Bus Riding

Stemming from Jess’ post about the man and gasoline we decided to stick it to him. The man, that is. So we road the bus today to church and back. It was a test ride to see if it’s a lifestyle we’re willing to commit to. There are still some questions concerning Jess’ ability to walk or corral Jones on the bus, but in general it was an encouraging experiment.
You see, because we’re poor we can get bus passes for 18 bucks a person per month. These passes work for all of the ‘Couve in addition to all of Portland. Yeah, thats right, we can ride the max, the street car, and the bus in Portland. Pretty good deal if you ask me. It took us a total of 50 minutes from start to finish and one transfer to get across town to Renovatus today (normally it takes 20). But the time investment is worth it. I’m looking forward to reading while on the way to work, to saving gas money, and to helping get cars off the road.
It reminds me of when I lived in Portugal. Jonathan and I road the bus everywhere. It was good at times and killer at others but we didn’t really know any different because we didn’t have a choice. The best part about riding the bus in Vancouver is that people don’t stoop to the level of animals. That’s an odd thing to say because in big cities everyone takes public transit, but in Vancouver it’s just we poor people. I’ll tell ya though, there were times that I regretted being a part of the human race as I watched respectable little Portuguese people smash themselves on an already full bus as the doors would close repeatedly on their butt until they sucked it in enough to allow closure. It was like watching cows trying to fit around a feeding trough or piglets trying to all find their own nipple to suck. The greatest part was that if you were willing to wait seven minutes for the next bus it would inevitably be empty because everyone crowded on the first. I miss those days. I miss sleeping on the bus and always waking up at the right time to get off (I never missed a stop from sleeping…I’m not sure how). I miss having a bus book, one that I carried around and only read while on mass transit. I miss having blind guys sit on my lap or rude people talking smack about me thinking I didn’t understand what they were saying. I don’t, however, miss the mugginess on the bus when it was full. And I don’t miss grocery shopping. And I don’t miss waiting for the mysterious bus to Quejas (it didn’t follow a schedule and sometimes just wouldn’t show up). I don’t miss waiting for the bus after a long day when all you want to do is crawl into bed and go to sleep. I don’t miss waiting for the bus on extremely hot days with no shade.

I’ll let you know how this little experiment goes.

8 thoughts on “Bus Riding

  1. i'm interested in this experiment. I too have considered riding the bus, but i fear that it would take too long…. like over an hour. But the street car stops on 23rd betwixt Marshall and Lovejoy, and that would be a pleasant little jaunt…. so…. using you as an inspiration, I plan to chart my path right now.using your computer.Do you ever want this thing back?No… seriosly….. I've had it forever.

  2. i fell asleep once and missed my stop and the bus driver woke me up at the end of the line in the bus depot thing! i dont miss throwing up on the bus…a lady who i assumed was just nice but was probably just grossed out, gave me her seat.i dont miss becca showing off her amazing skill of being able to recite the exact order of every bus stop and metro stop…that was annoying. i dont miss having to wait for one of the three buses that run on the entire day of sunday and showing up hours late for lunch at the silvestris…ya that happened a time or 2.aaah, good times…and bad times.

  3. I sometimes would really love to take the bus, I think it is very relaxing to just get on sit down and then show up wherever you're supposed to be….yeah it takes a little longer, but so does stopping to fill up your tank at 4 million dollars a gallon. I'm with you, a book instead of shifting and yelling at the blue hairs that go 35 on the freeway with a speed limit of 65. Oh…if only Caldwell had buses.

  4. Glad you guys are investing in bus riding. I've been interested in taking the bus in and around Salem, but seem to always talk myself out of it (you know the usual arguments…time…time…and, well…time).Two years ago, when Julie and I stayed with my Amish relatives for two weeks, I remember thinking about the lifestyles that we develop in mainline culture…and the enormous price tag to them. I'm often shocked by how much of our lifestyle is dictated by selfish, cultural wants.I'll be interested to see how the bus rides go.

  5. Jeb and I take turns riding the bus and taking the car. I think it's fun and not too terribly inconvenient. Our son loves it too! And I think we save money and maybe we do a little for the environment too. Bravo for riding the bus.

  6. all I got to say is… wait till you gotta ride the max train from hillsboro to northeast portland at about 11 at night… your perspective on mass transit will change and not for the better.

  7. When I was in grade school (back before AC was inventd) my buddy Talon and I would wait all summer for Clean Air Day when all the busses are free. Then we would climb onto the first bus that stoped and just ride around in the cool air with no place to go. Good times.

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