As Commuters Line Up Rides, Some Hope to Ride Out Scare. For all the determined bikers and walkers, many commuters seemed unable to fathom how they would get to work or school. By Randal C. Archibold. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]
I've been worrying about this, also. If MTA workers go out on strike next week, I'll need to find some other option for getting from Brooklyn to the Bronx. I'll bike it if I have to, but it's a 16-mile trip, one-way; the idea of 32 miles in the cold kind of blows. I have a colleague who lives just a few blocks from me; she has a car, but she plans to crash with her sister in Westchester until the strike ends, so that's not an option. My workplace started compiling a list today of workers affected--they took down names and locations of possible drivers and riders. When I added my name, only one driver had signed up, compared to ten riders. I hope that ratio changes. MetroNorth will apparently offer a special shuttle from Grand Central to Yankee Stadium. That's probably my best bet; I already walk to work from the D or 4 stop at Yankee Stadium anyway. The trick there is getting to Grand Central. Again, I could bike it, but where would I lock up my bike all day? (With the crowds that shuttle would see, I don't think carrying my bike onto the train will be an option.) I could get on Long Island Rail Road at Flatbush (to which I'd walk), ride out to Jamaica in Queens, ride in to Penn Station, walk to Grand Central, and then get on the shuttle up to Yankee. To make that work, though, I'll probably have to be at the Flatbush stop by absolutely no later than 6:30am--more like 6am, I suspect. Would I be home before 7pm? Unlikely. Sucks, eh? This strike had better not happen, that's all I'm sayin'.