here's the thing: I almost never leave work that early, and the buses running after 5:36 p.m. can take up to twice as long to get me home.

Ride comfort: Hey, it's a bus after all

It's serviceable. Typical hard-plastic bus seats are covered with cloth. I noticed the engine noise while sitting at the back of the bus, and the squeaks and rattles of in-bus panels – but nothing music in the earphones can't drown out. The ride is a bit bumpy, but not enough to bother me.

Passengers: Some of them are a bit chatty, yes

I'm not one for small-talking with strangers, other than saying hello. On my mid-morning commutes, the buses were mostly empty. One day, there were two others on the 38-seat bus besides me when a 20-something man boarded in Fairfax. But he sat down right next to me, across the aisle near the back of the bus. And proceeded to tell me all about how his landscaping employer sent him home for the day because of the rain. I nodded, sympathetically, but didn't say anything.

Then, unprompted, he had to tell me all about his landscaping job; growing up on a farm in Cynthiana, Ky.; saving to buy a car in a month; headed to booze-it-up with some buddies at the casino; and how much "I hate (bleeping) rain." I continued to nod, and he finally shut up after 10 minutes. He was harmless, just needed a friend. But if that were to happen regularly, I'd give serious consideration to not taking the bus. The morning commute is a time to get focused. I like quiet.

On the way home, the express buses were packed with working professionals. I counted three empty seats one day. It was mostly quiet all the way home. Everyone sitting around me was reading on iPads and Kindles.

Customer service: Drivers friendly; website helpful

Friendly drivers. They said hello when I boarded and wished me well when I left. That's a big deal.

Metro's website is helpful. You can type in your start address and destination address, and it provides all the details in seconds – departure times, nearest bus stops and commute time, which includes walks to and from bus stops. Metro's website also provides a savings calculator. I used this tool, researched AAA driving-cost studies and looked at my own gas receipts and insurance records to calculate my commuting costs.

Metro provides several payment options. Many top companies, including The Enquirer, sell monthly bus passes to employees.

Challenges: Bus schedules and bad weather

I like to work in the office until 7, 8 or 9 p.m. That's a problem for catching the bus. The last express route leaves at 5:36 p.m. There are plenty of buses thereafter to get me home, but commute times range from 55 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Any ride that exceeds an hour makes me question what my time is worth, with a wife and baby at home.

Also, I wonder if I'd be so excited to make that 3 1/2-block walk to the bus stop in bad weather. It was raining last Wednesday. My initial thought was it would be so easy to jump in the Tahoe. But I thought what I could do with an extra $2,000. We're saving for a new house. I threw on the Patagonia jacket and jogged over to the bus stop.

What's needed: A smartphone app would be nice

Metro really needs a smartphone app to provide real-time information about when the bus is going to arrive.

Several other cities' bus systems have an app. Metro officials say it's in the planning process, but no timetable has been set for a launch. I don't need elaborate digital signs or fancy benches and shelters at bus stops.

But on a rainy day, I'd like to be able to check the app, see when the bus is coming and time my walk to the bus stop just right.

Final assessment: It's worth trying for Downtown workers

If you're a Downtown 9-to-5er and live and work within three to five blocks of a bus stop and only need to get to work and back home, why not give it a try?

As an employee working in Cincinnati, your city earnings tax is subsidizing Metro whether you use it or not.

And if you're someone calling for better public transportation, but you're not currently using the bus system, then it's time to start. Future federal money is dependent on ridership numbers, and the funding reality is a region-wide passenger rail system may never happen here.

Taking the bus is seamless. It's really not that much extra time – the most stops on one of my trips was 11, but the average stop time was 16 seconds.

You get a little exercise. I didn't miss – or need – my SUV for two days.

Then again, I may just drive to work today. ⬛

How to get started

It's pretty easy. You can map out your entire trip in seconds. Here's how to get you on the bus:

• Go to go-metro.com in Ohio; tankbus.org in Northern Kentucky.

• Type in your start and destination address in the trip planner, which provides nearest bus stops and schedules.

• Fare information is available on the websites.

• Payments can be made on the bus with cash (no change provided) and pre-paid passes. Passes can be purchased on the Metro and TANK websites and at select retailers. Also, several companies have bus partnerships, so check with your employer to purchase passes.

Ride or drive?

• Daily cost

Bus: $5.30

SUV: $23.68

• Morning commute time

Bus: 42 mins.

SUV: 24 mins.

• Convenience

Bus: Schedules rule

SUV: Your car's always ready

• Bonus

Bus: Time to prepare for work; guilt-free texting, tweeting

SUV: Time is your own; quieter, more comfortable ride