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Got a ride?
Southern Sunday | ||
 | Eldredge McCready | |
Especially in Macon. If you have ever tried to get from one end of this city of over 100,000 to the other by a mode of transportation other than private automobile, I can now empathize with you. If you are one of the people here who has to rely on a bus system which shuts down early in the evening, doesn't run on Sundays, or if you need to catch a cab, I feel your pain - and your probably sore feet.
I was born and raised in New York. Not in New York City, but on Long Island, in a town which like Macon, didn't have sidewalks on every street. But what we did have was a public transportation system you could rely on. The bus system ran a good portion of the night, and taxicabs were readily available for a reasonable fee.
Although he never owned a brand-new car in his life, my father always had at least two cars sitting in the yard from the time he moved to Middle Georgia nearly 20 years ago. Living in a not-too populated area, he reasoned that if one vehicle broke down, he wouldn't be stranded because he had another waiting in the yard. When I moved down here, he advised me to do the same. When Dad died some 18 months ago, he had several vehicles, including an old decrepit looking 1960s Ford El Ranchero which he dubbed "The New York Express."
A few weeks ago I came out of my house in Macon to drive to work and lo-and-behold, my car had a flat tire from a nail. I also had procrastinated and hadn't replaced the spare after a recent previous flat tire. My second old-old car (you see, I did heed my father's advice) had broken down several weeks earlier and I decided not to have it fixed.
Needing a way to get to work, I grabbed the telephone book to call a taxi. Out of 497 Yellow Pages in BellSouth's Macon directory, there are only five taxicab companies listed, outnumbering the taxidermists listed just below them by two.
One transportation company only goes to Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. The second one never did answer the phone. The third one I called has the same number under two different names. When I called, a man answered the phone and informed me that he was the driver for the company, but he was based in Fort Valley and wasn't coming to Macon for at least another hour. The third company promised me a cab in 45 minutes. When the cab didn't arrive, I called back and the dispatcher informed me that she only had one car available, and it was "tied up." She referred me to another company, which told me that it would be at least an hour, if then, before I could get a ride.
Think about that the next time politicians start discussing The Fall Line Freeway. More cabs and buses would ease the congestion on I-75 at the Spring Street exit. When a rail system from Macon to Atlanta gets discussed, think about the fact that in order to get to Florida on Amtrak, you have to travel three hours by car to Savannah.
It's been said that you never miss your water until your well runs dry. And you never miss your car until it stops running.
Eldredge McCready is a sports copy editor for The Macon Telegraph. Call him at (912) 744-4222 or send e-mail to emcready@macontel.com
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The Macon Telegraph and may not be republished without permission. Contact Us.