" I frequently go carless, but it only works if I don't have to leave town. That is one of the problems of living in Napa. "

" You would think that public transportation would make a greater effort toward aligning their schedules. We had somewhat of the same problem. I wanted my son to take a bus from the Upvalley campus to the Napa campus. If he took a connector bus from Upvalley campus to the main Vine bus line heading down hwy 29 to Napa, he would have missed it by five minutes or so and would have ended out waiting another 45 minutes or so in St. Helena. It's frustrating because we wanted to make a difference in our driving habits, but I really do not want my son hanging out for such a long time either.

You would think that whoever schedules the local St. Helena bus used as a connector taking people from one campus to another would consider the inconvenience factor. And some may suggest just driving the short distance to downtown St. Helena and taking the bus directly from that point, but parking then becomes a challenge. We do not have any park and ride areas around here.

I have no doubt, in the case of Solano County to Napa transport, a more direct route will be the wisest solution for the future as our service industry population increases. We really have to make a greater effort to transport a service oriented/working class population with some degree of convenience if we expect to reduce vehicle numbers on our roads. "

" good point! "

" I ride 3.5 miles to work and 3.5 miles back. It is slightly downhill to work and takes less than 15 minutes. I can dirve it in 10 but it usually takes 12 minutes or more. Comming home takes about 20 minutes but on occasion I will take the long way and tour the Napa College bike way to clear my head if I had a stressful day. I would like to take the bus sometime but it does not service my area.
I must admit that during work hours I visit various jobsites and have a time schedule that requires me to drive using a company vehicle. Also I drive during the winter months because it is dangerous commuting in the dark. "

" As Dan says he disagrees with everything I say. But I can never find his articles to reply to them and give him more reasons to consider my opinions.
#1: I disagree that Napa is not affordable. Houses in Westwood are selling in the low $200K range, apartments are available for $1000 to $1,500 per month.
#2: Dan, you often have transportation big whigs like Leddy and Dodd in your editorial meetings - why don't you pin them on things like this and let the community know their lame answers?
#3: If Jameson Canyon is always backed up why not drive 6 miles farther to AmCan Road where there is no traffic?
#4: Maybe a rail line would help but you refuse to hod Dodd and the NCTPA for pulling it out of Measure H.
#5: You at the Register blindly support NCTPA and support every one of their tax increase proposals - but you never seem to ask them the hard questions like you pose here. You "disagree" with everything I say but won't open up to the fact that I know a lot about Napa and the solutions for some of its problems. It's ok though, I have my stubborn streak too. "

" Musikluvr:
We disagree on No. 1. The average selling price of a home in Napa for August 2008 was $445,000.
No. 2: Leddy is gone at NCTPA, but he did reply when asked this previously that the agency was looking at Napa/Solano public transportation options. He even added that reply the last time I wrote a column on the subject
No. 3. I do at times go beyond to AmCan Road, and deal then with the volume of traffic on 29 heading to Napa. The point is to avoid the use of personal vehicles in favor of public transit, however.
No. 4. Trains are not running now between the two counties. Buses exist and do run between the cities, so what is simpler ... Developing a rail service or adjusting the bus schedules by a few bloody minutes, eh?
No. 5. You do have a very clear purpose and voice, but I need not agree with you to be able to have an opinion also. Your determination to lump everyone into one pot causes your points to miss their mark, in my opinion, just like this time, but thanks for voicing your opinion. I don't have to agree with your opinion to make sure you have a place to voice your opinion. "

" The best way to fight the high price of gas is to cut out the long daily commute. This can be done by working remotely. Most office workers can work remotely. Remote Office Centers lease individual offices, internet and phone systems to workers from different companies in shared centers located around the suburbs. ROCs are fairly new but can be found in many cities by searching the internet for "Remote Office Centers" in quotes.

If you work out of a Remote Office near where you live, you can bike or even walk to work.

Over $700 billion is spent every year on imported oil. The budget deficit and banking fiasco could be paid for in a few years if money that was spent on foriegn oil was kept in the US economy. "

" Get a life! get a bike. "

" Hard to carry about 500lbs of contracting equipment on a bike to work every day, but I'll try.
So don't whine like a spoiled brat when I'm holding up traffic in front of you Bill... "