I read this letter to the editor last week and got a good laugh out of it:

“KC mass transit lacking

This city has the worst public transportation in the universe.  The Max ridiculously meanders through downtown barely keeping schedule in nice weather.

Rain makes it late.  Snow makes it disappear.  You can outrun the thing on a Hoveround.

Kansas City, with its earnings tax, offers no service to Kauffman Stadium, even though it is miles from the urban core.”

That’s pretty funny stuff right there, I guess mostly because I ride the Max every day and the comments are so accurate.  There is probably no slower means of traveling downtown than the “Max.”  I guarantee I could beat it on my bicycle.  Granted, it’s probably not entirely the fault of the KCATA, except for the part about the wandering route.  The riders don’t really help either, waiting until they get on the bus to start sorting through their nickels for fare, oblivious to the fact that an entire bus-load of people are waiting on them.  The route is a good part of the slowness though.  It doesn’t just “meander through downtown;”  It meanders through the Plaza and Crown Center too.  Why??!!!  Just go straight down Main and it would cut off ten minutes.  Now, granted, I occasionally like to hop off at the Plaza and go to Diebel’s.  So, maybe it would fix things if they just went through the Plaza on Fridays, or better yet just when it suits me.  The part about downtown is easily fixed though, and not by the bus service.  I long ago gave up that part of the route, electing instead to just get off on the far south edge and walk the rest of the way.  I’m surprised more people don’t, it’s much quicker than criss-crossing the entire area, stopping at every single corner.  Plus, a brisk stroll across downtown always affords the opportunity to interact with all sorts of interesting people, what a bonus.

Ahhhh, I like the bus.  I sure ain’t gonna walk seven miles each way, nor am I going to take any of my myriad two-wheel transportation options when it’s raining or freezing.  So, it serves a purpose, and does so quite economically.  With a little tweaking it could be a lot better though.  I’m sure they are still pondering what action to take over the last email I sent them, and they will address this writer’s concerns after they finish with mine.