In Princeton, it's possible to travel to farflung places without getting in a car. I have tested this a couple times, most recently back in February, for a trip that included four trains to get to the Philadelphia airport, one plane, and another train to get within two blocks of my destination in downtown Cleveland. The trains to Philadelphia are well-timed so there was very little wait inbetween.
When I returned, using the same combination in reverse, I arrived at the Dinky station at 5pm--what seemed like an auspicious time to catch the
FreeB shuttle (click to follow link). That would have dropped me just a block from my home--truly a public transit advocate's dream. But the sign was buried in a snowdrift, and I couldn't find any
schedule posted, so asked a woman who also seemed to be waiting for a shuttle.
She was waiting for a Tiger Transit shuttle, and was checking the website with her cellphone to see if one would arrive soon. Turns out the public is welcome to use Tiger Transit shuttles at no charge (that's what one university rep told me, anyway.) And you can even track their movements on
TigerTracker, which could prove to be even more exciting than reality TV, and more useful. One of their routes appears to reach within a short walk of the Windsor Green Shopping Center (Whole Foods, Staples, etc.) out along Route 1.
Not knowing when the FreeB might arrive, or if it even still existed, I ended up making the mile and a half walk home, which in scenic Princeton can be a pleasing thing to do, even with a suitcase in tow.
A 2009 post on the FreeB can be found
here.
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