PurpAnd

I ride the bus to/from work each day. It’s about 25 mins each way and is generally not very crowded because I usually leave for work before 7 and come home before rush hour starts in the afternoon. A couple of days ago the bus stopped at a red light and I looked up from my game of Risk on the iPhone (my commuter activity) and out the windows to see another bus heading the opposite direction. The bus was probably half-full and was letting people on at the bus stop. There were several passengers seated along the window line and at first I paid them no mind, but then I glanced back at them and not a one looked happy. I thought to myself, ‘look at those saps, they look miserable.’ Then I realized, that’s probably how I look too.

I realized that how I feel on the bus does in fact reflect the looks these people had on their faces. My energy gets sucked away by riding the bus, but I suspect it’s not entirely due to the bus ride. Maybe also from what the bus ride leads to - a long day at work.

Riding the bus is fine, but it’s certainly not the mode of travel I prefer. (Read here for more on my reasons not to like public transit). I enjoy the freedom of sitting in my car, listening to loud music, and the comfort of knowing that I won’t have to avoid anyone who may feature a less than desirable smell. For this freedom, I would gladly pay the extra gas and insurance money to have my own vehicle.

I sympathize with those who ride the bus each and everyday and have for maybe 30 years. I’ve done it now for just over two and I really don’t like it. But I have few options or alternatives. Parking in downtown San Francisco is ridiculous ($30/day in my building or $350/month), and that’s assuming I have my own car, which I don’t (my wife and I share a car). I could ride a bicycle to work, if I felt like dodging cars and riding up and down steep hills. I could walk if I felt like hiking for an hour and showing up to work all sweaty. I could take a taxi, but that wouldn’t solve the cost problem ($15/way in and out of downtown).

It seems I just need to learn to appreciate the bus for what it provides me (and I’ve come up with some reasons to be thankful for public transit). For now, the bus is and will remain ‘my friend,’ but there will come a time when I will no longer need a bus pass and that will be an unforgettable day.