Chicago - Life on a Train

One of the most interesting things about visiting Chicago is public transportation. It's almost impossible to move around in Chicago without a connection to it - even if you don't travel by train, the sound they make echoes around the city. And, coming from a place like Dallas, it's like an entirely different world.

In Dallas, everyone owns a car. In fact, many families have several cars. There was a time when I was living at home (and my sister was 16) that our family had three cars. They barely fit in our single driveway, but that's simply life in Dallas. If you want to get somewhere, you're going to need a car.

In Chicago, many people don't own cars. You walk to a bus station or a train station, and you take public transportation. For the price of $2.25, you can go from one side of the city to another. And there are very few places in the city that are not accessible by a simple train or bus ride. For everywhere else, one of the billions of taxi cabs would be happy to arrange for transport.

Dallas has tried public transportation. Dallas-Area Rapid Transit (DART) has buses and trains, but they have a limited range and scale. If you want to get to Fair Park, downtown, or Victory Plaza...the train can help you. Like the trains in Chicago, they're cheap and can get you where you need to go. The problem is that the trains don't go enough places. There aren't enough rails, and there aren't enough destinations. Not to mention the fact that I've lived in Dallas my entire life, and I've been on the train less than 20 times. And I'm not sure I've ever been on a DART bus.

The train would be a great way to get to a Cowboys game or a Rangers game. The problem is that the train doesn't go to Arlington. And because Arlington refuses to join DART, it's possible that trains will never go there.

But who am I kidding? I live a couple blocks from a DART train station, and there's a train station a few hundred feet from the American Airlines Center. But how many times have I, a Dallas Stars season ticket holder, actually taken the train to a game? In 100+ games, I have never taken the train. Instead of spending a couple bucks to ride the train to and from the games, I spend gas money driving down to the arena and pay $15/game for parking.

Why? Because public transportation isn't a part of our DNA in Dallas. When it's introduced, most of our bodies attack it like an invading virus, and it's quickly forgotten. And, honestly, I don't even know how long it would take to get from the AAC to the local train station after a game. It might be a little longer, but it also might be about the same. Take out the savings, and it'd probably be worth it.

But, like with the night I mentioned in the previous blog, it's just odd to think that you don't have a car close. That, in essence, you're at the mercy of the city government to get you back home. If the train doesn't come, you're stranded. And you're two-dollar train ride turns into a $30 cab ride. That comfort, it seems, is worth the $15 parking and the money you'd spend on gas.

But I was intrigued by the idea of life on the train. In just one weekend, I easily walked several miles. Going from train station to destination might only be a few blocks, but those few blocks would certain help anyone's fitness regimen. Much more so than the short distances people in Dallas walk from a parking lot.

And while $2.25 seems like it might be a lot for a one-way ticket on the train, how much money do we spend on gasoline? I fill up my tank every couple of weeks, and it costs between $60 and $70 to get that done. For me, the train costs would be about the same. But what about people who fill up every week?

Then there was something that simply floored my poor Texan mind. In Chicago, they have cars that you can rent by the hour. You simply go to a designated place (smart phones make them easier to find) and reserve a car for a certain amount of time. Because grocery shopping can be a pain if you're traveling by bus or train, you can get one of these cars, take it to the store, transport your groceries, and drop it back off when your done. Our friend John says it can cost between $10-$20 for an hour.

It was such an incredible idea to me, partly because there would be zero reason to have this service in Dallas. But in a place like Chicago, it makes perfect sense.

Now, as is the case with any form of travel, things can be easily romanticized. When you visit a city, it's very easy to only see the good side of things. You're not at work, you're going from fun activity to fun activity, you're eating the best food, you're sleeping in, and your bed is made for you. When you're going to work, living in your own place, and living normally, a city can be completely different.

So it's hard to say how I think I would feel if I lived somewhere like Chicago. Would the train intrigue me if I had to take it every day? If I ended up stranded every once in a while? If I was at the mercy of the system? Would it eventually annoy me, or would it simply become as simple as hopping in my own car?

My friend Woody swears by public transportation, and it's one of the reasons he loves cities like Chicago. He will take the Trinity Rail Express from Fort Worth to come to Dallas, and I'm sure he'd be one of the dedicated riders if DFW got more public transportation.

As for me, I really don't know. While it was certainly interesting to exist without a car in a big city, I might just not be built for such a thing. The freedom of having my own car, my own space, and my own time might be too important to me.

But I do think that I might give the DART a shot to one of the Stars' games this year. Because I probably shouldn't knock something I haven't really tried.