The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Transportation) at the GOP Convention

I knew I was in trouble, Save Jerseyans, when our shuttle bus from St. Petersburg (about 30 miles from the Convention Center) took nearly an hour and a half to get to. It was a precursor of the transportation nightmare to come.

I get it: 50,000 people jamming into one venue to “be there” to see the pomp circumstance, speeches and the who’s who of the GOP. Not easy.

But getting around here in Tampa is tough. Too tough.

For example, like I do before the 9th inning of a baseball game at Citizens’ Bank park, I started to plan my exit strategy as Governor Christie, the Keynote and last speaker was wrapping up well after 11:00 P.M. on Tuesday evening.

This time it would not work.

We were herded out of the Convention Center into fenced off cattle shoots, one lemming following another; rumor had it we were heading to the shuttle buses back to our respective hotels.

After what seemed like an eternity in heels (ok, I should have known better), I started asking volunteers/police “where are the shuttles?”  The response was reminiscent of the scare crow in the Wizard of Oz who points in both directions.

Afraid I would miss my shuttle and writhing in blister pain, I convinced “Rob,” a volunteer on a golf cart, to help me. I’m dropped at the “Starship” lot where the Jersey Delegation buses are… not! Desperate, I come upon another poor lost Jersey soul and together we decide to cab it. We find a cabbie, excited for the big fare to St. Petersburg. Ironically, as we are heading out of town, a couple, Morris and Doris bang on the cab’s window also looking for a ride back to St. Petes. Like survivors after a harrowing ordeal, we recount our experiences but are grateful to be heading home not on a bus.

However, I didn’t know how lucky I was until I talked to a friend who took the shuttle bus to another shuttle bus–it took her nearly three hours to get home.

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