One Scaiaholic tweets incessantly about hashtag: transit alternatives. I’m sure he’s a thorn in the side of the T, but listen, I’m sure I’m a thorn in their side, too, because I still call them, “The T.”

In my defense, “Trinity Metro” does contain three Ts, and calling them the T reminds me of the family back in the Northeast.

All these transit alternatives collided when I went back to Ohio last week. Loyal Scaiaholics will recall my rich history with public transportation [In one case, I even helped a city in Colorado name its mass transit system].

But I took my first ride on TEXRail last week.

I was in a rush, wrapping up my last story before my flight. I had plenty of time, but I had to stop at the house and pick up my bag. I worried I might have to pay to park at the airport instead of taking the train.

Trinity Metro has a feature called, “ZipZone,” however, where you get on an app and a car comes and picks you up. It’s similar to Uber, but I figured since it’s run by a public organization, the system would be inefficient and the van would show up 4 to 6 weeks later.

Because they just rolled it out in a new neighborhood, though, ZipZone is free right now. The price was right, and I figured it was worth a shot. I booked a ZipZone while I sat at a red light near the house.

“Criminy!” I cried out as the app notified me the car would arrive at my house in one minute. “That’s, like, too quick. Well played, Trinity Metro Director Bob Baulsir. Well played.”

I scurried into the house and picked up my bag just as the car pulled up. The car then dropped me off 15 minutes early for the train. That gave me time to text the transit alternative fan.

He, in a supportive manner, encouraged me to get a drink at T&P Tavern while waiting, using the newfound riches from a $2.50 train fare instead of terminal parking, which is ever-so-slightly more expensive.

“Listen, though,” I explained to him when the train arrived. “I’m the only one on this thing.”

He was positive more people would get on at Fort Worth Central, so I started a play-by-play. One gentleman got on there, but he got off in North Richland Hills. Then two more got on in Grapevine and rode the rest of the way to the airport.

While I was home, I finally signed that Cincinnati Reds contract. I also learned Cincinnati is named for a legendary Roman who, during an invasion, dropped his plow, led the doggone army to victory… then went right back to plowin’!

I landed at DFW and got on the train headed back to Fort Worth. Again, I was the only one in my car.

It was great to have the whole car to myself so I didn’t look like a tourist taking a bunch of pictures, but I wonder if this isn’t exactly what Bob Baulsir had in mind.

In his defense, we’ve all been told to stay home for much of the period since TEXRail started running, so maybe it’ll just take time to pick up steam, not unlike a modern-day Cincinnatus just waitin’ for his shot.

The trains were running on time. I look forward to the Near Southside station opening, but now that I’ve used ZipZone, I can now say I have a driver. Transit agencies have been on a push to solve the dilemma of “first mile-last mile” trips from their station to their house or office.

Earlier this year, Arlington started using autonomous cars for those short trips. The mayor took me for a ride.

But the trains were clean on the TEXRail line from Fort Worth to DFW, perhaps because so few people use them, and the announcements were recorded clearly in English and Spanish. As the system matures, my hope is we’ll transition into garbled audio that doesn’t, technically, sound like any language.

Then it’ll sound more like the T.