Re: fieldwork assignment #1

On Apr 10, 2008, at 3:51 PM, Malia Shoji wrote:

> For this fieldwork assignment I tested out two different methods of
> getting to school. My normal method of transportation is by the
> school shuttle, which picks me up right across the street from my
> house. There are many reasons for taking this method of
> transportation some of which being; the limited amount of parking on
> campus, the closeness of the shuttle stop to my house, and the high
> cost of the parking permits. The fieldwork assignment was to choose
> another method of transportation so for my alternate method I choose
> to walk to school from my house. Walking did take about 15 minutes
> compared to the average 10 minute shuttle ride. What I have found
> from this fieldwork is that the shuttle doesn't actually save that
> much time because of the several stops it makes before reaching my
> destination. When choosing the method of transportation there are
> some factors that I have to take into consideration. One of which
> is the weather because if it is a nice day walking is more enticing
> than riding in the hot shuttle but if it is raining than the shuttle
> is a more appealing mode of transportation. Another factor that
> comes into play when choosing a method of transportation is where
> exactly on campus I want to go. For instance if I were to want to
> go to the library the shuttle might be a better option than walking
> because the shuttle stop is right out side the library. If I was to
> want to go to where our COHI 175 classroom is located it is the
> closest classroom to my house and also there isn't a shuttle stop
> very close to the classroom so walking is a better option.

Malia Shoji

Changing Tracks- Take 2

This was my first time experimenting with various forms
of transport and I have to say that I am rather pleased. Because I
live in downtown San Diego, methods other than driving are
limited. I discovered two different methods that were very effective.
First, I carpooled with my roommate (pictured) to school and with a
classmate, back to my apartment. For the second method, I took the bus. Not only were both methods
incredibly economically efficient, but they saved me the time and headache
of finding a parking spot.
I would like to commit fully to a bus-based transport
system but I often find myself in significant need of my car. My
class schedule is such that have a three hour gap daily. During these
hours, it is imperative that I leave campus to run errands that I
would otherwise not be able to attend to. Also, my car is valuable
storage device. It contains my clothes, books, food, water, computer,
and other things that I require access to but do not want to carry
with me.
I have been trying to use public transportation as
frequently as possible but my hectic schedule and distant apartment
limit me. On days when I predict a lighter load, plan on not leaving
campus between classes, or simply do not feel like driving, I am
grateful for San Diego?s buses.

-Milana Vayntrub

[Fwd: ]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject:
From: ccmccorm@ucsd.edu
Date: Mon, April 14, 2008 11:44 am
To: mobcom@blogger.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

For this assignment, I chose to carpool with a friend to school. I live
in Clairemont and normally I drive my own car taking the I-5 North, then I
exit Nobel. When I drove to school with my roommate last Friday we took a
different route to UCSD. We left Clairemont Mesa and we actually did not
even get on the freeway. We took the back way from Clairemont Mesa to
Genessee, and then took a left on Nobel towards UCSD.
There are a few significant differences I noticed from this change in
mobility. The first was that I was a little late to school. The girl I
carpooled with is not a student at UCSD, but she works in La Jolla. I
had class at 11am and she did not actually have to be at work until
11:30. I usually leave around 10:15 because I park in the Regents
parking lot and then I take the shuttle up to school. I leave for school
early since the shuttle line can sometimes be very long, which in turn
can make me late to class. The one advantage I had from carpooling with
a friend was that I would not have to find parking or wait in a shuttle
line. But since we left a little later that day (10:40am), I got to
school just a little bit later than I would have liked.
Another difference I noticed was the fact that that although I left later
to school with my friend, I would not have to find parking or wait for the
shuttle to take me up to Geisel. So traveling with her saved me the extra
time I usually leave for myself to get to class on time. And, normally I
take the freeway to school so when I carpooled with a friend a learned a
new route to take. Carpooling, of course, was also more environmentally
friendly. By changing the way in which I traveled to school, I found a
new route to take to UCSD and saved some time I usually have to give
myself to get to class on time.

Caroline McCormack

blog entry

Depending on the day of the week, I have a set routine to get to campus.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I normally hitch a ride with one of my roommates
to campus. Then I normally take the city bus to the corner of La Jolla and
Genesee and walk four blocks home. But for this field work assignment, I
decided to take the Regents Shuttle to campus and then take the city bus
home. By taking the bus both ways, it entails me to walk more which also
means I have to wake up earlier for the commute, which should be fine
since classes do not start that early for me. I did not mind walk to
Regents, but I did find it difficult to wake up earlier for the commute
because I am not a morning person. However, if I did have someone to walk
with me to Regents in the morning, the walk probably would not seem as
long as it did. Perhaps, I can get my roommate to walk with me to Regents
on Tuesday and Thursdays instead of having him drive to campus. It would
definitely same him money on purchasing parking permits and on gas.

-Julie Ho

Depending on the day of the week, I have a set routine to get to campus.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I normally hitch a ride with one of my roommates
to campus. Then I normally take the city bus to the corner of La Jolla and
Genesee and walk four blocks home. But for this field work assignment, I
decided to take the Regents Shuttle to campus and then take the city bus
home. By taking the bus both ways, it entails me to walk more which also
means I have to wake up earlier for the commute, which should be fine
since classes do not start that early for me. I did not mind walk to
Regents, but I did find it difficult to wake up earlier for the commute
because I am not a morning person. However, if I did have someone to walk
with me to Regents in the morning, the walk probably would not seem as
long as it did. Perhaps, I can get my roommate to walk with me to Regents
on Tuesday and Thursdays instead of having him drive to campus. It would
definitely same him money on purchasing parking permits and on gas. -Julie
Ho

FIELDWORK ASSIGNMENT BLOG

My current mode of transportation that I take on a daily basis is the UCSD
shuttle system, as I luckily reside across the street from one of the
Nobel shuttle stops. I feel that this way of travel is the most convenient
for me compared to other ways such as driving to school and having to find
a spot to park, which I've heard is almost close to impossible if one
wants to be on time for class. In addition to the fact of being
convenient, it is also a free method of travel since there is no cost for
gas or a parking permit.
My different mode of transportation to school was traveling by foot. This
took a lot longer than expected, almost fifteen to twenty minutes longer
than taking the shuttle from my house. While this way of transportation
is beneficiary to my health by way of exercise and to the environment, I
experienced much discomfort in having to carry my book bag and walking up
big hills for the forty-minute walk. Although the shuttle does get
crowded at times along with the complaints of some shuttle drivers not
knowing how to properly drive the large vehicles, I still prefer these
costs in comparison the costs of the length and discomfort of having to
travel by foot to school.
-Jooyoung Kim

Blog

I am not a morning person, so when it comes to waking up for class and having to walk to the bus stop to get on campus, I don't like.  However, when I think of the gas and money I'm saving by not driving to campus and having to buy a parking permit, I feel a little relieved and defeated since my apartment is really close to the Regents bus stop, making me feel guilty for not taking advantage of that and just walking.  However, the total time it takes to walk to the class, get on the bus, get to the main campus, get off the bus, and then walk the rest of the way to class is about 40 minutes, which sounds ridiculous considering how close I live to campus, making going to school tedious and burdensome.  So just recently I have started driving to class, having obtained a parking permit from my job.  Life has been so much easier and more convenient, being able to park closer to class and not having to leave my apartment in the morning so early.  I can also estimate the time it takes to drive and park better than if I were to walk to the bus stop and wait for the bus, which is unpredictable most of the time.  I was shocked to see how easy the decision was for me to drive instead of take the bus and even though gas prices have sky-rocketed lately, the convenience of driving is just too hard to give up now!

 

  Shirley Han

COHI 175 - Mobile Communications - "Changing Tracks" - Blog Entry

Prior to this assignment being given, I coincidentally changed my commute to school this quarter. I decided that it would be more cost-efficient and time-saving for me to carpool with my friends to school rather than get up an extra half hour earlier than necessary in order to park at Regents lot and take the shuttle to main campus. This decision was set after I realized the benefits of my friend's temporary handicap pass which she has until August because of her ankle surgery. Before my new commute, I would drive from my house which is off Genesee Ave and Governor Drive. Although in distance my house is not too far from campus, the fact that there are 2 elementary schools, a high school, 3 major freeways and a mall on my route allows traffic to get very congested during peak hours.  Also, as most of us know, the Regents shuttle has gotten even more dreadful and time-consuming since the merging of the Regents shuttle with the East Parking lot shuttle. Now, with the handicap pass, I do not have to pay for a UCSD parking permit which saves me over $100 and allows us to park as close to main campus as possible. Handicap passes can park in any spot on campus so now I am usually within several feet of my classroom rather than parking 10 minutes away and having to take a shuttle and walking thereafter.

 

Jane Kim

ESSAY 1

A Change of Routine

Typically I wake up in the morning an hour before class because of the time it takes for me to walk to the Regent Parking Lot's Shuttle Stop. It takes a good fifteen to twenty minutes to walk to that shuttle stop and to get on the actual shuttle. Then it takes another ten to fifteen minutes for that shuttle to reach campus. I decided to change my routine by trying two methods. I biked to the shuttle stop and found it to be a quick and refreshing method of mobility. It took me at most five minutes to reach the shuttle stop and it wasn't as tiring as walking. After doing so several times, I tried biking to campus itself and I realized that the time it took to ride to the shuttle stop and taking the shuttle is the same as me just bicycling to my first class. It was actually faster because I eliminated the walk between the on  campus shuttle stop to the classroom as well. I tried driving afterwards because it is the quickest way to campus. However it may be the fastest, but overall it took longer than biking. The parking was horrible, and upon finding parking I had to take time buying a permit and then walking to my class which was nowhere near a parking structure. I normally drive to school in the evening because I have a night pass, so I avoided driving in the day time to save money. It turns out I save myself time and money by not driving to school in the day time. Consequently I am now going to bike to school on a daily basis since I feel like it's the most efficient and satisfying method of mobility to campus. 

--
Sincerely,

Leo Kosuge

Blog posting 1 COHI 175 Andrea Moore

Changing Routes
My morning consists of me driving to campus although I live less than a
mile away. It may seem ridiculous to drive since the commute is such a
short distance, but to my defense I have to commute to Rancho Santa Fe
immediately after class for work. Also some mornings I have to work before
my classes and then commute to campus. For the sake of arriving in a
timely manner driving seemed to be my best option. Luckily this past week
my job postponed my clock in time until the late afternoon which enabled
me to test out another method of transportation. For this experiment I had
a few options since campus is rather close to my apartment. I had the
options of either biking, carpooling with another UCSD student or testing
out the shuttle. The second best option I decided would to be try out the
shuttle. Surprisingly I found the shuttle quite comfortable! The positive
aspects clearly out weighed the negative. The shuttle was not over flowing
with students, frequently arrive about every 7-8 minutes and I did not
have to harass students to get their parking spaces. Taking the shuttle
also allowed me an extra 15 minutes to gather my thoughts, drink my coffee
and review notes from the prior lecture. Honestly, I am planning to change
my method of driving to taking the shuttle.

Fieldwork Assignment #1

Daniel Pak
Fieldwork Assignment #1
April 14, 2008

Usually on days that I have class, I take the city bus to school. It
picks me up right in front of my apartment and takes about 10 minutes on
average to get to campus. Sometimes it has taken up to thirty minutes
with all the issues that may occur on a city bus but it is free and for
the most part it is efficient. It definitely beats driving to campus and
the extreme hassle that parking is at UCSD plus there is no cost to gas.
Sometimes it is a little agitating when I am late to class even when I
left my house early because the bus took so long but understandably, the
routes won't be perfect everyday and it is the cost for free
transportation.
Instead of riding the bus, today I walked to campus. It was really hot
and my backpack was heavy so the experience was not that enjoyable.
However, if my backpack wasn't so heavy and it was breezy, it might have
been a different story. It took me thirty minutes to get to campus but it
seemed much longer. But I would never consider walking to campus again
since it just takes too long and there are better alternatives available.

sleep>bus

On a usual Tuesday or Thursday I drive my car to get to class. When I
changed it up a bit and took public transportation into campus, the trip
to school became longer and more tedious than I had bargained for. I was
forced out of bed about an hour earlier than my usual schedule and had to
power walk to the bus stop to ensure that I would catch the 10:22 bus. I
opt to use my car to get to school everyday because although it is not the
cheapest or the most environmental friendly option, it is by far the most
convenient of my options. Once on campus, I have the freedom to leave at
my own discretion. Also during my breaks it is a lot easier to leave and
run a couple errands before having to go back to class. I'd hate to admit
it, but my laziness also plays a huge part in deciding what mode of
transportation I use and what route I take. If I had no choice but to take
the bus on the daily basis, I can already foresee myself loving sleep too
much to jump out of bed and walk a good mile to catch a bus.

-Janice Pilapil

BLOG Essay1

Blog:

"Time is money" is a popular phrase used by many people who are constantly on the go, inevitably making time a precious commodity. Where else do you think we got the phrase "buying time?". Time is especially important to me because it enables I have very little which is why I like driving to school. It enables me to be the person in control of my time, whereas if I would have commuted in any other way, I would ultimately be depending on others. It also provides me with independence and flexibility because there is no one that I would have to check in with or make arrangements with. If I decide to run some errands, go shopping, or pulling an all night study session, I can do so without worrying about bus schedules or how I would get home. My alternate transportation was to ride the bus. The experience itself was very interesting. There were so many different types of people on the bus. I think the bus would be a great place to strike up random conversation. However, it was obvious that people were in their own sphere when they entered the bus. There was very little chit chats and those were mostly done by friends on the bus or from people on their cell phones. A great advantage that I found from riding the bus was being able to study while heading to school. I thought it was really nice to find extra time in a day to study. So it seems like I am trading time that I spent getting up early and being on the bus itself for an extra study session or time to catch up on anything, which I think might work be more beneficial in the long run, if I can just get myself to wake up early. Overall, I really liked the experience of riding the bus and it is a transport method that I would consider using in the future, if I can just get myself out of bed.

Hong Tran
ms.hong.tran@gmail.com
(858) 205-9699

Blog Entry "Changing Tracks"

I normally drive myself into Downtown San Diego about three times a week.  For the sake of this assignment I decided to use the trolley as a means of transporting myself into the city.  Living in the La Jolla area, I quickly realized that there are no trolley stations available to me, so in order to complete this assignment I would have to access a station elsewhere.  Since my roommate works in Old Town, he agreed to drive me to the trolley station in Old Town. I caught the trolley there.  It normally takes me about twenty minutes to arrive in Downtown taking the 5 freeway in my car. The day I took the trolley, it took me about and hour and fifteen minutes. Although the trolley saved me money in terms of gas and the frustration of looking for parking downtown, the amount of time it took to get to my desired destination made these benefits seem miniscule.  Being able to drive your own car is like taking a mini version of your home with you wherever you go.       When you ride on public transportation, that convenience is no longer there. As interesting as this little journey was, I think I'll be sticking to using my car to transport myself from place to place.  

 

Ashley Waismann

between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99  

Changing Tracks

Changing Tracks

Living off campus in La Jolla, my usual commute to UCSD involves the free
UCSD shuttles that drive along the Arriba and Nobel area. The trip
typically takes me thirty minutes to get to campus. For a change of pace,
I decided to walk to school. I left my apartment thirty minutes earlier
than I usually do because I really was not sure how much longer this
change in transportation was going to cost me. In total, the new journey
took me fifty minutes so it took about 20 minutes extra. The experience of
actually walking was nice. I had time to take in my surroundings and put
names to streets I usually quickly pass by. However, a fifty minute walk
is just not reasonable for a daily routine for me. Time is a big issue in
deciding my transportation method. I would not be willing to wake up
twenty minutes earlier and then trek to campus for fifty minutes when I
could easily save some precious sleep and wait a bit for a free shuttle.
There have been problems with this method of transportation when the
shuttles are running late or there is traffic jam or at one point during
this year the shuttles actually stopped running because there was a bomb
threat in the area and I was forced to quickly find another route to
campus; however these complications are uncommon on average. Thus, my
decision to ride the shuttle remains my preferred choice.

Laura Louie

A New Routine

A New Routine

My usual routine of getting to school in the morning is fairly
complicated and takes up several hours of my time. I live with my
boyfriend in Rancho Penasquitos; so, leaving an hour before class in
imperative if I want to arrive on time to class. I typically drive, park
in the UCSD shuttle pick up amongst the apartments on Arriba and Regents
Rd, which takes you to Mandeville on campus. I then have to walk to
wherever my class is on campus. I did not mention the hour it takes me
to dress in the morning. If I have a class at 11:00, I have to wake up
at 9:00. In the long hours between morning classes and night classes, I
usually go to work, which is located on Mira Mesa Blvd. I take the UCSD
shuttle back to my car and drive to work, then go back to the UCSD
shuttle area and take it to school, starting the whole sick cycle all
over again. I decided to change up my routine. I car pooled with my
boyfriend to school, and took the 921 bus to work and back to school. My
boyfriend was also the one to pick me up after my evening class and drive
me home. Although this new routine saved a lot of time, put a little
more money back into my pocket due to getting to work earlier and less
money spent on gas; I still like the feeling of having control of my
time and where I go that I get using my own car.

By: Charissa Holley

The 30-Line

I live in Pacific Beach, so the commute to school is always a bit of a
chore. Usually, I drive over Mount Soledad, both to avoid the traffic
getting to and on the freeway, and because the views from the top of the
mountain are incredible. Since I refuse to pay the arm and leg they
charge to park on this lovely campus, I always park on La Jolla Scenic
Dr., then walk about 15 minutes or so to the heart of campus, listening to
my ipod or talking on the phone the entire time. The whole trip usually
takes about 35 minutes. Last week I decided to take the 30-line bus from
down the street of my house to campus. I got to get some work done on the
ride and it took about 30 minutes before I was dropped off right in front
of Porter's Pub. From there, it was a simple 5 minute walk to class, and
I'd actually gotten some reading that I thought I'd be behind on done.
Then, at the end of the day, I grabbed a pint at the Pub and hopped back
on the bus, not having to worry about driving after a beer or two.

Nick Egan

blog

Blog by jeffrey morgan

My normal method of transportation to campus is driving my car. My
alternate method was to ride the public bus. In my car I am able to enjoy
my independence and solitude as a drive to campus. On the bus I am
literally surrounded by people on all sides, which makes solitude an
impossibility. My car provides me with a sense of security, convenience,
and freedom, where if any emergency should arise I can quickly jump into
my car and be on my way. The bus, on the other hand, provides none of
these feelings. When riding the bus I am forced to rely on it as the sole
means of my transportation and that disrupts the tranquility that my car
provides. The only benefit that the bus provides is the fact that it is
free for all UCSD students. However, this is a small benefit in my mind
and does not outweigh the more enjoyable feelings that driving my car
provides me. The main factor that contributes to my transport route of
driving to campus is that it's very time-effective, convenient, and more
importantly it gives me a peace of mind that allows me to relax on a daily
basis. A car is very fragile and an accident or a problem with the engine
could potentially impair my usual means of transportation at least
temporarily. But should such mitigating circumstances every arise, the
bus would not be my first choice as an alterative method of
transportation.

Blog Entry (Cecilia Lee)

My original transport method involved walking and taking the UCSD
shuttle. Though it isn't necessarily the fastest way to get to school, I
feel that I and a majority of off-campus students believe that this the
most reliable system above others such as cars, skateboards, and elevator
transportation. These three tools do get people to places faster, but if
there is ever a malfunction or an accident, complications may arise and
this may hinder the journey to run smoothly. For example, in one of my
trial routes, I used my skateboard to get to a class. On my way to COHI
127, I did not notice a huge camouflaged rock on the smooth pavement. I
carelessly ran over it, almost popped my knee-cap, and stubbed my toe.
Luckily, someone nearby had a band-aid, so I wrapped my bloody toe up and
headed for class just in time. I also had a function failure with my
apartment elevator the other day. It wouldn't open, so I was stuck
waiting for 15 minutes for someone to help. I was late for class and I
missed my pop quiz. Because of this experience, I have learned that my
transport decisions are contributed by partaking in safer traveling
methods rather than faster ones.

Submitted by Cecilia Lee

Changing Tracks

The journey I take to get to Warren Lecture Hall for class is a simple
one, considering that I live on-campus. On a good day, I can get to
Warren College from my Sixth College apartment in less than ten minutes
since the commute is basically a straight walk from Point A to B. To
change things up in my tri-weekly commute to WLH, I decided to use the
Counterclockwise Campus Loop Shuttle. I walk everywhere on campus, so I
thought that using the shuttle would be a refreshing change of scenery.
Waiting twelve minutes for the shuttle to even arrive soon debunked this
initial notion. Twelve minutes just waiting at the shuttle stop! I would
have been at class by now had I just walked. After seven minutes of
riding on the shuttle with six fellow silent passengers and a few more
just to walk to my classroom, I find that my shuttle commute takes me
twice the amount of time in getting to my destination.
I like efficient modes of transport and I don't like waiting when I don't
have to. Overall, my mobility experience can be concluded in the
following: walking > shuttling.

- Mariz Belisario

blog 1

            My transport decisions are usually based on what will save me the most time in getting from one place to another. My archenemies on the roads are slow people, who I’m positive purposefully get in lines four lanes across in order to block up the entire freeway. They don’t understand that it’s my freeway, and I let them use it, but only on the condition that I’m allowed to move as freely as I want. Most of the time, though, they don’t seem to remember this unspoken agreement. That makes me unhappy.

            The Coaster has none of these fine “safe” drivers. This is nice in that I don’t have to deal with them, and a quick ride to wherever I’m going is a sure thing, but it also takes away the satisfaction I get when I can pull in front of someone who’s going 40 in the fast lane and gun it till they’re no more than a speck in the rear view mirror. It also takes away any freedom I have to go where I want, when I want, which is a very big minus. So while on a daily basis it may be the cheaper and faster route, I think I’ll stick with my truck for now.

 

Matt Doan

Depending on the day of the week, I have a set routine to get to campus.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I normally hitch a ride with one of my roommates
to campus. Then I normally take the city bus to the corner of La Jolla and
Genesee and walk four blocks home. But for this field work assignment, I
decided to take the Regents Shuttle to campus and then take the city bus
home. By taking the bus both ways, it entails me to walk more which also
means I have to wake up earlier for the commute, which should be fine
since classes do not start that early for me. I did not mind walk to
Regents, but I did find it difficult to wake up earlier for the commute
because I am not a morning person. However, if I did have someone to walk
with me to Regents in the morning, the walk probably would not seem as
long as it did. Perhaps, I can get my roommate to walk with me to Regents
on Tuesday and Thursdays instead of having him drive to campus. It would
definitely same him money on purchasing parking permits and on gas.

blog posting for essay1

Blog entry:

Because I live on campus, I usually walk from my apartment in the Marshall College Uppers apartment to my classes.  For this assignment, I focused on my journey from my apartment to Pepper Canyon Hall (PCH), which involves walking the diameter of campus.  Instead of the 15 minute power walk I usually take to get from Marshall to PCH, I decided to use the Campus Loop Shuttle.  Initially, I thought the shuttle would be faster because wheels should move faster than feet.  But, I was quite surprised to find that the shuttles were not as efficient as I expected them to be.  Instead of taking a direct path like walking would, the shuttle actually circles around the circumference of campus, taking about 5-10 minutes longer to get from the Marshall Uppers apartments to PCH.  The frequent stops the shuttle makes also slows its pace down.   Because I wake up right before class starts, the extra time the shuttle takes would make me late for class, therefore, walking is the most efficient method for me.  (Both methods are cost free, in a sense.)  I spend more time on the shuttle than I would walking, therefore, the shuttles do no work as my primary mode of transportation.

Submitted by:  Lucy Li

My experience with the Nobel shuttle opened my eyes to many benefits of leaving my car and taking the bus instead.  The shuttle cost me no extra money and was relatively stress free. I was not in control of many aspects of the journey such as the speed of the bus, stops along the way, the chosen route or any other driving decisions.  However I did not have to deal with the burden of finding a parking spot or risking a parking violation and I made it to class early enough to stop and get coffee along the way. When I drive my own car to school I am behind the wheel and I feel in control of my journey, music, route, and destination. I rationalize my choice to drive to campus because I feel that if I have control as the driver it will be the quickest way to get to class. Although the traveling time may be less, the overall benefits of the shuttle seem to outweigh the costs of driving my own vehicle. What I enjoyed most about taking the Nobel shuttle was, ironically, my passive role as a passenger on the bus. I was free from the stress of rushing, stopping for gas, avoiding traffic, finding parking, and racing the clock to make it to class on time. Because driving to campus has become a ritual habit of mine it would be difficult to break the cycle. Taking the shuttle would require me to adjust my wake up time in order to account for possible variables such as shuttle delays, long lines, weather conditions, and prime time shuttle hours.  Kim Buckley-A06533343

blog entry #1

My typical commute to campus starts with a 7-8 minute drive to the East Parking Lot at UCSD. Depending on where my first class of the day is located, I typically allow about 30 minutes for my commute. Sometimes I carpool with my roommate, and she has a class in Revelle, so we have to leave a little earlier. Once I find a parking spot in the lot, I wait for the shuttle, and then cram in and try to find a seat. The shuttle then stops at Regents lot to pick up more passengers, packing the shuttle full of students, backpacks, and skateboards. The journey to Geisel Library, the last stop, can take ten minutes or more depending on traffic. The ride is usually bumpy, noisy, and cramped. Once I depart from the shuttle, I usually have 5-10 more minutes' worth of walking in order to get to my first class. Last Thursday, I tried a different type of transportation and rode my bike from my apartment all the way to Warren Lecture Hall. I will be the first to admit that I am not the world's greatest cyclist, but I survived the 20-minute bike ride and arrived a few minutes early. Riding my bike more often would certainly be a more environmentally conscious choice, but it is quite tiring and it would be increasingly difficult as the weather gets warmer. However, I could definitely handle the bike ride to Regents on a regular basis, and it might lead to fewer trips to the gas station.

Jessica Spraggins

Changing tracks

With this fieldwork assignment, I compared my 30 minutes commute (driving
my car, taking the bus, and walking to class) to almost an hour commute
(walking to Regent's parking lot to taking the Regent's shuttle to walking
to class). I was more irritated and frustrated with my new transportation
method than with my regular one. It was not as convenient as my usual
route and actually started my day off badly. I was pretty frustrated and
tired when I got to class, which completely affected my mood to study or
pay attention.
My transportation decision is largely based off of convenience and costs.
I drive my car to the closest bus stop so that I can take the bus for
free and I wouldn't be so annoyed with all the stuff I have to carry onto
campus on a daily basis. My transportation routes are neither determined
in terms of total convenience (parking permit), because I can't afford
it; nor is it chosen based off of getting the most physical workout for
my mornings (walking).
Problems that I can foresee about my route would be if the bus drivers
went on strike, or if more people decide to take my route, thereby making
it difficult to park on the street. If such problems were to arise, I
would be forced to change my daily transportation route.
Olivia Tiet

Changing Tracks Blog Post

Changing Tracks Blog Post

For this fieldwork assignment I analyzed three ways of getting to school.
For my first mode I took the city bus. I live at Costa Verde Village, so
using the bus stop located on La Jolla Village Drive and Regents was not
only convenient but cost effective because it was FREE! I was able to get
to campus in less than fifteen minutes. Awesome. My second route to school
was via school shuttles. If I was not the first stop along the route, I
don't believe I would ever make it to school on time. It just gets too
crowded during peak hours. The third mode I took was using my own car to
get to campus. It was great waking up later, but it was not so great when
I realized the time it would take to find a good parking space at 11am
near Price Center. The time, money, and gas spent on parking on campus
really aren't worth it when I can easily take a city bus or school shuttle
to campus for FREE. Especially since caring about the environment is a
trendy thing, taking the bus cuts down on pollution and over usage of
fossil fuels.

Buu Huynh

fieldwork assignment blog

Like many of the people I find it necessary to conduct business and pleasure all over this sprawling city.  This requires efficient modes of transportation that can cover long distances sometime more than 20 miles and be able to do it for a reasonable cost.  One of the journeys that I make on a regular basis is the approximate 10 mile trip to rehearsals for a music performance group that I am a member of.  These activities provide a host logistics confrontations as well as issues of coordination between members of the group which usually totals over 7 individuals.  Underpinning possible solutions to transport all of us must also account for an impressive amount of equipment that accompanies each member.  I usually drive alone in a van that I purchased just for the job.  After recently attempting to catch a ride, I realized the complexity of the task.  I also realized that it would be impossible to get to my rehearsals via public transportation not only because of the equipment issue but also because the route is too complex and far off any main roads.  The lesson that was most effective was how acts of transport affect my bottom line—especially with current gas prices!

-Christopher Murray 

Fieldwork 1 Blog

I usually drive myself to and from UCSD. I live too far away for me to use
public transportation so I decided to carpool with my roommate for my
alternate mode of transportation. Even though I was excited to carpool, in
order to save a little money, I soon realized how important it was that I
had my own ride. We carpooled on Thursday morning; I needed to be at my
section at 8 am and she needed to meet with her classmates around that
time as well. I normally leave for school at 7:30 am, but she was running
late and we weren't able to leave until 7:50. Unfortunately, we ran into
traffic and I wound up being about 15 minutes late for my class. I
realized how, while carpooling is good in some cases, it's not good when I
need to get to a class by a certain time. It was much more convenient when
you are working on your own time, rather then someone else's. I am happy
to have conducted this experiment in order to truly appreciate how
convenient it is for me to have my own ride in order to get me from point
A to point B. This ensures me the freedom that I so desire and need as my
way of getting to and from campus.

Rebecca Kwait

BLOG 1

The decisions that people make in choosing among different methods of
transportation have the objective of improving their commute according to
their personal specifications. The majority of the students that live off
campus, for example, drive to school each day in their own cars. However,
the daily commute to campus by this method of travel is always pretty
unpredictable due to elements such as traffic jams, street signals that
never work in your favor, and limited campus parking spaces. It is also
more and more expensive due to constantly rising gas prices. However,
students that live closer to campus can save a fair amount of money by
riding the free campus shuttle. The fact that I could save money on gas
and on parking passes is what drove my decision to use the campus shuttle
transportation. However, I do have to show up to the bus stop at least
about half an hour before class starts due to the long lines and
overcrowding that occurs around the peak afternoon hours. Along with
having to get up earlier to catch the bus on time, you also always have
the slight chance of running into the occasional awkward conversation with
someone you haven't seen in a while. Either way, the bus gets me to
campus and saves me a good deal of money. For this fieldwork assignment,
I decided to take a more active alternative approach and rode a bike to
campus. I eventually got to campus in about an hour and a half. I snaked
through business and apartment complexes using speed bumps and curbs as
obstacles. It was an interesting adventure to say the least: I talked to
a guy on the street corner twirling an advertisement who said he was
actually working to get a new bike, and I discovered Regents Pizzeria.
Although the bike ride to campus was pretty fun, I wouldn't use this
method on a regular basis just because it is too time consuming.

-Javier Gonzalez

City Bus

Stacy Lee
4-15-08
COHI 175
Essay 1

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I typically wake up at 9:40 am, get picked up
by my neighbor who also has a class that starts at 11am, and carpool over
to school. We park at Regents Parking Lot and then from there walk to the
shuttle stop where a shuttle comes to pick us up every 10 minutes. After
getting onto the shuttle, I get off at the Warren shuttle stop, and from
there walk to Sixth College to attend class by 11am. I take this route
because it is the fastest way to get to class and I save gas money and
don't cause further air pollution. I changed the typical journey to school
this week. Instead of carpooling with my neighbor, I drove to University
Town Center mall, parked my car there and took the city bus to campus.
Then on campus I walked from the bus stop to class. I enjoyed this route
more because it allowed me to people watch. This is something that I
really enjoy doing and there is a greater diversity of people on the city
bus than on a regular school shuttle. Another plus is that I get to listen
to my ipod. Also, this is still environmentally friendly because public
transportation is a good way to save gas and prevent smog in the air. I
spend a little bit of my own gas on the drive to the mall, however I could
easily tweak that step in the route and even walk to the all, take the
bus, and walk on campus. Maybe I will consider that for the next time I
decide to use an alternate mode osf transportation to get to school.

Off Campus Breakfast Adventure

Waking up at 8am to go to an Economics class is no pleasurable experience. Neither is the walk back. Normally, after class, I would trudge along the dirt path, half-awake, through the eucalyptus forest to hurriedly get to my on-campus apartment. "Ten minutes until I am back in my warm and comfy bed," I thought to myself as I hastily walked past sleepy individuals, taking paths that required the least amount of walking.

But one day, my good friend and I decided that we were going to take an adventure after class.

My ten minute walk turned into an hour and a half spontaneous quest involving a second person and a car. We drove off campus to Bristol Café. After eating a delicious meal, I arrived back at my apartment just in time for Professor Brown's ambitious, yet sadly unsuccessful, online lecture. Although this random outing was indeed fun, it is not only costly, but time consuming. If for some reason there was traffic, I would have not made it back in time for Mobile Communications. This trip could only happen again if the circumstances were in my favor (i.e., Mobile Communications class being canceled) and if my friend was extremely persuasive.

-- Jennifer Kim

Fieldwork Assignment 1

Assignment 1

Because of my close proximity to the Regents parking lot, I routinely take the Regents shuttle to get to campus. The trip can take anywhere from 25 minutes to 45 minutes, depending upon the time of day. Consistently there seems to be long lines, lack of space on the shuttles, and multiple stops before library loop, where I usually get off. These variables can change the time the trip takes immensely, causing me to always try to arrive at the shuttle stop at least 30 minutes before my class starts.  While the shuttle system is not ideal, the alternate route that I chose for this assignment, driving, had many of its own problems. The most apparent is the actual parking situation on campus. Most students resort to parking in the Regents lot anyways because there are little to none "S" spots on campus after 9am. Along with the pain of finding a spot comes the exorbitant price of the yearly parking permit. If people are paying over $500 to park right across the street from my house then it doesn't seem logical to purchase that same permit to drive 100 feet. However, I could see myself purchasing the day permits or hourly permits if I am ever running late to class, because those do allow for "B" spots, leaving more space available closer to the class rooms and causing the trip to be much shorter. -Ari Cover

--
Ari Cover

Undergraduate, University of California, San Diego

Changing Tracks!

Normally, my regular route to school involves me driving to campus,
parking in the East parking lot, taking the shuttle to the Canyonview
pool, and then walking to the U413 building. This entire trip takes me
about 30 minutes and involves three different modes of transportation;
driving my car, being driven in a public shuttle, and walking. I am
comfortable with this route and I know how much time each step of the way
will take.

However, in order to switch up my normal routine, I decided to take the
bus. I picked up the #41 bus on Genesee and Governor and began my long
journey to class. I found that after I finally arrived to campus, I still
had to walk a far distance to get to my destination. If the bus had
dropped me off closer to my class it would have been amazing, but it did
not. It ended up taking much more time to actually get to my class taking
this new route. Even though the bus route is much cheaper (less money on
gas and not having to pay for a parking permit) it took a lot more time
and much more patience than I have. I did enjoy the change of environment
I got to experience while taking this different route.

Katie Bartik

From Driving to Skating

My usual journey to school consists of driving seven miles from my parent's house to the university campus.There is occasional traffic congestion, but I take this route because it is the shortest, quickest, and easiest. For an alternate mode of transport, I chose a combination of walking and skateboarding, and, for sensible reasons, chose to take a non-freeway route through Pacific Beach and downtown La Jolla. I started at Torrey Pines Road and trekked uphill, using foot and skateboard power. The journey from downtown La Jolla to the campus was long, hard, and entirely unusual. I enjoyed the skating segments much more than the walking, as I could see my time and energy ticking by as I trudged along on foot. The skating, especially on flat areas, was actually enjoyable.While it was easier to see the sights at a slower pace, the noise from traffic was overwhelming. Overall, I appreciated the exercise but despised the inconvenience. I appreciate knowing I am capable of such a feat, but would not choose to do it again because of the time and effort involved. While it is "free" to self-propel, the trade-off is not conducive or viable for my lifestyle! - C. Sexton

COHI 175 Walking Assignment Blog Posting

The main factors that contribute to my transport decisions in getting to
UC San Diego are time and being in control of my journey and arrival. In
driving myself to school, I get to decide what time I leave, as well as
have a good idea of when I will be able to get to class. I give myself
the time I need, and am rarely late to class (I would say never, but the
possibility could always arise). I have been taught to be punctual, and
am the type of person that likes to know exact times of departure and
arrival. Because of these qualities, it is hard for me to give over the
reigns to another person. I am open to the idea of walking to school at
some point, though the first time I would probably leave very early as I
wouldn't know how long it would take. I do like the idea of getting
outside and walking more. The main problem I would see with my current
method of travel being disrupted would be some sort of car failure. If I
chose to walk to school, the problems possible would be: weather (most
likely too hot this spring), if I was sick, or injured. There are many
other problems that could possibly happen, many of which you could not
foresee, such as a car accident, natural disaster (like the wildfires),
emergency that doesn't allow you to leave when you'd like, among many
other possibilites.

-Julia Lange

ESSAY1 BLOG

Every week I journey by bicycle across campus to Canyon Vista. This method
is much easier and effortless than walking or running, and faster than
waiting for the slow shuttle. The route I take cuts straight through
campus and consists of concrete pathways and is mainly downhill. I prefer
this method of transport and this route because it's fast, effective, and
saves time during my busy schedule. Although biking usually takes four
minutes to reach my destination, it can vary depending on what time I
leave. If I depart on my journey during a passing period (between 12:20
and 12:30), there is foot traffic crowding the normally open pathways, and
since I do not want to run anyone over I must ride at a slower pace. I
walked this route as my alternative method of transport. The slower pace
and greater control of walking allowed me to enjoy the scenery and make
connections with the people around me. However, this method took 18
minutes and required me to leave my starting location much earlier than I
would have liked to. Taking in the scenery was nice, but I prefer to save
time and travel in the fastest and most efficient method possible.

Kimi Canete

For my alternative mode of transport I decided to ride my bike to my
friend's house instead of driving my car. It is approximately 1.1 miles to
my friend's house from mine and it takes 5 minutes to get there by car and
15 by bike. It was 90 degrees outside so by the time I got there I was
extremely hot and smelly.
One problem I could for see is if I went to my friends house and ended
staying till late at night riding my bike home could be a dangerous event.
My car gets 27 miles to the gallon, and if we calculate gas at $3.75 than
it costs me $0.14 per mile. This means it would be less than $1 to get
there including wear and tear and the cost to start up the car.
One major benefit for riding my bike over driving is the reduced impact
that I would have on the environment. I would not be releasing CO2 into
the atmosphere and I would also be exercising and keeping my body in
better shape. Riding a bike would be a good alternative to driving if it
does not get extremely hot or cold outside.

-Patrick Murray

Michelle Moran BLOG

Normally my trip to campus consists of taking the UCSD Shuttle. The
shuttle stop is a convenient five minute walk from my apartment.
Depending on when I have class, I usually leave thirty minutes for the
commute to school. Most of the time there are many students in line to get
onto the bus. When the bus does arrive, it is generally full from the
students at the previous stop. As I get crammed onto the bus, holding onto
the railing, with two strangers awkwardly close on either side of me, I
just keep thinking to myself that the ride is only about ten minutes long.
The previous Tuesday I decided to take an alternate route to school and
drive myself instead of taking the shuttle. Instead of leaving the usual
thirty minutes before class, I decided to give myself a full hour to find
a parking spot. As I feared, it took me about forty five minutes to find a
parking spot, plus $5.00 to pay for a pass. With the way gas prices are
these days, the shuttle is definitely my choice of transportation when
going on campus.

blog entry Essay 1

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have a language class from 9:30 am to 10:50
am, and Communications class from 11:00 am to 12:20 pm. To give you an
idea about how far these two classes are, my first class is in Solis 109,
and my second is at U413 #2. The first day of class, I got out of my first
class early, so I had the chance to take the shuttle at the Peterson stop
to the Gilman stop. I got to class exactly at 11. On Thursday, I decided
to walk, and found that walking is a bit more stressful than taking the
shuttle because I had to speed-walk all the way to class, and there was
still a chance that I'd be late. Though having to speed-walk all the way
class can be really stressful, walking still has a couple of benefits
since it's a form of exercise (since I hardly exercise as a lazy college
student) and it's free because it doesn't run on fuel.
There are many things that contribute to my determined mode of transport.
Time, reliability, and convenience are the primary factors that help me
decide what mode of transportation I should take everyday. In this
particular case, I would most likely have to walk every Tuesday and
Thursday because it's a more reliable and convenient method of transport,
especially because of the time constraint. If I get out of my first class
early, I would consider taking the shuttle, seeing that sitting on a bus
is a bit more desirable than speed-walking through the woods of Peterson
hill. Also, there are problems with walking and shuttling: What if I get
out of my first class late and the shuttle isn't on time? How will I make
it to class on time by walking if I lonely have around 5 minutes? This
really does effect a number of things: how fast I get to class, what shoes
I wear (i.e. maybe not heels or flip flops if I'm going to be walking on
dirt through the woods), what seat I get in class, whether I should leave
my computer on sleep than on shut-down mode so it'd take less time to
prepare for notes, etc.

Five minutes in one hour

Five minutes in one hour – that's how long a regular drive became when the drive became a walk. I normally take either the city bus to campus; if I'm feeling particularly lazy, or if I've woken up a little late, then I'll drive. (And I'll admit – I drive myself to the bus stop at UTC, though it is all of a ten-minute walking distance from my apartment.) So for the purposes of this field assignment, I chose to walk to campus on a Friday morning – and my five-minute drive became an hour-long walk.

I drive to campus because I could have made several round-way trips in the course of a one-way walk. I did get a great workout, walking to campus, and of course I saved on gas and prevented some emissions. The problem, then, becomes reaching a compromise between the two – how do I get to campus in a timely (and leisurely) manner, while still preventing as much damage as possible? My solution is in the transit system I utilize every day. The bus ride from UTC to UCSD is normally fifteen minutes – for short distances, the bus is an extremely convenient and environment-friendly option – not to mention the benefits of sitting, as well.

Hanna Choe

My daily commune to UCSD that I conduct on a regular basis requires using
transportation of my own car. I particularly choose this transport
method of taking my own car to school every day because it is convenient
for me and I can leave my home only 15 minutes before the class starts
when I have to leave 35 minutes earlier if I choose to take UCSD shuttle
to school. When I take my car to school, it usually takes around 8
minutes to get to school and I need about 10 minutes to find parking
space, so I leave 15 minutes before the class starts. My transport method
of driving my car to school requires me to buy parking permit so that I
can park my car in any available parking spaces at UCSD Campus. For the
convenience, I purchased UCSD parking permit for the Spring quarter. On a
different day, I tried using a different form of transport which was
taking UCSD shuttle bus to school. My experience with taking public
transport system required a lot of time to get to school on time. Also,
it was inconvenient for me to take UCSD shuttle bus to school because I
had to wait until the bus gets to the bus stop every 10 minute and I had
to walk over to bus stop from my Apartment. What bothered me the most was
that sometimes, the bus would just pass by because it already had enough
students so there was no space to accept any more students in the bus.
Through observing some inconveniences by taking public transport, I would
not use this transport method and I would just use my original transport
method on my daily commune to UCSD which is taking my own car to school
because it has more benefits.

Jeeye Lee(Janet)

Fieldwork Blog

I do not like to wait. I am impatient and I don't like waiting in lines,
I don't like waiting at stoplights, I don't even like when people step on
their brakes. I guess you could say I live a hurried life but it all
comes down to the fact that the time I save on traveling from place to
place gives me extra time for other things such as sleep or food. When
doing this fieldwork assignment, I compared two different ways of getting
to school. I compared driving directly onto campus to a parking lot that
is very close to my class to parking on a public street where I have to
walk to a shuttle stop and then take the shuttle to campus and then
proceed to walk to my class which is farther from the shuttle stop than it
is when I park on campus. I found some pros and cons. Pro: it seems that
parking on the street and taking the shuttle would pretty much cost me
nothing. However, parking on campus at the place I choose to park costs
six dollars every day. I would use the same amount of gas to get to the
spot where I park on campus, as I would use to get to where I park to wait
for a shuttle. Con: when I drive directly to campus, I only have to leave
my house 10-15 minutes before my class starts. By doing the shuttle
route, I would have to leave my house up to an hour in advance to give
cushion time for several factors. These factors include the time it would
take to find a free parking spot in the street, the time it takes to walk
down the street to the shuttle stop, the time it takes for the shuttle to
arrive, the time it takes for the shuttle to travel to campus, and the
time it takes to walk to where my classroom is. To take the shuttle
route, I have to wake up earlier so I can have enough time just to get to
campus. If I take the driving route, I can wake up at the same time, but
I would then have additional time to eat breakfast or go to Starbucks or I
can sleep in for a couple extra minutes. Being that I am an impatient and
hurried person, I can't decide if it is worth it for me to pay all that
money to park conveniently or if I should lose out on some sleep so that I
can get to school for free. What would you do?
--Megan T.

first assignment blog entry

My daily routine to school involves many different types of
transportations. I live in Carmel Valley, a place that is three exits away
from UCSD if you take Interstate 5. I need to drive my car to La Jolla
because it is impossible to walk from my house. It usually takes me about
15 to 20 minutes to La Jolla area depending on local traffic. I usually
park my car at the Vons plaza, which is located on Arriba Street, and then
I will take UCSD Arriba track shuttle to school. This part of my daily
route usually takes about 15 minutes to school, but sometimes it takes me
about 20-30 minutes if there is a long line at the bus stop. To avoid
waiting in long line, sometimes I have to leave early from my place so I
won't be late for class. The UCSD shuttle drops off at Mandeville
Auditorium, which is pretty much, the center of the entire campus. At this
point, I choose walking as my primary transportation to class. Walking
does not take me too long; usually I walk about 10 minutes to classes. My
total daily route takes me about 40 minutes by taking these different
transportation.

For this changing-route assignment, I decided to take a different route to
get to school. I still drove my car to Vons plaza, and parked my car
there, but my alternative route became different after I parked my car. I
decided to walk to a bus stop that is not on Arriba shuttle's route but
belongs to Nobel shuttle. It took me about 10 minutes to get to a bus stop
on Nobel Street. When I was waiting for Nobel shuttle, a #48 city shuttle
came and I decided to get on to see the difference. I thought this bus
would take longer time to get to campus than Arriba shuttle, but according
to my experience, it was actually faster; it took me about 10 minutes to
get to campus. I got off at a stop near Center Hall, and took a 10 minutes
walk to get to my class at Peterson Hall.

-Jasmine Tsai

Fieldwork assignment

Sean Covell

10-15 minute Difference

I live on Judicial Drive in San Diego. I usually leave just 20 minutes
before class starts. I like to go on campus from Nobel Drive, all the way
to the end of the road, then make a right onto Villa La Jolla Drive. Go
all the way up, and make a right before the Gilman parking structure –
Gilman Drive. Take Gilman Drive all the way down until I hit Voigt Drive.
At the end of the big soccer field, make a left on Lyman Lane. Parking on
the right.
On Tuesday of class, I decided to take the bus. I left 45 minutes before
my class. Drove a few blocks to the Westfield University Towne Center
because the bus doesn't go all the way to Judicial Drive. After 15
minutes of waiting for the bus, the MTS 30 Bus came. I get off the first
stop on Gilman Drive. I got lucky this time I think because the bus came
not too long after. It was about a 30 something minute travel.
I personally don't like the bus, but it was an okay experience, except
for the wait for the bus – I do not have the patience for that sometimes.
-Amy Lin

Blog 1

When I decide on how I'll get from one point to another, I look at two
things: first, how much effort do I need to put into planning, and second,
how dependable the transportation I'm looking at is. Most of the time, I
walk to wherever I want to go—it's free, and the time it takes to get from
one place to another is consistent. The only problem with walking is that
I am limited by what I can carry with me, which doesn't really come up
unless I am doing something like grocery shopping. Because riding the bus
would allow me more freedom in terms of what I could bring with me, I gave
it a try for the assignment. I found that riding the bus is more trouble
than it's worth, because even though I can carry extra groceries with me
on the bus, there is a great deal more planning involved in the trip, and
I have to arrange my schedule around that of the bus. An especially
unpleasant experience was rushing to finish my grocery shopping so that I
didn't miss the scheduled bus (which, in the end, was about ten minutes
late anyway). Since I live on campus and have no need to purchase the
massive amounts of groceries allowed by bus travel, I will stick with
walking, at least when I need food.

-Elisa Ellis

Blog Entry:
I live at Archstone Apartments behind the south side of UTC so campus is
just out of walking distance. I usually take later classes (early
afternoon around 1pm), drive to and park on the main campus (Hopkins
structure) and walk to class from there. But a friend of mine has the
kind of apartment where anybody is welcome to crash and so I decided to
compare the two routes to class. The driving, parking and walking take
me almost 40 minutes – or even up to an hour if I have to drive around
looking for S-parking. The waking up on campus makes me miss first and
second years here because it takes me less than 15 minutes in comparison.
In fact, I woke up on campus at the time that I was supposed to have
left my apartment to commute. The assignment also made me think about
how there are actually four commonsensical ways for me to get to school –
depending on two things: which way I turn out of my apartment complex and
where I think I can find any parking on the main campus. That, of
course, depends on where I am headed; Peterson Hall is typically the
destination for my first class. But all in all, I just miss being able
to wake up and walk straight to class.
-Charlie Tang

fieldwork blog

Normally, I leave my apartment about forty-five minutes prior to the
beginning of class. I drive from my apartment about three miles to a
different apartment complex guest parking. I park my car and walk about a
block or so to the school bus stop. From there I wait for the bus that
comes every ten minutes or so, and then I load on the bus and start on my
way again. The bus drops you off right in the middle of campus so getting
to class is convenient. . From that point, I end up walking about a half
a mile to class, which ends up taking about seven minutes or so.
The alternate way I chose to take was driving the entire way to school
rather than just to the bus stop. I got in my car and headed to school,
depending on the red lights it can take anywhere from five to thirty
minutes to get to school. From there I had to stop to pay for a six
dollar all day parking pass. You are only allowed to park in the allotted
B, S, or V spots and the only spots open were A spots. I drove around the
Gilman parking structure for twenty minutes searching for a spot and I had
no luck. I then drove over to the parking lot by the university center
and there was no spot there either. Being that I had three minutes until
class was about to begin, I found a two-hour meter spot and paid another
two dollars in change to park there. I ran about a quarter mile and
arrived at class fifteen minutes late.

Ashlee Roohani

blog entry

I usually drive to school because I live in PB. I usually hit traffic
early in the morning and coming home in the afternoon because there is
really only one way to get to the 5 going in and out of PB so that slows
me down, as does parking. It is also pretty costly these days with gas and
to pay for parking, but after this experiment of trying a new form of
transportation, where I chose to ride a bike to school, I found that
driving is the way for me. Although bike riding is very healthy, the fresh
air and scenery were nice, not to mention that I didn't pay any money
for transportation at all, I would never do it again. Riding a bike all
the way to school, even with out my normal loaded back pack proved to be
very exhausting, hot, and more than anything else, very long. I would
rather pay more money for less time and less physical effort. If I want
some fresh air, I'll roll down my windows when I drive instead or walk
along the beach, maybe for 30 minutes max instead of 2 and a half hours
worth of biking up hills!
-Dominique Guevara

Blog #1

My regular journey to UCSD begins in Tierrasanta, an inland community where the 15 and the 52 meet. There are no close bus stops and the closest one there is does not go toward La Jolla, so I'm pretty much forced to drive. On a normal afternoon I can take 52 West to 5 North and find myself at school in twenty minutes. Unfortunately, my first class typically begins at 9:30, which requires me to leave my house at around 8:00am because of traffic. Then there is parking, which is a little more complicated. I either impatiently wait near a pedestrian entrance to the parking lot so I can stalk whomever is walking to his or her car, or I end up paying $6 for a day pass to park in a visitor spot, in doing so wasting the money I spent on a quarterly parking permit.

For the assignment I decided to park off campus and take the UCSD shuttle to school. I ended up near the intersection of Regents and Nobel and decided to park on the street next to a shuttle stop I saw. I walked the short distance to the shuttle stop and within a minute the bus showed up and took the ten-minute ride to UCSD. Arriving on campus without having to stress about finding a parking spot or having to pay $6 for a visitor spot was heavenly. I saved a little bit of gas, time, money, and the environment by taking the shuttle, and it has thus nearly convinced me to change my route for good.

There are only a couple downsides to this alternative route: 1) it doesn't leave me in control of my transportation; 2) the bus is stuffy (and I was sick); and 3) I'm not a big fan of standing in the middle of the shuttle and holding onto the metal bar so that I don't tumble over as the bus turns.

Kelley Brooks

Changing Tracks Blog

I live in Encinitas, and commute to UCSD, and to work in Solana beach
(which is located on Highway 101). Although the freeway is geographically
the quicker route to both locations, I take the 101 highway the majority
of the time to avoid the traffic congestion. Driving allows me to be
independent, in control, and is quicker than walking, riding a bike, or
taking the bus.
My fieldwork experiment involved using public transportation, by taking
the bus from Solana Beach to UCSD (I cheated a little since I would have
had to take a different bus just to get to Solana Beach). My experience
with taking the bus was a very uncomfortable one. Not only did I suffer
from intense motion sickness from the swaying motion that the bus made,
but the waiting to get on and off the bus was very unpleasant. Although
the bus was free (for UCSD students), cheaper for non-UCSD students than
paying all the fees incorporated with owning a car, and much better for
the environment, it was way too uncomfortable for me to make it my new
form of transportation. Maybe if San Diego created an efficient form of a
subway system this would be a more feasible alternative for many
commuters.

Debbie Siegrist

my standard route to campus...

The route I usually take to school is to walk to the corner of Regents and
Arriba and take the Arriba shuttle. The first part of my journey is to
walk to the shuttle stop, which usually takes me about 10 minutes. I
usually follow my street, which unfortunately does not have a sidewalk.
Once I almost get to the main road (Arriba), I usually take a shortcut
through a small grassy area/park that is only for pedestrians. This saves
me some time, and is a pleasant area where kids sometimes play and people
like to bring their dogs. After cutting through this area, I get onto the
main stretch of my walk that takes me directly to the shuttle stop. It is
a pretty short walk from that point, and you can usually see when the
shuttle turns the corner, which can be both a good and bad thing
(sometimes leading to a mad dash to try and get on the shuttle).
The shuttle is a very convenient mode of transport, it is free for UCSD
students, and only has a few stops. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get
to campus from my shuttle stop. The only downside is that it can
sometimes get very crowded and lots of people are forced to stand and
squeeze together for the ride.
An alternate route that I took was to get a ride with my roommate. This
was convenient because we could take a more direct route, but it had the
added challenges of having to leave earlier to find parking. When taking
into account the stress and cost of parking on campus, I feel that the
shuttle is a much more economical way to get to and from school. In fact,
my friends that do have cars often choose to take the shuttle to save
them from having to park on campus.
-Hitomi Demers

Out of Gas- At $4 a gallon, I wonder why

      I didn't so much choose an alternative method travel as much as I was forced into one. Last week I got in my car to go to school fifty minutes before class at nine-thirty a.m. I turned the key, the engine didn't start. After getting over the fact that I wasn't driving to school that day eight blocks away, I hopped out of the car and started walking. I walk to campus occasionally. It's sad to say but the reason why I drive even though campus is just up the hill is because I don't want to take the time to walk and I'm usually burnt out by the time I get to class if I walk. At the end of the day, I decided to travel on Villa La Jolla to the nearby Mobil gas station and pick up a gallon of gas to take back to my car. The trip there was down one huge hill and the trip back to my house was up another. Along La Jolla Village Drive, there is a portion of the road that has no sidewalk, so I had to walk in the flowerbeds for awhile and inches away from coming traffic travelling at speeds of forty-five mph.

     Although the round trip walking to and from campus took considerably longer, I realized that it was a more economical, healthier, and less stressful way to travel. There is almost nothing to worry about in terms of timing (I just have to start earlier), and it relieves traffic on the already jam-packed streets of La Jolla. Not to mention, driving from a few blocks away from campus is extremely wasteful and hazardous to the environment. Yet, this fortunate alternative commute I took last week has not and most likely will not change my transportation methods. Living in San Diego is almost unmanageable without a car, considering how spread out all areas of interest are.

 

The art of commuting...

My normal route to get to UCSD consists of a short walk, about a quarter mile, to the shuttle stop. From there, I get on the UCSD shuttle, which comes at various times. If I'm lucky, I get to the shuttle stop as the shuttle is just arriving, but most of the time, I have to wait a good 10 minutes, sometimes even longer. My stop is actually the last stop of the route, so I am often standing up in the shuttle, which I find irritating because I am barely tall enough to hold on to the handle bars above me. The route, with the shuttle's relatively slow speed, takes about 8 minutes to get to campus. Although it is not the most convenient way to get to school, it is certainly the most logical.

I "changed my tracks" and normal route by driving to school instead of taking the shuttle. I took a different street from what my shuttle route takes, to further "change my tracks." Although this route only took me about 5 minutes to get to campus, finding parking took about twice the time it would have taken me if I had just taken the shuttle. Driving may be more comfortable and convenient, but overall, taking the shuttle is faster and cheaper!

- Shaneil

 

I hate living in Mira Mesa because of the lame commute!

When driving home to Mira Mesa during non peak hours, especially from 10pm
to 6:30 am, the route can take about 12-13 minutes. Usually it takes more
like 20. However, during rush hour, it can take nearly an hour for me to
get home, due to an overly congested main street in Mira Mesa, Mira Mesa
Blvd., that has about 10-15 traffic lights in the span of around a mile.
The commute time is in itself not "that long", but the constant stop and
go traffic and close proximity to other vehicles, combined with the lack
of scenery during the drive have made me really hate driving to school. I
have to be on campus at 7 am 3 days during the week so carpooling is not
an option. This quarter, I only need to be on campus on those 3 days,
and that early I am always able to find a space on campus so I use a
10-day parking pass for daily use fee of $4.00, and even at 7 am, I still
have to park in the back of the lot. For this assignment, I tried to think
of alternative routes or modes of transportation. However, no one wants
to leave for campus at 6:30 am, so carpooling didn't work. The buses are
of no help to me early in the morning because I would have to get on one
at around 5:15 to get to campus by 7:00 am. Biking is a little scary
since I would have to be on congested roads for 10+ miles and when I'm
carrying all my books and things is not a good option for me. Walking
would take around 2 hours. For the one time purposes of this assignment,
I decided to hitch a ride with a friend and ditch my early morning meeting
for work, which I find unimportant anyways. This is not a sustainable way
to commute since it doesn't even save me time and it puts me on campus at
a time that doesn't work out with my schedule. I would be forced to move
to La Jolla if I didn't own a car.
Katherine Young

Blog 1

So this weekend I went to the mall UTC that is located near my apartment
complex. Its funny because I live really close to the mall but yet I
drive there, its like eight blocks away and I still need to take my car
everywhere I go, it's a habit. So last Thursday I went to the mall on my
car and on Saturday I had to return something and I decided to take the
bus. To my surprise, the bus was really on time like the schedule had
stated. Overall, my experience on the city bus was not that bad and
besides I surely saved money on gasoline. The bad thing on the way back
was finding the right bus to take me back home and when I did find it, the
bus driver was wanting for more people to get on. So my experience was
okay but I felt I wasted a lot of time dealing with one bus to another.
In the process, I was attempted to call my friend but I didn't in the end.
Public transportation needs some work done but I guess it cannot get any
better than what it already is. As for me, I think I may try and walk
those eight blocks. But it is hard to walk everywhere when one:
everything is usually far from one another, two: we rely on cars way too
much, and three: the roads are really build for cars and not for
pedestrians.

-Jesse Cabanas

Blog Post 1

At first I thought this assignment would be no problem, but I was very
wrong. I live on campus and therefore do not need to commute to school.
The main time I drive is to and from work which is off campus, but I had
the past week off so I was not able to try alternate forms of
transportation. Then I thought about places I go on a regular basis and
one of the first ones that came to mind was going to class. I live in
Marshall College and I have a class in U413 which is all the way on the
other side of campus. I usually walk there and it takes me about 15
minutes. The only cost is the cost of time because walking is free.
I decided to try two other methods last week when getting to class. The
first was to drive around campus loop to get to class. Parking was nearly
impossible and I ended up parking on the bottom of Gilman in a meter
space. The trip cost me gas and time, plus the $2.00 I had to put into
the meter. Overall, it cost me about 45 minutes of time to drive and
park. Driving to class was an awful experience, partly because parking
and traffic were so awful in the middle of the day.
The second method I attempted was to take the campus loops shuttle. The
journey took me about 20 minutes. This was a convenient way to get to
class; however, the shuttles can be unpredictable at times. It is hard to
know if they are going to be running late or not.
After trying two new methods of getting to class, I still prefer walking
because I feel like I have more control over it. I can tell my body when
to start and stop and how fast I should be walking. I do not have to
worry about finding a place to park my car or that the shuttles will run
late.

Wendy Bryer

Assignment 1

The first transport method that I used was taking the UCSD shuttle to
school. This was the regular method that I use everyday. Taking the
shuttle to school is the fastest, cheapest and most convenience way. The
only things that I have to concern was to make sure the shuttles are
operating that day and hoping that there were not too many students
waiting in line for shuttles. Another transport methods are taking public
bus such as the MTS and driving to school. I used the driving method to
school was because it was very different from taking shuttles and buses to
school. When I knew I would drive to school, I could foresee what would
happen or what would possible happen such as what if I could not find
parking space, what if I had to park very far from my classroom or other
situations that might happen. I had to give more time to prepare in case
these incidents happen and I still won't be late for class. I think the
first transport method is more convenience and faster because within two
minutes I can walk to the nearest bus stop and the shuttle only takes ten
minutes to ride to school. However, if I drive I have to give myself at
least forty-five minutes.

Sally Tung

fieldwork assignment #1

For this fieldwork assignment I tested out two different methods of
getting to school. My normal method of transportation is by the
school shuttle, which picks me up right across the street from my
house. There are many reasons for taking this method of
transportation some of which being; the limited amount of parking on
campus, the closeness of the shuttle stop to my house, and the high
cost of the parking permits. The fieldwork assignment was to choose
another method of transportation so for my alternate method I choose
to walk to school from my house. Walking did take about 15 minutes
compared to the average 10 minute shuttle ride. What I have found
from this fieldwork is that the shuttle doesn't actually save that
much time because of the several stops it makes before reaching my
destination. When choosing the method of transportation there are
some factors that I have to take into consideration. One of which is
the weather because if it is a nice day walking is more enticing than
riding in the hot shuttle but if it is raining than the shuttle is a
more appealing mode of transportation. Another factor that comes into
play when choosing a method of transportation is where exactly on
campus I want to go. For instance if I were to want to go to the
library the shuttle might be a better option than walking because the
shuttle stop is right out side the library. If I was to want to go to
where our COHI 175 classroom is located it is the closest classroom to
my house and also there isn't a shuttle stop very close to the
classroom so walking is a better option.

BLOG 1

BLOG 1 CHANGING TRACKS
For my fieldwork assignment I experienced 2 different ways of getting to
school. I live in a suburban area, and do not have access to public
transportation anywhere near my home, and am forced to get to school by
personal vehicle. While my typical route is taking the 5 south, in my
fieldwork, I examine the other routes available to me, and why I choose
to take the route I do.
I "Changed Tracks," two different ways, in which I was able to look at
transportation from a different perspective, and measure time by
traveling in different routes. I carpooled with my father two days in a
row, one in which I realized he took almost the same route as I do on a
daily basis, but gets off an exit before my normal exit. The drive took
almost the same amount of time, yet I was able to get out of the car
sooner, because I was dropped off when carpooling, and did not have to
deal with finding parking which at times may take 30 minutes. Even
though I had to leave 2 hours prior to my class time to accommodate my
father's schedule, which was during peak traffic hours, the freeway drive
was not that much longer to when there is no traffic. The following day I
asked my father to take a different route that we both never use. This
drive along the coast was indeed beautiful, but did take longer.
I enjoyed carpooling because it was cost efficient. However I was on a
time crunch, feeding my father's schedule, and getting up earlier which
resulted in me getting tired sooner throughout the day. I also had to
bring and carry all of my school materials, rather than using my car as a
storage area.
I enjoyed this project because it was active, and I was able to have
first hand experience. This made me realize how dependent I am on my own
vehicle, and how much it costs to maintain it (car, gas, parking pass).
Yet also showed me how independent I am when it comes to having my own
schedule.

Stephanie Shkolnik

Essay 1

The route I take on a daily basis is from my apartment on campus to work.
The route that I take daily from my apartment to work begins at the stairs
that lead to the lower Marshall apartments. As I walk away from the
Marshall apartments, I arrive at a path through some trees behind Geisel
Library. Through Geisel library, I walk into Sun God Lounge and around
the second floor of Price Center. Past the Price Center Ballrooms, I exit
at the back doors of Price Center and I will arrive at the Student
Services Center. The new route and method I chose to take on my way to
work was utilizing the UCSD Shuttle. By taking the UCSD Shuttle, I had to
wait five to ten minutes for a shuttle to arrive. I chose the shuttle
going counter-clockwise since I assumed it will take me closer. I
encountered many stops and many students entering and leaving the bus. At
my final destination, I got off the shuttle and had to walk 5 minutes
until I reached my work place. The new route was more unreliable in time
and convenience. My original method of walking and the route I usually
take gives me more control over how much time it can take me to get to
work or which paths I can take.

Rebekah Romingquet

Mobile Communications Class

This assignment is based around documenting your own travelling and mobility, using a change in how you commute to make you reflect upon how you make your travelling decisions. The assignment will take the form of writing a short essay and a 200 word ‘blog posting’ on your experiences, posted to this publicly available class blog.

Take a journey that you conduct on a regular - at least weekly - basis (such as your commute to UCSD). As you conduct the journey, take notes on the different stages of the journey. Describe why you choose that particular transport method, and any alternatives that you have tried. For each part of your journey describe:
The mode of transport, how long it takes, the variability in journey time, cost, alternatives to this journey that you frequently take. On a different day attempt that journey again but using a different form of transport. If you travel by car, try public transport. If you take the bus, try and walk the route. If you walk, try to get a lift with a friends. Try a form of transport that you haven’t tried before (e.g. the trolly, amtrack, coster). Describe your experiences with the new route.

In your blog posting describe your experiences of the different transport methods. Discuss what contributes to your own transport decisions. What problems could you foresee disrupting your travel?