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	E-trans is Here
	by Ray Asregadoo
	On January 2, 2005 history was made in Elk Grove. The City of Elk Grove launched it's own transportation system. It had been in the works for some time and riders, including myself, of the former transportation system, Regional Transit, were apprehensive. Did our city officials know what they were getting into? Transportation systems or bus systems are very expensive to start and to maintain, so most of us who ride the bus to and from work daily were having our doubts.
	Most of us who ride the bus to and from work enjoy the free time afforded to us. To me, it is a luxury to sit on the bus and read, have a pleasant conversation with a fellow passenger or just watch the scenery out the window. All this relaxation for a fraction of what it would cost us to drive to work and pay for parking. Most of us who commute by bus have been doing this for many years; it's the best-kept secret in Elk Grove. Oops, I let that one out of the bag.
	Most of the fear of a new bus system stemmed from a lack of communication from our City officials; we didn't know what they were up to. We heard rumors that there were going to be changes in the bus route and that there would not be any services south of Elk Grove Blvd. Many an email were sent by me to the City asking them to keep the routes the same and the type of service we were going to expect.
	January 3rd came and things didn't get off to a good start. The morning bus was late and the driver was unsure of the route. The evening trip home took much longer than it normally took. As the week went on a new driver got things back to normal very quickly. As for the bus, it was brand new with high back chairs, a television system that broadcasts CNN, and Internet hookup. It has been a month with the new service and so far no one has successfully used the television system and no one has used the Internet hook up. Maybe the new technology has made us a little gun shy. Some day, a brave soul may tackle the unknown and hook up their laptop to retrieve their email.
	The bus is an innovation; it's a hybrid. I got a tour of one of the buses while it was on display at the Cal/EPA building in downtown Sacramento. Besides the gee whizzy gadgets inside the bus is powered by a large electric motor. To charge the batteries that drive the electric motor is a gasoline powered Ford V10 engine. The bus is much quieter than the CNG buses RT operates and gives a smoother ride. We had one hitch during the month of January and that was the bus had a malfunction and had to pull over on the freeway. The driver shut the bus down waited ten seconds and started up and we were off and running. Doesn't this sound vaguely familiar to your operating system on your home PC? The only real complaint I have is that the seats are a little narrow and the legroom too small for someone with long legs.
	Overall, the new system is growing on me. My bus is now always on time picking me up and dropping me off, and best of all we always ride in the carpool lane.
	Ray Asregadoo is an engineer with the State of California. He works downtown and takes the bus.
	The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent those of the Elk Grove Insider or any other entity.
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