Laughing at public transportation
Where I live, it’s pretty common for people to literally laugh if you suggest that they use public transportation. “I can’t do that,” they say. “The bus doesn’t even come out here, and if it did it would take hours to get to where I work on the bus.” Comments like that are common even IF the people in question have just been talking about trying to save money on gas. They are excuses, and the people don’t even seem to realize it.
While it might be true (especially in our area) that the bus doesn’t go to certain places, or that it could take an hour or two to get somewhere, that does not equate to “I can’t do that”. It equates to “I don’t want to do that”, “It’s not worth it to me to do that”, or (most often) “I’m not being creative enough”. People don’t seem to realize that their current choices affect the things that they can easily do in the future or present.
For example, I live on a bus line. It’s not an accident either. When house hunting, I made it a point to actively TRY to find houses that were near a bus line, or at least within biking distance of one. At the time, there were two bus lines within a mile’s walk of the house. Now there are 4-5 different lines, including one that stops right at the end of our street. We’re also within biking or walking distance of several colleges, many many businesses of all types, a mall, several movie theatres, the library, museums, etc. Plus we’re near a variety of freeway on-ramps. I also work within a five minute drive/30 minute brisk walk of our house. Until recently, my husband did as well.
None of that is an accident. When I was looking for a job, I refused to take a job that would require a commute. I just refused. Yeah, it took longer to find a job. Yeah, toward the end I was getting anxious and actually thinking that I might need to drive a ways if I didn’t want to run out of money. But you know what? Even if I had had to do that, I would have kept looking for something closer. A commute is not set in stone. You can change jobs.
It’s also possible to MOVE to be near where you work, if you like your job but not the commute. It’s possible to work at home, to telecommute, to use a combination of transportation methods, to carpool + bus, to bike + bus, etc. We all have choices, and we’re not stuck with the same choice forever. Change your assumptions about what is possible and be flexible in what you’re willing to do, and a whole new world will open up.
I’ve found that you should never say never. There are things in my life that I’d thought I would never do. But not only have a done them, most of them weren’t nearly as bad as I’d thought they would be. In fact sometimes it turned out that I enjoyed them a whole lot MORE than what I’d been doing before. Give things a good try. Don’t automatically rule them out with excuses.
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June 24th, 2008 at 11:46 am
When Darling and I were apartment hunting after moving to Texas from Virginia, we told leasing consultant that we needed a house as close to downtown as possible and on a good bus route in order to get jobs. “But you don’t even know where you’ll be working yet,” she whined, pointing out the many nice, cheap homes outside the commercial district. She had an extremely hard time understanding that where we lived would determine where we would be job hunting. Of course she found us a great place, on a great bus route, a ten-minute bus ride from downtown after only a few minutes of looking. Finding an even better apartment a year later was a breeze.
Complaining about gas prices, yet refusing to research alternative travel, employment, housing, or other lifestyle choices is like throwing gasoline on a fire because the you’re not sure where the hose is.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
We live in a very rural area…
There isn’t a bus route within 75 miles. I haven’t even ridden in a bus since the fifth grade. For folks like us, a decent alternative is one of those ‘ride share’ places, where you park your car and then carpool. Most people work fifteen to thirty miles from where they live (in one of three small cites that surround us)… gas prices are just crushing some of them.
NCN
June 27th, 2008 at 11:49 am
NCN, I can see where gas prices could really have a negative effect in that area. But the same point applies — people aren’t forced to live there. We all have trade offs. Even ride sharing is a plus, and something a lot of people don’t consider or write off as being untenable.
June 28th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
As a kid, we took the bus everywhere and didn’t think less of ourselves. We had a choice to drive or take the bus, but the bus was cheaper and we didn’t have to argue with mom about why we needed the car.
Now I see commuters from the suburbs on buses reading newspapers, conducting business, writing reports, and working on laptops.
Work can get done on a bus.
It can be very efficient and affordable.
June 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Oh, one more story …
A few months back, I missed my regular bus and took the later one.
It was the friendliest bunch of people and very respectful to each other and the driver.
The passengers were very proud of their friend on the bus. They said “She got her degree on the COTA bus.” Meaning, that’s where she studied and did her reports.
What a great testament to public transportation!
June 29th, 2008 at 7:17 am
That’s an interesting point. We lived near the bus line where I grew up, but we didn’t feel that it was worth our while to use it much. Going somewhere by car took a lot less time.
Maybe we wanted to help the environment or save money on gas, but even more than that we wanted convenience. It wasn’t that we didn’t want the former, I think, but we wanted the latter more. Even now, I still have to decide whether to take the bus home from the metro or call my husband for a lift. I’d like to say that the bus wins every time…but some days I can’t stomach standing at the bus stop for half an hour. Convenience wins…
June 29th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
We have multiple bus lines/routes right out our front door, but my husband and I don’t ride the bus. Why? Mainly because it takes too long. It would take me two hours to get to work if I rode the bus. I can drive it in 25 minutes. Similar story for my husband: it would take him an hour and forty-five minutes to two hours to get to work. He can drive to work in 30 minutes. (Before reading this article, I didn’t think the buses ran to where I needed to go or at times husband and I needed to use them. I’ve at least learned that they do now!)
We’re looking at moving to a place three miles from husband’s work. A bus trip to work would still take him 30 minutes. Moving closer to work doesn’t always make it easier or more convenient to use public transportation. Then there are those of us who really can’t stand living in the city and need open spaces….(but that’s a whole ‘nother topic!).
Husband and I both like the idea of using public transportation, but around here, it just takes so much time. If Husband rode the bus to work every night, we wouldn’t see each other three to five days a week! We’ll keep driving our cars if it means we get to see each other sometimes. I wish the bus routes were quicker here, but they just aren’t…