The Transportation for America campaign, of which Smart Growth America is a co-chair, debuted a new site today to help frustrated commuters and travelers to share their awful commuting stories — and learn about the connection that transportation policy and Congress have to the state of our transportation system.
Check out the site, share your story, and tell your friends.
Cross-posted in its entirety from the T4 America blog:
What’s your first thought when you wake up in the morning? Are you usually excited about getting up and heading out the door? Is it your job that makes you loathe the morning — or is it your commute?
Did you get up extra early today to try and beat the traffic or to get a seat on that always-packed train? Maybe you missed the bus and had to wait 45 minutes for the next one, or caught every light as you took one kid to daycare, another to school and ran three errands before you even started your commute. Is there anything we can do to make getting around less painful and more reliable?
Today, on National Bike to Work Day, we are launching MyCommuteSucks.Org to give commuters across the country a forum to redirect their rage and share solutions to improve transportation in their communities and across the country. Fed-up commuters can share their awful commute stories, send pictures or video, and tell Congress why and how they need to fix their slow, crowded, congested commutes at MyCommuteSucks.org.
Check out this story from Nikki:
I live in Fort Worth, Texas. We do not have subways, and there is only one train that I know about. Traffic is horrible. It takes me over an hour to get to work which is 20 minutes away. And then these gas prices. It is getting to where you can’t afford to even go to work anymore. This is just ridiculous, why is gas so high??
People are frustrated, and they don’t feel like anyone is listening. Congested roads in our cities have lanes added to them — and then promptly fill up again. More and more people are riding the train and bus, yet service is being cut and fares are going up. Biking has never been more popular, but it seems our streets have never been more difficult or dangerous to use.
We’ve all got a story, so stop by, tell us yours, and read and rate the other stories there. You can thumb them up or down and vote for the story you think is the best — or worst!
You don’t even have to visit the site directly to weigh in. You can stream your tweets to the front page of the site with Twitter. Tag your rant with #mycommutesucks and follow us @MyCommuteSucks. (But please don’t text us while you’re driving!) Help us get the word out today by writing a blog post or by posting the site to your Facebook page.
Transportation may not seem like the most pressing issue facing our country. But many Americans spend 20% or more of their monthly income on transportation — cutting into their ability to afford housing, food, clothing, and other necessities.
In these difficult economic times, it’s more important than ever that Congress starts building a complete transportation system that provides these fed-up Americans with safe, clean and efficient options for getting around. Tell us your commuting horror story and then tell Congress to make sure this year’s transportation bill goes toward building us a complete transportation system that is smart, safe and efficient for everyone.