Okay, so lots of you know that in my spare time I am a real estate Broker, which causes me to spend a lot of my day in my car listening mindlessly to the droning on-and-on of talk radio.  Sometimes (oaky, most of the time) I am just doing it to keep up with what the other side is up to.  I have to tell you, the opposition has some strange ideas, but that is their right.  And I am not going to discuss what they are opposed to, either.

Suffice it to say, I have picked up a few good bits of good information over the years, listening to everything from Dr. Laura to Sam and Bob…I think that makes me a ‘lurker’ of the air-waves.

So anyway, I was listening to that guy that basks in the glory of his football days at UT, and he had a caller that said he could solve all (or much) of our traffic problems with one good fix…everyone that works for the State, County or City governments should be required to take the bus to work. 

BRILLIANT!

Not that it could actually work, BUT I think a goodly number of folks could take the bus to work, and there would be no real issues.  They arrive for work everyday at a set time, and they leave every day at a set time, no problems.  I understand that public transportation is not possible for all the governmental employees, but many of them could do it, and happily so.

So, there was a follow-up to this idea on the radio this afternoon (okay, have you figured it out yet?).  What if all the departments in these governmental agencies just had a goal to require a certian percentage of their staff to take mass transit to and from work.  If we as a (pick one) nation, state, county and/or city are going to espouse the benefits and NEED for energy conservation, we need to put up or shut up.

Private businesses can require (or make it darn attractive) for a goodly number of their employees to use mass transit.  Microsoft® estimates that about 35% of their work force uses mass transit, and they make it attractive for their employees to do it.

I know, let’s set a goal of 35% of all the governmental employees in our county be required to use mass transit.  That should eb an achievable goal, and the reward for achieving that goal is this…you get to keep that job!

Since I do not have a job that would allow me to make use of the mass transit, you probably think it smells like a NIMBY (not in my back yard) kind of thing.  Well, I kind of like to think of myself as an energy nazi, and just because I cannot participate by taking the bus, I have chosen to commute with a vehicle that exceeds 40 miles per gallon.  I love it every time I have to fill-up the tank…all eight gallons of it!