Hi Everyone,
Lately, I’ve been taking A LOT of public transit. Some weeks I’m on at least one form of public transit 6 days just getting things done. That means, not work but life! For the other days, I walk. I’ve learned a lot taking public transit. This is what I mean.
There is a new bus system and it is great! Not only can I get into the city for less than half of the original cost for an extra 10 to 15 minutes of my time but if I get a transfer, I can use that date and time stamped transfer for up to two hours on as many buses as I want in this HUGE geographical area! That’s cool. There are also now trains every half an hour instead of the former once an hour and there are extra trains during rush hour and extra late GO buses.
But even with all of those buses and trains, the buses are now PACKED! The buses are so PACKED that they literally drive by bus stops because they can’t pick up any more people. This happens at all times of the day with the buses arriving at bus stops every 7-15 minutes because the new bus system is so cheap and that two hour transfer! Because I need to get to where I am going, and I am always in a hurry, I found a bus stop close to my apartment that always picks people up so that has helped. ;D
Now because the bus is always PACKED, it can be hard for me to read and take notes. When everyone is standing 5 centimetres away from each other I just talk to whomever about whatever. And I’ve got to tell you, I’ve had some interesting conversations. When I can sit down or when some young men give me their seat, I start reading and taking notes. If the people around me are talking too loud, I start reading aloud and they eventually either stop talking or speak in a lower tone.
For the times that I am on a subway, I sit in the first or last car because no one really sits on them. That way I can have all the space that I want which is usually two to three seats for my bag, notes and of course me. It is also quiet on those subway cars because, again, few people sit in them.
Naturally there are times when I try to hold two or more seats on buses and subways but that only works for so long. If people are starting to pile on the bus or subway, I just pretend they aren’t there. If no one asks me for a seat, I don’t give them one. But if they do, I smile, say, “Of course,” and accommodate them. After all, it is public transit and not my office.
The other day I decided not to read anything on the bus, not even the free paper. So I sat and looked at the scenery. That was interesting. For one, I saw a garage separate from a house and decided that it would be easier to park in it, if the door as at a different angel. The design was all off. I saw a school that I never knew existed and a few parks too. It was nice not to have my nose buried in something and look around. Plus it was a nice day and I was going to be sitting inside for most of it.
The one thing that I would public transit to add is bathrooms! There are barely any around! Does anyone know what it’s like to sit on public transit for over an hour and a half, with no bathrooms to be found when you have to go pee? Yep. Not a nice feeling. The only way around that is to time the bathroom breaks so no eight glasses of water on busy long public transit days!
Oh and for the times that my two hour transfer expires and I’m still not on my way home, I just ask the bus driver for one. It’s only happened twice and they gave me one both times because the bus they were driving was late and because of that, I missed my connecting bus. Bus drivers are people. If you treat them like they are human, they’ll do the same back. Or at least that’s been my experience.
And just as a reminder, Word On The Street is this Sunday. Here’s the link, http://arebelsrant.com/word-on-the-street/ But if you were at the Yonge and Bloor subway station on Thursday September 19, 2013, they had volunteers handing out free book marks to promote it. I know this because I was there going to where I needed to get.
Thank you for reading A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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