I'm a Libertarian living in Humboldt County, CA. I've lived here in Eureka since 1973 and joined the Libertarian Party in 1992. This blog will mostly focus on local political issues, but I may stray into state and national issues as well, when I can't help myself. Please post your comments by clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post. Although I do moderate comments, you need not be a registered user to post them.
Saturday, November 02, 2013
De Rooy's Letter: Short Sea Shipping
I've written before that I like the idea of Short Sea Shipping (SSS). I'll disagree with Sylvia De Rooy's letter in yesterday's Times- Standard that there is no downside to it. There certainly could be a downside and I object to the suggestion that trucks are a scourge to the area and it would be a good thing to remove them from our roads. Those horrible trucks provide good paying jobs that SSS will likely not come close to replacing. After all, it takes a handful of crew to run a barge and a relative handful of people to load and unload a barge. What are those truckers going to do if their jobs end up being replaced? I reject the notion De Rooy and other environmentalists have of all those displaced truckers just magically "finding something else to do". Short Sea Shipping might well be a good idea. If so, let's let it happen on its own. Let's not suggest getting rid of trucks and their good paying jobs is a valid reason for pursuing it.
When the comments on the Short Sea Shipping post digressed into a discussion about local bus services, I got curious. I recalled Greyhound closing their Eureka terminal some years ago. Are they still servicing the area? One commenter said they were, but I can't recall seeing a Greyhound bus around here in years. I remember reading something about a bus or buses still stopping here, just no terminal where you could buy tickets or wait for the bus, so I went to check the Greyhound web site. My first try came up empty and I couldn't find Eureka listed anywhere. The only places listed were major cities. Then I tried again and found this page. Apparently a Greyhound bus comes through Humboldt once a day. Standard fare for a trip to Ukiah is $48.00 with stops in Scotia and Willits. Seems reasonable to me. I have yet to find where you're supposed to get on the bus, though. When I first moved up here I believe the Greyhound station was somewhere around 4th and E streets in Eureka. Then it moved to the north end of town on 4th or 5th. Now it's just a spot where you stand and get picked up, but they don't say where. I do remember seeing Amtrak buses driving through Eureka, so I know they're still around, but how do you book a ticket? Looking at their web site, the map shows a number of stops along 101. The closest actual terminal seems to be in the San Francisco area. I'm unable to find their bus schedule, so far, assuming there is one. All I can find are train routes. I did find mention of their bus routes being an extension of their train routes, but what if I wanted to take one of their buses from Eureka to Ukiah?
Seems to me one of the Matteoli clan came back to Eureka on Amtrak and was dropped off around 5th and D. I guess I could ask one of them. Either that or call Amtrak's 1-800 number.
Looks like the AmTrak web site needs some work, as does Greyhound's. It is good to know there's at least some bus service available up here.
