For all of my adult life, I have supported the concept of public transportation as a viable and important way to conserve resources. But its actual use was for someone else, not me. For all of my adult life since I was 18 (some 36 years), I have been content with my excuses for why I never rode the bus: my schedule is too complicated; I must have immediate access to my car to do all the things I want to do; what if there was an emergency; it takes too long to get to my destinations. Of course, there is one excuse that we don't want to readily admit to: buses are where the "other" people go - it's not safe for me. I lived contently with these excuses for three decades and I thought they served me.
A few weeks ago, my options ran out and my excuses were no longer relevant. My car died, rather dramatically in the middle of a bridge. I could not afford the $1,000 repair, so the bus became my only option to get to my work. My journey was a mere 17 miles as the crow flies, but it was across a bridge designed for traffic patterns of 75 years ago. By car it took about 20 minutes when the freeway was clear and up to 2 hours when it was rush hour. That distance was going to take as many as three buses and 2 hours to traverse.
I always knew there was a bus stop right at the corner of my street, about a 3 minute walk from my house. I would often look at the buses go by and feel a bit of envy that those folks were being driven to their destinations. But of course, that couldn't work for me.
So at 5:45 am, I made my way there and waited for the 28 bus to take me to the 48 where I would get off at the entrance to the bridge freeway to catch the final bus, the 242. Turns out the 242 drops me off right in front of my office. The process took about an hour and 15 minutes. It was not what I had assumed it would be for 36 years nor was it what I expected.
It was actually rather pleasant. The bus wasn't filled with shady characters - rather, it was filled with sleepy professional people, sleepy workers from all walks of life, and on the route to a local medical center, lots of nurses and disabled folks. But everyone had one thing in common: they were all quite pleasant, all said "thank you" to the driver as they left, and all seemed to sense that no matter who we were, we were all connected with this bond that comes from taking the bus. We were the no-car people. And now I was one, too.
In the month I have been doing this, I have seen some amazing sights. I have seen people automatically get up to let a blind person sit down. I have seen an average working guy with a hard hat dangling from his tattered back pack get up and rush to give 50 cents to a woman who didn't have enough change. I saw an average looking man get up without hesitation to unhook the safety belts on a wheelchair-bound person at their stop. I have seen bus drivers let folks on who couldn't pay. I have seen little random acts of kindness, acceptance, and generosity regularly on the bus.
My car is working now, but still needs work. I use the fact that it runs roughly as my excuse to continue taking the bus. I have driven to the Park-and-Ride a couple of miles from my house, since I can then take just one bus to get me to work. But I find that I would rather leave the car at home completely and take the three buses so I can walk from my house. It is amazing how much my world, my attitudes, and my demeanor have changed.
There are negatives, of course. I get less sleep and my breathing has been affected by the daily intake of diesel fumes, reminding me of the "smog cough" I had while living in Los Angeles for 34 years. You get bounced around a lot and sometimes, especially on rainy days, the smell isn't all that great. But you know, those things don't seem to matter much. I am saving over $70 per week in gas, I am burning nearly zero fossil fuels in a week, and I am not sitting for 2 hours in rush hour traffic.
In my environmental studies teaching and writing, I always pondered how people get so shut off from the natural world and have documented the consequences of that distance. This morning at 5:45am, I was standing at the bus stop in the dark, under my umbrella while it rained pretty hard. It was a very peaceful, enjoyable experience.
I still wonder why buses don't have seat belts, though.
You might want to try the bus sometime, just to see how it is. You might be surprised and find that you actually could work it into your life after all.
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