Every writer should ride the bus. No, it's not the fastest form of transportation (except in morning rush hour, when those bus-only lanes let you skip congested lanes). Yes, you may have to sit next to people you don't know with questionable hygiene. In fact, you may not even score a seat. But if you have even the slightest interest in other people, in the way that total strangers interact, in the temporary communities that form, you should ride the bus.
Here in Portland, the bus is one of the best ways to get around (I'm counting light-rail as a corollary of the bus, since it too is public transit). It's cheap; most lines run every 15 minutes or more frequently; you can bring a bike with you. I'm a bus commuter, and I think it's one of the most entertaining ways to get around Portland.
My favorite, of course, is when my bus gets so crowded that it becomes an 'express' - no stopping unless someone pulls the Stop Request. We zip along (20, maybe even 30 miles per hour), and with everyone packed in close, you hear the morning commuters talking, the music from other people's headphones, the ritual "thank you!" called as each person exits through the rear door of the bus. Absent conversations to eavesdrop on, you can entertain yourself imagining the backstory of each person who boards the bus or sits around you.
The crowd changes depending on where you are in the city; in downtown, people board dressed in anything from suits and shined shoes to the old sleeping bags worn by those with nowhere to go at night. Move east through Belmont, and the jeans get skinnier, the facial hair more carefully ironic. Ride far enough, and your companions are all commuting to and from wage jobs, or - on the weekend - headed to or from the Target out at Mall 205, a trip that takes you through the narrow streets of Mount Tabor.
There's a certain etiquette about it, too. Some bus drivers, if you're friendly and polite, will make exceptions, let you on with an expired transfer or ignore a forged ticket. I saw one driver throw a guy off because he'd forged his ticket and then explain "He never says please. If he just said please, I'd let him on with that ticket." Youth/student tickets are only good if you're in high school, and you'd better have the ID to prove it. Some bus drivers will pull up next to you if they see you running flat-out to make it to the next stop, while others blast past you.
I don't always want to take the bus - after a long day at work, the last thing I want is to wedge myself between two chain-smokers for forty blocks - but for the most part, it's the best way to people-watch while still getting somewhere. Do you ride the bus/public transit? What's your bus crowd like?
Here in Portland, the bus is one of the best ways to get around (I'm counting light-rail as a corollary of the bus, since it too is public transit). It's cheap; most lines run every 15 minutes or more frequently; you can bring a bike with you. I'm a bus commuter, and I think it's one of the most entertaining ways to get around Portland.
My favorite, of course, is when my bus gets so crowded that it becomes an 'express' - no stopping unless someone pulls the Stop Request. We zip along (20, maybe even 30 miles per hour), and with everyone packed in close, you hear the morning commuters talking, the music from other people's headphones, the ritual "thank you!" called as each person exits through the rear door of the bus. Absent conversations to eavesdrop on, you can entertain yourself imagining the backstory of each person who boards the bus or sits around you.
The crowd changes depending on where you are in the city; in downtown, people board dressed in anything from suits and shined shoes to the old sleeping bags worn by those with nowhere to go at night. Move east through Belmont, and the jeans get skinnier, the facial hair more carefully ironic. Ride far enough, and your companions are all commuting to and from wage jobs, or - on the weekend - headed to or from the Target out at Mall 205, a trip that takes you through the narrow streets of Mount Tabor.
There's a certain etiquette about it, too. Some bus drivers, if you're friendly and polite, will make exceptions, let you on with an expired transfer or ignore a forged ticket. I saw one driver throw a guy off because he'd forged his ticket and then explain "He never says please. If he just said please, I'd let him on with that ticket." Youth/student tickets are only good if you're in high school, and you'd better have the ID to prove it. Some bus drivers will pull up next to you if they see you running flat-out to make it to the next stop, while others blast past you.
I don't always want to take the bus - after a long day at work, the last thing I want is to wedge myself between two chain-smokers for forty blocks - but for the most part, it's the best way to people-watch while still getting somewhere. Do you ride the bus/public transit? What's your bus crowd like?
5 comments:
I have this romantic image of writers penning between bus and train stops. Perhaps it's because I am envious of those who are fortunate enough to live in cities with such excellent public transportation! My current town, unfortunately, has close to none. Hopefully as the U.S. moves closer to accepting public transportation access for all, I'll get the chance to try out that romantic image for myself.
I LOVED riding the subway when I lived in NYC...you see so many interesting people. Now, unfortunately, I live in the suburbs (of Atlanta, a city with notoriously bad public transportation) but I dream of the day when I can people-watch on my way to work.
Only the crazy and the brave take the bus in Los Angeles, but I used to enjoy riding in the subway when I lived in a city that had one. Now airports are my favorite place to people watch :)
Oooh, I love to people-watch at airports. I'm a big fan of airports in general, and the arrival/departure lounge outside security is such an interesting place to sit.
I wish I could. The bus lines stop about five miles away from us, and serve primarily the inner city and mid-town areas. If it were closer... I'd totally ride the bus, but by the time I need to go somewhere, I might as well just drive.
One thing I've thought of doing is using the nifty hands-free kit I got for my ipod to dictate between stops. Of course, then I'll get little voices in the background going "what are you doing, mommy?"
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