CNN iReport

Dear iReport,

I wrote this in response to a proposed change that may take effect in January, 2010.  I sent this to a local radio station (KFBK) that had a poll, and local newspaper (Sacramento Bee) that ran a story.

Regarding the proposed literail changes to discontinue operations at 9pm.......Last time I looked at the your poll (Ed,and Amy-KFBK) I was one of the 21% that would be adversely affected........I have been relying on public transportation since April 2008, and before that I hadn't utilized public transportation since I was younger, and growing up in the Bay Area.  Since April 2008, I have worked with 9 different employers in different areas of Sacramento, while relying on public transportation, and I have left home as early as 5:30am on a Saturday to get to work by 8am, also taking an 11.30ishpm literail home from a temporary job........Currently, I'm working with 2 employers, and catch a literail usually between 9 and 9:30pmish, and connect with a bus, however, if I miss a bus,or want to grab a bite, I usually hop on literail.

Now I know I am in a minority in your poll, however, literail, and public transportation in general provides a very valuable,and needed service not just in Sacramento, and California, but also around the nation and world, and not just for people getting to, and from work.................It provides a way for people to experience, and enoy the nightlife around town too, which is beneficial, and crucial to the revitilization of the city,and who might otherwise not want to go somewhere, because of either not wanting to drive around the city, and be concerned with parking, and just finding their way around......It also provides an option for someone who has had a drink or two (or more), and doesn't want to pay for a cab (even though a cab is not as expensive as a DUI).  In fact I used to drive a cab, and there are people in every area of the Greater Sacramento area (as well as Every City, Everywhere--I'm sure) that have experienced issues at one point or another in getting a cab...........

Cabs provide a great service, for many people, and for many different reasons, however, they just can't be everywhere at the same time (not to mention,they're more expensive, even for the drivers who pay for their gas).......In fact, when I was I driving a cab, it bothered me sometimes, because sometimes it seemed as though there were not enough cabs on the roads.......and at other times, it seemed as though there were too many.

As far as public transportaion goes, making it a prioroty to have public transportaion available morning, day, and night would seem to make more sense to me, as a part of a long term growth strategy of revitilizing this city, which includes cleaner air (and according to the Air Resources Board, the #1 thing out of 50 you can do is to drive less, and that includes taking public transportation),  http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/brochure/50things.htm

........And as far as myself, I'm facing one of the most challenging times in my life, and depend on public transportaion, however, I consider myself a glass is half full kind of guy.  I'd love to say the reason I re-discovered public transportation was my wanting to have cleaner air, but that's not the case, however, once I start driving again, I will utilize public transportaion when I can, and not just for around town........I've also discovered traveling by train.................................I drove a cab for about 3 1/2 years, and before that I drove everywhere (personally, and for work {not driving a cab})........It's kind of nice letting someone else do the driving for awhile...........Yes, public transportaion can be time consuming, but driving in traffic can be also, and if you time it correctly, you can get some work done too (or just enjoy the journey), instead of being concerned with how to get from point A to Point B..........I've heard you can get an education while driving (from Zig Ziglar, or Brian Tracy....maybe both, and others too, by listening to cd's, tapes...etc), well, why not while being driven also?  In fact, I've heard of people hiring drivers just so they can get some work done.

It's all about working smarter, not harder, and if literail service stopped running at 9pm, there would be alot more people working harder (not smarter) in trying to rebuild this economy, not to mention their lives (o.k., maybe I'm just speaking about myself, however, I still believe shutting down literail at 9pm would be counter productive to setting the wheels in motion to move forward in the bigger picture)

Mike Otis