We have all been there. Whether it be riding on a bus, an Uber, or a taxi, most of us have had less than ideal experiences with public transportation. Sometimes, when public transportation is our only option – for those of us living on college campuses without a vehicle – things can get a little rough.
Here are 13 things we say to ourselves when using public transportation
1. Is this bus ever going to get here?
Public transportation is not always the most reliable form of transportation. Often, a 10-minute commute can become a 30 to 40-minute commute. Local bus companies may have apps to coordinate the times that buses will be arriving at stops, but they are often late, leaving passengers stranded in the cold, the heat, or at shady bus stations.
2. What am I sitting on?
Face it. Public transportation is not always available through the nicest vehicles. On my last bus ride on the TCAT in Ithaca, I was sitting on tapes that were duct taped. My skin was sticking to the seats – not fun.
3. Do they ever clean these?
Again, public transportation is not always on the nicest or the cleanest vehicles. It is amazing what one can find on a bus.
4. Where the heck is that bus?
Really, buses can be super late sometimes.
5. What is that smell?
My only experiences with Uber have left me gagging after exiting the vehicle. Either the vehicle smells like cigarette smoke or, even better, weed. People can smoke their substances, but I prefer not to smell it in the confines of a small vehicle.
6. The handy dandy bus app says it is here, but the bus is nowhere to be found.
Recently, I have had epidemics with the bus company where I was frequently checking an app, to be on time for the bus. The time that the bus was supposed to be at the bus station came and went with no sign of the bus. After checking the app again, I discovered that the bus had apparently been there (my roommate and I had been there for 10 minutes before the bus was scheduled to arrive – the bus did not arrive).
7. I hate this bus company.
It is very easy to get angry with the local bus company – especially when the unreliable buses make you late or keep you stranded downtown, miles away from campus.
8. I am calling in to complain.
After vowing your hatred for the bus company, this may be the next thing said. Remember that the office hours are usually not later than five in the evening or on the weekend – the times that most of us college students go out and about.
9. How did this driver pass their driving test, they almost hit that car!
I have been scared for my life on public transportation. Buses are big vehicles, and sometimes it seems as though the drivers are unaware. Scary.
10. Am I on the right bus?
Buses can sometimes switch the routes that they are traveling on, changing numbers while you remain on the bus. I learned this the hard way, on an hour trip through Cornell and around Ithaca but never passing through Ithaca College.
11. I wish I had my car instead.
The frustrations of public transportation often left me wishing I could be back home with the car that would take me anywhere.
12. I am never using the bus again.
Eventually we will reach the point where we swear off public transportation and actually bring our cars from home.
13. I will just walk
Or, we will give up on public transportation while stranded downtown and walk two miles uphill to campus. Best day ever.
