ePlaya

Please move this if it's in the wrong forum but don't delete this.

Lets face it, the city plan was made when participants could take their personal vehicles around BRC, and now with 70,000 people it's kind of hard to navigate without a bicycle. And even so you have a machine too lock up and keep track of, which can drag some people down. BRC is 2.2 miles across!

This is why It's time for MVTA, Mutant Vehicle Transporation Agency; a volunteer driven public transport service on fixed routes and on a frequency schedule (No set times but comes every xx minutes in defaultia time). Getting around the playa when BRC is in full swing can be much funner and easier if some of the mutant vehicle operators ran like bus lines, in a frequency schedule using Defaultia time. Participation for MV operators is completely optional, and MVs currently participating in MVTA have their status posted to differentiate from non MVTA MVs.

We only need a few lines and depending on number of MVTA participants (art cars offering BRC fixed public transportation) all lines can be serviced with as little as 3 MVs, although the "bus" will be packed. The three lines I devised are:
-"E Street Circulator" (runs circles in BRC clockwise/counterclockwise on E street, upon hitting open playa makes a beeline across to E Street)
-"Keyhole" (runs a loop starting at 5:30 & K to 6:30 & K, then turns to center camp, runs on 6:00 to the temple, turns back down 6 in a mirror to 5:30 & K).
-"3 & 9" (runs from 3:00 & K plaza to 9:00 & K plaza, then turns around back to 3:00 & K to repeat).

The frequency of the line is dependant on how many MVs are participating for MVTA, so no service to arriving every 5/10 defaultia minutes.

Here is a route map to show the lines I devised:

Lets make 2017 the year BRC gets fixed public transportation!

Please I cannot ride a bicycle and I want to buy my first tickets for your transportation service! Thank you for being so conscious of the story

Sheesh....
BRC was NOT laid out when you could drive your personal vehicle around. It was designed as a pedestrian city from the start. The creation of the arc shaped Black Rock City and the ban on driving both came in 1997, right after Helco.

This loosely scheduled art car bus line idea isn't new. It's been brought up and tried many times over the last 15 years.
Things are just too random for it to be effective.

You left something out of your original post.

Why is it time? The population has been at this level for a few years. Riding a bike is part of the experience. Your time would be better spent on transporting those who can't get around on their own.

Ratty wrote:Your time would be better spent on transporting those who can't get around on their own.

So much this. You want to do something worthwhile? Make an MV that is fully compliant with the needs of people in wheelchairs/ on crutches/ unable to bike/ etc. There are a lot of people out there who rely on others to help them see the sites, and "handicapped" placards only go so far. Using your vehicle to help these burners see the event would be a much better service than some sort of barely functional municipal transport system, because, face reality, any volunteer based transport system in BRC is not going to function, especially later in the week. Once the party kicks in and the shiny things are in abundance, riding a boring loop for people too lazy to bike* is going to be the last thing on peoples minds.


*people who need rides obviously not included

Out of curiosity, are you building and bringing a mutant vehicle to the event that you would be dedicating to such a cause, or is it more of 'something other people should do for my convenience' kind of thing?

I kind of like the irregular and unscheduled manner that BRC mutant vehicles currently provide transportation. On rare occasions a vehicle that can accommodate you is heading in the same direction, but otherwise it's an adventure filled with the unexpected, and time is rarely a consideration. All year long people rush around in an effort to keep to some kind of schedule, I think part of the bliss many experience on the playa is that they take a break from that.

I submitted the application for our MV "Respite" today and would be willing to volunteer to run a circuit for a day or two. It is a purpose built people mover with chilled seats and overhead air curtain with room for 15 - 20 folks. Assuming I get approved I am in! Keep me in the loop.

Just cruise and pick up people as you see fit. There's never gonna be a regular route MV transportation service. BRC just don't work like that.
One of the zillion things wrong with the whole idea is that no one other than a few eplayans - who are already a microscopic percentage of burners - has ever even heard of this.