We represent 700 Michigan households!
mrrranda and I just got done participating in an MDOT study. We had to keep detailed travel diaries October 4th and 5th of where we went and how we got there. They told us that our participation was important--it would help the state decide how to build a 21st-century transportation system--and that we would represent 700 Michigan households.I was pretty excited. Finally, a voice for bikes, a voice for buses, a voice for slapping on a pair of shoes and hoofing it!
Of course, I was also concerned. What if they looked at my data and said, "This guy gets around fine without a car. I guess we don't need to improve our transportation system!"
At any rate, I just now had a good time relaying my travel diary data to someone over the phone. I got to explain my trip to the Beer Depot on my lunch hour, and I had to emphasize a couple times that Red Hot Lovers is a restaurant. I walked, biked, and rode buses--no cars necessary. She told me I was the only person she'd talked to who used a bike to get anywhere. I felt a little disheartened by that.
I do wonder what they'll do with the data. I'd already been thinking about mobility a lot, but because of the survey I've been thinking it even more. I want to take a train somewhere.
