Category Archives: transit culture

Buses are for everyone, part II

A self-described LA “snob,” recently lost her job and found herself unable to afford her car lease. Instead of trading down for something cheaper, she decided–for the first time in her life–to give Metro a try. The result? She’s not 100% sold on car-freedom (not surprising in sprawling, car-dependent SoCal), but she’s definitely diggin’ the ride. From the LA Times (via: Erin):

“I felt like I was too good for the bus,” said [Jacquelyn] Carr, recalling her virgin voyage last October with a mixture of embarrassment and marvel. “I think there’s a social understanding and a construction around that if you take the bus, you take it because you don’t have money. There’s a social standard. Obviously I had bought into that.”

[…]

Despite [the drawbacks], Carr says it feels good to take the bus. She’s saving money that would have been going to her car: about $450 a month on gas, insurance and car payments, not to mention oil changes and tuneups. She also feels she’s helping the environment — and the bus gives her a front-row seat in a city she missed when she was driving and focused on traffic.

“This feels different, this looks different,” said Carr, who has a quick grin, long, brown hair and a penchant for bright-colored clothes and big sunglasses. “When you drive through the streets of L.A., you’re not looking around, talking to people.”

I find it fascinating how many people–no matter their initial motivation for trying it–get hooked on the bus for essentially the same reasons. “Adventure” is a recurring theme, even (actually, especially) among people who were initially intimidated by PT. (You can read about Jacquelyn’s bus adventures on her blog, Snob on a Bus.)

And, of course, there’s nothing like the hope of finding bus luh to add a little shine to the ride.

But despite the aches and inconveniences, Carr still believes in her bus dreams — meeting new people and perhaps even finding that special someone.

She might be on her way.

“My bag matches your jacket,” a young man named Peter told her on the 720.

They talked about how bad the television station is on the bus and where they each came from and went to school. At one point, they both got out of their seats for other people.

Then came Carr’s stop.

“Do you ride the bus often?” Peter asked.

“Every day,” Carr said, before walking away. “Every day, my friend.”

Indeed.

At least it wasn’t that cold

I missed all the “No Pants” festivities on Sunday. I meant to attend–and finally ride down to the airport station–but my very bestest friend came home (from Aspen, Colorado, land of free buses) for a surprise visit, and we had so much fun hanging out, I forgot.

Of course, there was plenty of coverage of all this half-nakedness, so you guys don’t need my take, but I do find it interesting that Seattle never participated in this long-standing annual event until we had a train. I guess riding the bus bottomless doesn’t have the same cachet?

Busing without a shirt, on the other hand, is apparently all good.

Bus reading, part–OK, I’ve lost count

For some unknown reason, I regularly receive a monthly e-mail newsletter from King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson. (This is only unusual because I don’t live in his district and don’t remember signing up for it. Call me a civics nerd, but I do actually enjoy reading it.)

Councilmember Ferguson is a proud bus rider and regularly mentions Metro in his communiqués. His latest bus-related broadcast: The inaugural entry of Bob’s Bus Books.

This month, I am starting a new section in my eNews to share what I have been reading on my bus commutes. A few of the books I have enjoyed in the past few months are:

• The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig – Doig is a Shoreline resident and was nominated for the National Book Award for This House of Sky.
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – I stole this one from my wife’s reading stack.
• Winter Wheat* and The Curlew’s Cry by Mildred Walker – Walker’s works focus on Western themes. These two novels take place in Montana and were no doubt inspired by her time there.

I am currently reading Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey, which many consider to be the best novel set in Oregon.

Looks like Mr. Ferguson is partial to novels written by and about the West. Not that I can talk; I just finished reading (in honor of the anniversary of the boycott, and all) three Rosa Parks-related books–two by her, one about her–in a row. And since we’re on the subject…

My current bus read is Green Metropolis, by David Owen. I would have gotten to it sooner (it came out in September), but the library’s waiting list was about 50 deep. I dutifully waited my turn, and then, just days after my name finally came up, my sweet baby brother, Joel, bought me a copy for Christmas. Lucky for the next person in line.

I digress.

Here’s an excerpt from the publisher’s blurb about the book:

Most Americans think of crowded cities as ecological nightmares, as wastelands of concrete and garbage and diesel fumes and traffic jams. Yet residents of compact urban centers, Owen shows, individually consume less oil, electricity, and water than other Americans. They live in smaller spaces, discard less trash, and, most important of all, spend far less time in automobiles. Residents of Manhattan — the most densely populated place in North America — rank first in public-transit use and last in per capita greenhouse-gas production… They are also among the only people in the United States for whom walking is still an important means of daily transportation.

I’m only on chapter one, but I already love it, and not just because it completely validates my world view–and hates on Portland**, just a little bit. (OK, mostly because of those reasons.) I’m actually learning something about individual energy consumption in the US, and since Owen is a strong writer, his nonfiction goes down nice and easy. (That means that this novel-preferring bus chick won’t take three months to get through it.) Get thee to a library and check out Green Metropolis (or, at least, get on SPL’s website and add yourself to the wait list) immediately.

Next up for me, another Christmas gift: Barbara Kingsolver’s latest, The Lacuna.

And you? What’s on your bus reading list for 2010?

* I’ve actually read Winter Wheat (my mom lent it to me over a decade ago), but I don’t remember much about it except that I enjoyed it.
**Folks, I have nothing but love for our Northwest neighbors to the south, but I do admit to being a wee bit jealous of all the love Portland gets from the rest of the planet. Sue me.

And one more…

This was an actual gift to me from my friend Christina:

A magnet for bus chicks
Coolest refrigerator magnet ever
A magnet for bus chicks
As you can see, I kinda dig refrigerator magnets.

I have no idea where she got it (her husband gave it to Bus Nerd to give to me, so I haven’t seen her to ask), but I’ll find out and report back ASAP.

Update, 12/22: Per the comments, you can find these (and other cool, transit-related stuff) at buyolympia.com.

All she wants for [insert appropriate December holiday]…

A couple of times during the life of this blog, I’ve posted holiday shopping tips for bus chicks. (This is somewhat amusing, since I’m really, really bad at shopping, but hey.) It recently occurred to me, however, that I’ve never posted tips for holiday shopping for bus chicks–as in, suggestions for bus-chick-appropriate holiday gift purchases. Of course, there are always the practical options, like a sturdy, compact umbrella (with a strap and cover, of course) or a pair of cute, bus-friendly shoes (at least one young, bus-chick-loving gentleman has managed to get this right), but we’ve already covered those. And plus, they’re pretty predictable.

[I ain’t one to hawk products, but] If you’re looking for something with a little more flavor, here are some transit-related gift possibilities I’ve come across this season:

Bus jammies
Bus pajamas

OK, I confess: Despite their rather extreme price (that much for pajamas–really?), I actually purchased these. I needed some warm and roomy (read: tent-like) PJs to accommodate my enormous (and ever-expanding) belly. Too bad they don’t come in miniature sizes. Chicklet has decided they’re even cooler than her favorite dinosaur pair.

I also purchased these–to facilitate the continued expansion of said belly.

Subway tokens
A variation on the Hanukah “gold coin” theme: chocolate subway tokens

In case you’re short on stocking stuffers:

Commuter anagram puzzles
Puzzles for the ride

Train cards
Cool train-art playing cards

Of course, if the bus chick in your life is not big on “stuff” (as I’ve mentioned, we transit types tend to be into conserving–both money and the earth’s resources), you can’t go wrong with an Orca card–with a pass or full e-purse–or a membership to her friendly neighborhood transit advocacy organization.

Happy [ahem] shopping!

Bus Chick is thankful for Metro

This year, we bus folks are hosting Thanksgiving at our place, so we won’t have the pleasure of riding anywhere on this rainy, November day. Still, in honor of the holiday, I’m posting some food-transporting photos from last year’s bus trip to my brother’s place. (As usual, the pics aren’t very good, but this time, we have an excuse: We were transporting a baby and food.)

Busing with food

Busing with food
Busing with food

Heading home (or, Can I fix you a plate?)

Busing with food
Busing with food

Alas! I haven’t spotted (or transported) any fried turkeys of late.

Happy day, everyone!

Bus fouls: an update

One I forgot to mention—twice–back in ’06 (an egregious oversight for a Seattle-based bus chick):

Placing a wet umbrella on an empty adjacent seat. Hey, when’s the last time you enjoyed planting your behind in a huge puddle of cold water? For optimum bus citizenship, shake off your umbrella before entering the vehicle and then store it under your feet or in your bus chick bag* for the ride.

*I have lost many an umbrella by leaving them on the floor, so I now always put them back in my bag. My current bag has a mesh outer pouch that seems to be made expressly for this purpose, but if you don’t have one, you can carry a plastic bag or umbrella cover to avoid getting your other stuff wet.

Positioning for bus luh (or, How to increase your chances of finding romance on the ride)

Earlier in the week, Bus Nerd hipped me to this Slate piece about subway psychology. It didn’t turn out to be as interesting as it sounds, but it did contain one useful (and fascinating) tidbit: Apparently, parking yourself in the seat closest to the door* “offer[s] the best opportunities for falling in love with the proper stranger.”

Talk about a revelation! If only I’d known this back when Nerd was a “proper stranger,” it might not have taken us so long to meet.

Unfortunately, the article does not propose any theories about what seat choice has to do with bus mack success rate. Anyone got ideas?

*On the subway, anyway. No word as to whether this works on the bus.

P.S. – For those not familiar with bus luh: a definition.

Speaking of kids…

1) Another car-free parent, Jeremy Adam Smith in San Francisco, shares his reasons for riding (and walking) with his son (via: Carfree with Kids):

You can buy eco-products from here to the end of time; you can recycle and reuse everything you can; you can even buy a hybrid. But most scientists and engineers agree: The single best thing you can do for the Earth, the greatest positive change you can make, is to give up owning a private vehicle altogether.

Many people will see this as a terrible sacrifice — and in some places, it is almost impossible. But after fifteen years without a car — five of them as a parent — I don’t think we’ve sacrificed a thing. And in fact, our carfree family has gained a lot…

Jeremy goes on to list many of the same benefits that my family–and the (few) other car-free families we know–have experienced: quality time; contact with community; improved health; resourcefulness; and a real, on-the-ground knowledge of one’s city that simply cannot be duplicated from the isolated bubble of a car.

Can I get an “amen!”?

2) Some fun gifts for Chicklet and Bus-Baby-to-Be from my cousins-in-law, Erin and Eli, in NYC:

Transit Museum SWAG
Cute SWAG from the New York Transit Museum

Transit Museum SWG
The important parts of a subway car, or, as Chicklet calls it, “a light rail”
Transit Museum SWAG
“Chew, chew, chew!”

So far, my gratitude is overcoming my envy (I wanna go to the Transit Museum!), but the emotions are pretty much neck and neck.

Thanks, guys!