Get on the wrong train and realize it three stops later? Get off, cross to the other platform, take the train back. We’ve all done it, and will do it again. Getting it wrong isn’t the end of the world. It’s just part of learning the system.

Why Transit Exists

Public transit serves one fundamental purpose: moving more people to more places more efficiently than cars ever could.

Take New York City. The subway moves 3.4 million people on an average weekday. That’s 472 stations across 28 routes covering 665 miles of track. The system handles 2.04 billion trips per year for a city of 8 million people. That works out to about 255 trips per person per year, or roughly 5 trips per week.

Imagine moving 3.4 million people through Manhattan in cars every day. The traffic would be physically impossible. The parking would require demolishing half the city. Transit isn’t a backup plan. It’s the only plan that works at that scale.

The Learning Curve Is Short

Yes, transit maps look intimidating at first. The apps can be confusing. The signage might not make sense. You’ll probably take the wrong train at least once.

All of that is fine. Normal. Part of the process.

Here’s what actually happens: You use the system three or four times. You figure out how the lines connect. You learn which stations matter for your regular routes. Within a week, you’ve got it down.

The system has its quirks. Every city’s transit has little idiosyncrasies that only make sense once you’ve used it. But the basics are universal: find your line, check the direction, get on the train, count the stops.

It Works Everywhere

I live in Southern California. We’re famous for traffic, not transit. But did you know that until the 1930s, Los Angeles had one of the world’s most extensive transit systems? The Pacific Electric Red Car network covered the entire region.

We’re building it back. Slowly. The Metro has expanded dramatically over the last 30 years. Last year the A Line became the longest light rail line. This year, the D Line Subway opens a new extension. Metrolink connects the region.

Is it as comprehensive as New York or Chicago? No. But it exists. It works. And the more people use it, the better it gets.

Even smaller cities have transit. Quincy, Illinois, has four or five bus routes. Are the maps easy to read? Not particularly. But the system exists because people need it.

Try It Once

Next time you fly out of your local airport, take transit instead of driving.

Chicago? Take the “L” to O’Hare or Midway. Skipping I-90 alone is worth it.

Seattle? The Link Light Rail 1 Line goes straight to SeaTac from downtown. Forty minutes, $3.00, no parking fees, no I-5 traffic.

Los Angeles? Take Metrolink to Union Station, catch the LAX Flyaway.

Pick one trip. Low stakes. See how it goes.

You might discover what we all have. Getting it wrong is no big deal. The learning curve is shorter than you expected. Millions of people do this every day because it works.

Transit isn’t meant to be scary. It’s meant to be useful. The only way to find out if it works for you is to try it.

The post Your City Has a Transit System. Here’s Why You Should Use It. first appeared on Vector+Vista.

When I traveled on Wednesday, June 30, the weather was playing a bit nicer than it had a few days prior. Coming into Denver, there were a handful of bumps and cumulus clouds that we jumped around. While waiting for my connecting flight to Chicago O’Hare, the clouds started to move into the north and east of the airport. Knowing how things had gone the days prior, one could begin to wonder if we soon were going to be experiencing a weather-related delay. The weather stayed at bay, but instead, my inbound aircraft was delayed because of the weather in Chicago where it was coming from.

Despite the inbound delay, we only departed about an hour behind schedule. We took off to the east, which meant that we were likely going to be doing some fancy footwork to get through, above, and around the storms in the area. Our climb out of Denver took a bit longer than normal to start the cloud dance. Before long we were making some strong banks to the north and northwest to keep things as calm as they could be.

After some time, we reached our cruising altitude of 27,000 feet, which is a bit lower than normal. But seeing the clouds around us, there was clearly weather dotting the plains below us. Instead of flying directly east towards Chicago, we took a more northern route over Iowa. It was around here that we cruised up to 32,000 feet and stayed there through our descent into the Windy City.

As you can see from the pictures below, it was a neat climb out from Denver as there were plenty of clouds and shadows to enjoy.

While sitting at the gate, the aircraft started getting a bit warm because the APU (auxiliary power unit) wasn’t working on the aircraft, which meant that we had to wait for the engines to be started because the A/C and such would kick in. I had an exit row seat on this flight, and this specific aircraft was one of American’s that still has the at-seat entertainment. With the seats at the exit rows, the screens fold down for safety reasons. While my screen turned on and off, it, in fact, didn’t actually work. After resetting the screen multiple times, it still didn’t respond to the touch, oh well.

My in-flight crew was quite awesome though. They were all very pleasant and professional throughout the entire flight. Especially since they were the crew that brought the aircraft in from Chicago where they waited at the gate without cool air for quite some time because of the weather moving through the area. In-flight service is what it is at this point. Water, sodas, and pretzels. I’m looking forward to actual food items returning to flights.

Flight Details:
Flight: American Airlines 2363 | Airbus A321-200 (N118NN)
Route: Denver-Chicago (DEN-ORD) | Dp 6:39 p.m., Ar 9:59 p.m.
Seat: 12F

The post Heading Out of Denver + Dodging Some Weather first appeared on Vector+Vista.