Hop on the Bus Gus!

Well, I did it. I woke up a tad bit late, so in my mad rush to get out the door, I forgot my book (wasn't brave enough to take the knitting) and it would have been a good idea to charge my ipod last night, but all in all it was a succesful venture taking the bus to work this morning. Chip dropped me off at the bus stop down the road, but it's not cheating, 'cause it was on his way and I totally would have missed the bus if he hadn't.
As he was leaving I saw the bus coming up the road and luckily I was the first person on the bus (7:33 AM!), so the driver could assist me, as I needed much assistance. For future reference you don't give the money to the driver, you feed the machine and get your ticket. I bought a day pass for $4. The driver said he didn't recognize me, I guess you get to know your passengers, so I piped up with, 'I'm riding the bus for Earth Day'...(go me!)..lol. After I got my ticket and succesfully swiped it (there are two ways to swipe!), I sat down and the driver asked me what Earth Day was. Ummm...caught of guard, I said 'Oh, it's been around since the 70's and it's all about recycling and using less gas'. After saying he recycles the driver then asked if I needed any info, 'cause information is free on Earth Day. I told him I was trying to get to UCF and that I thought taking the 13 from downtown was the best..he agreed and we both agreed it's going to be a long ride. I settled in for the ride downtown and was happy when we picked up more people along the way...this is what it's all about, moving lots of people. The bus was pretty full by the time we got to the central station at 8:15. I got off the bus and found the #13 bus waiting and got right on. These buses run like clockwork! At exactly 9:26, just like the schedule said, we pulled in to the main bus depot by the Education Bldg. I walked on over to Chemistry and was at work at pretty much my usual time. It was interesting to see who all rides the bus...a doctor, a teacher and several students from Glenridge Middle School, some veterans going to the VA Hospital (luckily the bus driver didn't get stuck in an infinite loop in Baldwin Park like we girls did the other week ;-), a grandma and her grandkids going to the store and me, a girl trying to consume and pollute less for a day on her way to work. I sure wish I could leave the truck at home more often, but I couldn't do this every day. 4 hours of traveling time is a bit much, but I will aim to do it at least once a month..maybe more. It's really nice to just ride and not have to focus on the road or other drivers. I could turn on some Morrissey and pretend I was headed to work in London. I have to head back to the bus stop at 4:30 to get home before too late. I'm going to check out my options to see if there's a faster route..I took the less transfers option this morning because I was a bit nervous about that. Now, I'm off to find out if anyone has an ipod charger or it's going to be a quiet 2 hour ride home.

Another one rides the bus

see more crazy cat pics

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd try to reduce my carbon footprint for the day by riding the bus to and from work. I've only ever taken advantage of public transportation on vacation (well, except for riding the free bus from the parking garage to jury duty, but that doesn't really count) and have been really impressed so far, with the sytsems in Paris, London and Chicago. Of course on all of these trips I've had others with me to help keep me focused on getting on the right bus or train and off at the right stop, etc., so I'm a bit intimidated by this little adventure I've cooked up. I've got my itinieraries and have to make no less than 3 bus changes and spend a little over 2 hours to get from my house near the Airport to UCF. I'm looking forward to having some time to read and saving gas. Thanks to a helpful 'How To' on the lynx website, I now know to have exact change and to exit through the rear doors and I'm just hoping someone else will be getting off at the same stops I am, so I don't have to pull the wire to signal the driver, but I'm prepared and will do it if need be. So, we'll see how this goes. Have a Happy Earth Day tomorrow!