One month down

Some things I have learned:

 

If you are a bus, you can be early or late.

If you are a bus rider, you must be early.

 

Standing out in the wind and rain when a bus is over half an hour late is a very long time……..

 

If you are a bus, your schedule is subject to change every 4 months.

If you are a bus rider, you must be alert to these changes and change your home/work schedule and notify your supervisor every 4 months.

 

If you are a bus, and it is Monday, and it is Presidents’ Day or Memorial Day, it is really Saturday or Sunday (respectively).

If you are a bus rider you stranded and there is no bus phone service.  Hopefully, you have read the “the bus stops here” or some kind person has alerted you to this oddity.

 

If you work for a large company or even a big university, your bus pass can cost as little as $72.00 annually. This is quite a break for them compared to the $54.00 a month charged to the average Joe or Jill.

 

Some thoughts:

 

Seems as if we have the chicken or the egg problem here.  The bus routes do not cross each other enough to be truly efficient for the intercity commuter. 

 

For instance, I am 15 minutes, by car, away from home/work.  If I took the bus only, my trip would take 1.25 hours, with one or two transfers depending.

 

The bus schedule appears to be built around the schedules of students (schools) and any workers that do not have to work national/bank holidays. 

 

If the goal is to encourage ridership, the powers that be have to find a way to be there for all of us.

 

I have had occasion to use the bus system in Oakland, Ca. and in Seattle.  The crisscross grid is amazing and the buses are packed.

 

I am concerned that if I commit to this mode of transportation, I will find that the summer bus schedule will be Saturday or Sunday every day and I will be marooned.

 

Barb, Staff