For the members of the collective living in urban areas with access to public transit, Can you come up some ideas to address the transportation issues faced by people living in more rural areas?

It doesn’t sound like your area could support more public transit. Maybe you could set up a carpool?

Wasp

check out that video, looks like summat outta a bond movie.

maaaan i want one of those. not bad price either.

See:Powered Hang-glider

@Nullo Your right. Even on the limited basis it’s operated now it’s a big money loser.

I would think carpooling would be the best bet. Or- have someone with a minivan earn some extra money by picking up ‘friends’ and taking them where they need to go. Something like a Country Taxi Service. I would have killed for a taxi when I lived out in the country. Took a two hour bike ride to make it into town and on rainy/cold days I would have paid dearly for a ride.

I think if the person running the ‘taxi’ service would charge less than a regular cabbie then it would help out tons of people. Especially older people who just need a ride to the shops or young people going to work.

In return for lower rates, people could offer up goods like a casserole or free hair cut to help even out the cost of the taxi. Or have the local council subsidize the taxi driver through grant monies to keep prices down for all. Almost like a public service.

I live in a rural area too. Many people do work in the city about 20 miles away. What if there was a ride board where riders contribute a reasonable amount to make it worth the driver’s effort to pick you up. Something like $3 for a pick up and 25 cents per mile. People can take turns so minimal dollars are transferred to limit taxes, liability, etc.

I live in a small neighborhood about 15 miles from town. There’s no bus service within walking distance, and it’s not very good anyway. People who like each other carpool sometimes, and once in town (the state capitol, but very small) everyone can take free van rides around downtown, or just do everyone’s errands together. For going to big box stores and stuff that are farther out of town, we just have to suck it up and drive.
I like the idea of a private van service; but it wouldn’t pay the driver unless he or she had a few passengers… oh I see @worriedguy has a solution for that. This rideboard could be done as a wiki.

Good ideas. We have a few taxis, but they pretty much stay within our one city, or a village. There’s some limited car pooling, but it’s tough to coordinate everyone’s schedule.

What about People Movers?

The basic concept being small occupancy, automated vehicles running on rails or private roads. You’d need to be able to get to the station (which might be a 2–3 mile walk for folks in rural areas), but once there could travel efficiently to any station.