Why isn't the Governor of Texas using buses to pick up people

[boston bean]

who have been stranded on the side of the road for 14+ hours now.

Can someone, anyone please explain this.

[meisje]

1. How would the buses move through the traffic jam?

[boston bean]

4. He should have thought about this, had a plan to use his buses to help

these people evacuate.

[mirror wall]

26. RE:"How would the buses move through the traffic jam?"

Why aren't the hiways set up to all go in the same direction like they were in NO? I had a freind who was able to evac from NO, and he had very little trouble getting out of it due to the fact that they made major hiways all flow in the same direction.

WHY NOT DO THAT IN TEXAS? WHAT. THE. HELL.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Why Syzygy]

33. And you would be judging that assessment on what?

Texas has received tens of thousands of evacuees.

What, exactly, makes us "lazy, shiftless, no 'count"?

You can't wait for violence? Now there's a thought.
Spread the goodwill.

[Why Syzygy]

2. This is part of it ...

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/09/22capmetro.html
~snips~

Capital Metro's union employees, locked in stalled negotiations with management about the agency's plans to pay newly hired workers about 16 percent less than current drivers, called a one-day strike early this morning.
...

Capital Metro spokesman Rick L'Amie called the timing of the strike "unfortunate," with evacuees from Hurricane Katrina still in town and more arriving as Hurricane Rita approaches the Gulf Coast. The agency had been intending to send buses to Corpus Christi to help with evacuation but won't be doing that now. And Capital Metro received a request Thursday from the City of Austin to send buses to the Austin Convention Center to help with Katrina evacuees, L'Amie said, a request it was unable to fulfill.

...more...

[boston bean]

6. Wow! Thanks for the link, very interesting. nt

[FloridaPat]

22. What happened to management taking over while strikers strike? Home

evacuating themselves? They picked today to strike? Looks like no one wants to stay behind and leave their family on their own.

I guess we can throw the pictures of the school buses in NO in the trash now. People are not going to get out by buses.

[chalky]

28. That was only Austin bus drivers....surely Houston and other coastal area

bus drivers would be a better pick to do the evacuations--especially if it guaranteed them a ride out.

[Systematic Chaos]

3. Because there's no way for buses to get in there?

If this disaster doesn't make it perfectly clear just how badly we need an extensive national rail system, I don't know what will.

[Sydnie]

8. Meanwhile, back in Washington, the GOP recommends

that they cut the funds for Amtrack to pay for the damages. Go figure! :shrug:

[Systematic Chaos]

17. We probably need about 500,000 MILES of good rails

JUST to be able to stave off the effects of peak oil... for a while. And, oh the humanity, it would actually take 3 days to get across the country again, instead of 5 hours.

I remember Amtrak-ing from New Jersey to California TWICE in the mid 70's. Let me tell you right now that it was an awesome experience. I was a pre-teen and loved every moment of it. I mingled with the other passengers of all ages. One kid taught me a dozen card games, and one kind grandmotherly lady showed me how to do cross-stitch. I don't see how hundreds of thousands of people, stuck on a highway and breathing exhaust fumes, could be having anywhere near as much fun. If 5,000 passenger cars would have been at the ready instead, then those people could have been out of there already, or almost.

[expatriate]

24. Tragically, America once had just that.

You could get to any major city, and most smaller towns via rail. Even if the town was just a whistle stop. Yes, it took longer, but it sure beats driving, at least in my book.

One of my most distinct memories is travelling from Washington, D.C. to Miami in 1963 via rail. The dining car, the porters, the berths - the whole bit. And I was only four at the time - so for me to remember it means it was really something special.

For one thing, I got to go to the caboose and meet the conductor!

If only there were trains, they could get so many of these people out - what are these poor souls stranded on the roadside going to do? That storm is coming, and now they don't even have shelter.

[Maru Kitteh]

31. When I was little one of the last small passenger rails ran right in back

of the campground we went to most often. We would make an early breakfast on Saturday and gather out back of our campers (many campers knew each other) to wave to the people and the brakeman in the red caboose.

Good lord. It sounds like fiction now.

[boston bean]

9. Talk about ill preparedness. What did he think would happen? nt

[cynatnite]

11. Exactly!

Free up the roads, help preserve the environment, evacuation for disasters, etc.

How many other benefits are there to public transit?

Of course, it'll never happen as long as big oil is sleeping with bush and dick in the Lincoln bedroom. :eyes:

[Why Syzygy]

34. I don't know about Amtrack logistics

But this town (Lufkin) has "extensive rail" and they are still suffering .. per ~
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4864376

Note the railroads:
http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?addr=&csz=lufkin%2C+tx&country=us&new=1&name=&qty=

Amtrak:
http://stations.amtrak.com/amtrak/StationSearchResults.jsp = use Lufkin for search ....

People just aren't aware. Or maybe don't want to be stuck without their vehicles. We are very attached to our vehicles.

Yeah. Public transit could be much better. But, we are such private individuals and all.

[JHB]

5. There is an explanation...

...and we'll tell you what it is once the fax from Karl comes in.

[Robertwf]

7. Giving in to Weather Qaeda

It makes me sick. Someone needs to get National Guard or Texas cops out there to divert cars that have gas and aren't broken down into moving lanes and triage the other cars so that ones needing gas can be serviced by the tanker trucks that are supposed to be around there and the hopelessly broken down vehicles can be pushed off to the side of the road and people picked up by buses. They cannot afford to let people stay in single occupancy cars when they are evacuating them, for crying out loud. The other option is to go in and air-lift groups of people in big helicopters.
They need to get the people out and settled before Rita hits, the rains come and the tornados get spawned. There are bound to be flash floods around these roads, as well.

[boston bean]

16. I wonder if he has asked his highness in the correct terms that he

needs HELP.

[Robertwf]

20. Isnt' the real word DELAY?

[Erika]

10. Many evacuees were sent to the Greyhound Bus Depot

by Texas official when they said they had no way out of town.

Greyhound said there were no avialable tickets.

[boston bean]

13. I am sure there must have been some school buses with some

very willing drivers to help evacuate the people. No?

[Erika]

23. I have no idea. The Texas officials sent them to Greyhound

The last I heard, Greyhound doesn't command school buses.

[alarimer]

27. a bunch of people are still at the airports too

Now they will bne stuck when the last flights go.

[kestrel91316]

12. He has already as much as said that it's their own damned fault and

tough luck, when he said how he warned everybody to gas up and get out two days ago. Nevermind how they gassed up in a timely manner and headed out in a timely manner, and then got stuck in traffic and ran out of gas because all the gas stations were out of gas. TOO BAD. YOUR FAULT.

They did send buses yesterday to pick up sick/old/disabled in Galv/Houst, but they ran out of buses so any who were counting on them and didn't shove others aside to get on are now OUT OF LUCK. TOO BAD. YOUR FAULT.

More of that compassionate conservatism, eh?

[NYC]

19. I can't believe it is already going so badly,

and they are blaming the victims.

[Cobalt Violet]

25. Some might have even had to wait to get paid to gas up.

Too bad. It's their fault. :puke: :puke:

[A-Possum]

14. Houston mayor says state was to pre-stage fuel...not there

see Mayor White: 'Now is not the time to start your evacuation' video.

He specifically said fuel that was to be pre-staged "under the state plan, that is not there."

Also some videos about bus usage on KHOU.com

[boston bean]

15. Unbelievable, he has had many days to prepare for this. nt

[pitohui]

18. because iokiyar

it's ok if you're a republican

[FreedomAngel82]

21. I don't know

Maybe Hannity could tell us. He kept going on about the buses in New Orleans. Is he talking about this? (I'm sure I already know the answer)

[Javaman]

29. If there actually had been a plan, would have used the HOV lanes for the

buses.

but you know, that's waaaaay outside the box thinking. You know, like the lid.

colossal racist failure*.

[leftofthedial]

30. why are you playing the blame game

and fingerpointing?

why do you hate Murka?