Recently my friend and I decided to start taking a city bus to upper campus instead of walking for fifteen minutes in the numbing cold. We have never had to take a city bus before so it was definitely a learning process for us. So this is a how to manual for those of you like us out there who just can’t seem to figure things like this out.
1. First make sure it’s a city bus.
Trust me on this one. Nothing is more embarrassing than realizing you're on a bus for a high school field trip.
2. Buses are numbered for a reason.
Now that you’re sure it’s a city bus, each bus will have a number on the front. They’re labeled by numbers because they have different routes and stops.
3. Double check the numbers.
You’d be surprised how similar “9” and “19” look when you’re not really paying attention. Next thing you know you’re stuck on a 30-minute bus ride around town.
4. Simply read instructions.
The doors towards the back of the bus will be opened if you touch the strip of the door. It has big bolded instructions on the door for you. You don’t need to pull anything or yell for help. If you can’t read in panicked situations you’re out of luck, but from my experience, someone will probably help you.
5. Third time’s a charm.
After your first two tries of figuring out how to take the city bus, you should be a pro.
6. Call mom
Ask her why she never taught you how to ride a city bus before sending you off on your own. She’ll probably say something like “I thought you had some common sense and could figure it out on your own”, but still.
I hope my simple instructions will help some of you new college students with no clue how to do any simple grown-up things yet. Maybe these will help you avoid embarrassing situations while figuring this out as well.