Transit System in Alabama = Like a dream?

I've been researching about public transportation in Alabama for my class. Around me as a college student, JSU introduced Gamecock Express. Birmingham has MAX and DART. I have a friend who took AmTrak to New York from Anniston.

There are some options other than car, but practically car is the most reliable and efficient option around here. At least among possible choices.

But, car is not so reliable if you look at other option in other cities. Think about it. If you are in the U.S., many of you have seen cars and trucks broken down and sitting on the shoulder of a highway or freeway, haven't you? Some are in pretty bad shape by accidents.

Speaking of accident, car is not the safest trip means either. Imagine ordinary car drivers and train operators. See... train operators are more trained, professional. Plus, flow of trains is mostly controlled.

I liked New York when I went for Spring Break. You can go anywhere in Manhattan by subway. Tokyo, where I'm from, has really good transit system too. Boston has commuter trails and its stations have big parking spaces.

But, when you come to Birmingham, you can't really get around the city without a car. MAX transit doesn't serve the need. It's a bus network spread from Central Station. It's kinda like MARTA subways in Atlanta, which goes north-south, east-west from Five Points, but MAX buses does what trains do in Atlanta basically, on congested public roads.

Most buses I've seen are empty. I heard some buses break down in the middle of service and they often delay. It's not attractive. Plus if traffic is congested, bus runs so slow as well. Unless building separate route or lane dedicated only for transit, like street car, there is no merit.

I think bus works when it is attached to infrastructure dedicated to public transportation. It doesn't work by itself. Imagine if trains ran on I-20, I-59, I-459 in Great Birmingham Area and they stopped major suburbs like Trussville, Leeds, Hoover and Central Station of Birmingham and buses ran from those stations. You only have to ride bus and drive to those stations and take a train to wherever you wanna go. Isn't it cool?

It helps the city to grow too. Come on Alabama. You can do this.