"Carpool Manifesto": A Treatise on Capital District commuting...

Do this.

Stand near any busy thoroughfare in Albany - Madison, Delaware, New Scotland, the doorway of your mom's bedroom (OH!) - at rush hour, morning or night, and perform the following non-scientific yet highly credible study:  count how many assholes are driving in cars, sometime full-size SUV's, by themselves.  You'll pass the 100-mark in a matter of minutes.  Then, realize that most of these cars are likely going to the same general geographic areas (e.g. the hospitals or colleges, the Plaza, the State campus., horrible Wolf road, etc.).

Finally - ask yourself the following question:  how many fewer cars would there be if these geniuses just rode to these fucking places together?!?

I recently read this article about a proposal to bring more car sharing options (specifically Zipcars) to our area.  While certainly a good idea, I don't think that more cars on our streets is the best answer to address the transportation needs of urban residents.  It only took me a few minutes of researching to find an alternative and, in my opinion, a much more viable one:  a very decent online local commuting resource called iPool2.  It has some awesome features, like "Zip Code Matching" which finds you a carpool based on your zip code, a "Commute Cost Calculator" to help you see just how much money you're pissing away on driving everywhere yourself, plus the "Guaranteed Ride Home" program, which ensures that a user has transportation in the event of an emergency.  (note: "I'm really drunk", doesn't qualify as an emergency to these people.  Oh well.)

Anyway, I think that currently available and overlooked options like the carpool, bus, and vanpool services available through iPool2 should be fully explored before creating any further automobile initiatives (and subsequent traffic congestion) in my city. So check it out.  Or just stop being a pussy and take the goddamn bus.

That's it.  It's Friday - who needs a drink...