I took Denver's great light rail system twice to work this week. I drive about 5 miles to the spacious Park and Ride garage at the end of the Southeast Light Rail line. There are two trains that I can take to my stop, the Colorado Station. It's Zone pricing, and my trip takes me through three zones. The cost is $3.00 one way. Once at the Colorado Station, there is bus service that takes me right to my office building door, about 4 miles from the trains. It's very easy to use, clean and takes about an extra 15 minutes than if I drove my Xterra. I love my car, but it is nice to keep the miles off the truck (about 80 this week due to the rails) and the gas savings. I get about 20 mpg, and my office is about 20 miles one way...you can do the math.

The light rail is run on an honor system for tickets, no gates, all automated ticket kiosks. It may be something that is foreign to my East Coast upbringing, and I don't remember another system that didn't have a gate to go through. They do have security guards at each station that ride the rails all day and ask for tickets on board....so while one is tempted to ride free, it is nice that you get validated that you are doing the right thing, and the bad guys do get what they deserve.