Politicians: FAIL

A lovely blog, Trains for America, made this post today in reference to this editorial in the Baltimore Sun.

The sun is absolutely right in saying 

The loss of MARC trains and other transit cutbacks to falling tax revenues is not only ill-timed but a sign that Maryland must rethink how transportation is financed

 ... it is just unreal to me.  Are the states really this stupid?  Do we really not get it?

We need more funding, we at least need to keep our current funding levels.  People are going to be cutting back on using their cars to save on gas and turning to mass transit.  Now is the time we need more service, better service - to show people they don't need their cars.

This was just a quick and short rant - but I just had to say it - again

Bus Hoppers

I noticed something peculiar today. In fact, I've now noticed it 3 times in the past week. While on my daily commute up/down Connecticut Ave I witnessed a hopping. Has anyone else noticed these? It's like a transfer, except it's not. Instead of boarding a bus headed in a different direction or with a different destination, these hoppers wait for a stop to come then get off one bus only to board one that's on the same route. I've noticed it only really happens during rush hour, when buses tend to 'stack up' one in front of the other on the road.

Last week I witnessed someone get off my bus, run behind it to get on the bus behind me which was running the identical route, only to see him get back on my bus a few stops later!

While I suppose there's nothing intrinsically wrong with these hoppers swinging from bus to bus, I just don't understand why. The destination isn't changing. The traffic isn't changing either, so it can't be any faster. The only explanation I can see is the atmosphere mustn't be good enough for them on Bus A, so they try their luck on Bus B. I'll admit that sometimes the Metro buses stink a bit, or the clientele is unfortunate (and certainly rude) but does this really warrant all the effort to change buses?

I'm puzzled about these hoppers. Maybe I'm just lazy. Or then, maybe I'm witnessing the newest fad in urban exercise. Can anyone explain this? Are there any hoppers out there?