ESCONDIDO: Sprinter riders get free limousine ride into downtown
Sprinter riders get free limousine ride into downtown
By SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer | ∞
ESCONDIDO ---- For 10-year-old Michele Pumroy, Saturday was a day of many firsts.
It was her first visit to Escondido, her first trip on the Sprinter light-rail line and her first time feeling like a star, as she got to slide in and out of a sleek, black limousine shuttle.
"It was so much fun," Pumroy said, just minutes after stepping out of the limousine and on to Grand Avenue in downtown Escondido. "I liked it because usually we think limos are only for celebrities."
The free upscale ride, which carted Sprinter passengers between the Escondido Transit Center and downtown throughout the day, was part of an ongoing effort by Escondido's downtown merchants to draw more people into the city.
Saturday was the first day that the limousine shuttle, provided by the Downtown Business Association and Escondido's Extreme Limousine, was running. It will continue to be available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Saturday through June.
Michele, her two younger sisters and her dad were among more than 50 North County residents to grab the glamorous ride into downtown Escondido by midday.
Several of the passengers, who came from Oceanside, Vista and San Marcos, said that the free, seven-minute trip in the limousine was a major draw. Many of them waited in short lines outside of the train station for their turn in the 10-person vehicle and then once inside they snapped photos with their phones and cameras to remember the moment.
One such person, Dianne Bolt, said the Sprinter paired with the free limousine ride was an event she just couldn't pass up.
"We just wanted to come in to Escondido and have some fun," the Carlsbad resident said. "I'm on the coast, so I don't come into Escondido too often."
With the added convenience of public transportation, though, Bolt said she might be more likely to come again. Already, she said, she was thinking about coming back for the association's weekly Cruisin' Grand car show on Friday nights.
Debra Rosen, the leader of the downtown association, said that she was pleasantly surprised by the early-morning turnout and that she was eager to see how interest and use of the service might grow as more people learn about it.
Rosen, along with Escondido Councilman Ed Gallo, greeted people at the limousine's pickup spot as they arrived on the first couple trains.
"It's just an added plus to bring people to the city," Gallo said of the train and shuttle service. "We had a birthday party, for instance. They read about the shuttle service and said 'Let's do that. It's different.' "
The 22-mile Sprinter light-rail line began operating March 9, carrying thousands of passengers a day from Escondido to Oceanside. The trains operate seven days a week from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.
On Saturday, trains arrive at the Escondido Transit Center at 26 minutes past the hour.
Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 740-5416 or schabner@nctimes.com.
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Walt wrote on Apr 6, 2008 11:06 AM:More proof expensive mass transit does only part of the job. Each Sprinter boarding costs taxpayers $9 capital expense. Add highly subsidized operatiing cost. Then the $ millions added so it could go "to" SUSM needs a $2 per ride shuttle. Or the limo, customers will eventually pay for. The real cost per 6 mile trip for a typical mass transit boarder is approching retail private taxi cost of $18.20. That's doorstep to doorstep in one vehicle when and where you want to go w/o waits at unprotected transit stations. Wonder why autos took over from trains and buses decades ago?
okay_walt wrote on Apr 6, 2008 1:06 PM:How about the true cost of driving a car. And the future cost of being married to the private car for transportation. The future demands change, 18 dollars is a bargain
Walt wrote on Apr 6, 2008 1:37 PM:To Okay Walt: Future car ownership is not a cost, it is a new plus benefit. That's why travelers have chosen to pay more for owning and renting autos. Time and convenience for busy productive people are the primary attributes. Thus the marriage is of necessity determined decades ago because public transportation could not provide the necessary personal benefit. See Federal Dept of Transportation for info auto users of roads etc pay fully. Transit riders are heavily subsidized.
prof wrote on Apr 6, 2008 2:38 PM:Walt leaves out "hidden" costs like lung diseases caused due to more pollution from autos. Health care is VERY expensive.
Plus our oil money goes to people in the Middle East who hate the USA - helping to fund terrorism.
George wrote on Apr 6, 2008 2:50 PM:Thanks to the Federal Clean Air Act, auto emissions are down 90% over the last few decades. The greatest cause of auto emissions is planned congestion on our freeways due to the artifically increased time of operation and the fact that stop-and-go driving creates more emissions than sustained freeway speeds. In other words, most of the pollution is caused by the traffic planners at SANDAG, CalTrans, and related agencies who refuse to provide the necessary capacity improvements to the roads.
prof wrote on Apr 6, 2008 3:38 PM:Walt leaves out "hidden" costs like lung diseases caused due to more pollution from autos. Health care is VERY expensive.
Plus our oil money goes to people in the Middle East who hate the USA - helping to fund terrorism.
Mass transit is simply more efficient.
prof wrote on Apr 6, 2008 3:51 PM:Get your facts correct. Federal data shows that auto emissions have not down 90% - try less than 40% depending on the pollutant - with no reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) since 1970.
Mass transit is simple more efficient. If Caltrans, SANDAG ect built more of it there would be minimal need for freeway expansions.
trevor wrote on Apr 7, 2008 2:21 AM:One day the quarter will drop and the people of Southern California will see the need for efficient, clean, and affordable mass transit.
In ten years time The Sprinter will be seen as the progenitor of mass transit.
George wrote on Apr 7, 2008 7:25 PM:"The Sprinter is the progenitor of mass transit"? You're joking, right? You don't know about the pre-existing transit buses that use less fuel to carry more people than the Sprinter? http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/13/opinion/commentary/18_31_176_12_07.txt Looking to the south, have you missed the Bus Rapid Transit experiment in the center of I-15 that was recently discontinued due to lack of riders? http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/20/news/top_stories/23_12_551_19_07.txt There are already several progenitors of mass transit, most of which do not serve the needs of the vast majority of the travelling public and are soaking up gas tax money that could be used for congestion relief.
George wrote on Apr 7, 2008 7:34 PM:Here are the facts on the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970, which required a 90% reduction in hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides emitted from automobiles. This goal was supposed to be achieved in the mid-70's, but the industry missed the target. However, by the mid-1990s they were successful. Your "less than 40%" claim is not accurate.
Rev wrote on Apr 7, 2008 10:23 PM:People complain about so much and always seemed to be dissatisfied yet never to anything to help the solution but complain. Alot of people who never had the chance to ride in a limo found it quite nice. Me, I say if you dont like the kitchen get out and stop burning the food.
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