Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

[Perversion]

I knew some people did, but I just read that Sez did, which I didn't previously know.

My buses have TVs on themthat nobody watches but me. They even have "programs" in Spanish, and even all the Mexicans completely ignore it. And now they can't get all the money they need for the next fiscal year, so they've got to increase fares, make route cuts, lay off drivers, etc. If the people behind Pace buses would have thought about it, adding TVs is going to exponentially increase the costs (for upkeep, streaming the programs, etc), but not gain any significant ridership. I guess they wanted to try to gain an "upscale" clientele, without realizing that the majority of people that take the bus do so because they HAVE to, not because they WANT to. Taking trhe train into the city is one thing, but I think the majority of people that have cars and licenses would not CHOOSE to ride the bus instead of a car. As a matter of fact, almost all the routes that were cut were in the very affluent next city over. Our city, being a lot less wealthy, had very few routes cut. This is obviously because poor people ride the bus and rich people don't, and I didn't need some urban planning degree to tell me that.

Anyway, if you take public transportation, feel free to post your own tales of woe.

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

i take it regularly and i find torontos transit to be definatly the best out of all the cities ive traveled to.

[Nixon]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I take the bus. I usually refer to it as the stinkbox. It's alright, unless there are lots of jerks around. It's cheap and I don't have to deal with driving/traffic.

I have seen some bad craziness, but I try not to let it bother me.

[Perversion]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

And then today, I had my ass on the edge of the seat with my knees on the metal piece in front of me like I've done every morning for the past 4 years (it's more comfortable for me to sit that way and rest/nap on the 45 minute trip to work), and the bus driver, while waiting at the transportation center, came up to me and told me I have to put my feet on the floor, and that the way I was sitting wasn't allowed. I told her I've do this every day, and she didn't seem to care. So just to appease her (and in order to not get kicked off the bus), I kinda leaned with my back against the window, with one leg on the floor, and one crossing my other leg. I honestly CANNOT sit with both feet on the floor for any length of time and find it comfortable. Luckily, I was running late today, and took a later bus than I normally take, so if I take my usual bus, I probably won't see her again.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

TV in public vehicles? That's nuts. And silly.

My only beef with Boston public transportation is that the subway is closed at 12:15.

Some people work until 2am...

[Perversion]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

They don't play "real" TV programs. It's basically like 5 minute cooking shows, gardening shows, "extreme sports" shows, Mexican shows, interviews with authors, Discovery-type snippets and such. Also, there's a lot of written news headlines, trivia, crossword games, famous quotes, movie synopses (which are on the screen for such a short period of time that even I have problems reading the long ones, and I'm an extremely quick reader...I'd be surprised if the majority of the people who tried to read them didn't make it through the first sentence and a half before the next synopis came on), and that kind of thing.

They also have Chicago weather (like on the news, not written), Chicago weather en Espanol (the woman who does this is pretty damn sexy), national weather, and the one I've always failed to understand...weather at different sporting events around the country. I mean, do they really think anyone riding the bus is really planning on travelling to Boston to catch the Red Sox game later that day? And if not, why does it really matter what kind of weather they will have for the game?

Also, the last bus leaves the mall at 9:45 pm (most of the other bus routes run only until around 7 pm), and I still end up having to take a taxi home from the transportation center unless I want to take a 45 minute walk, which is not very likely after working a 13 hour day. If I have to work until 2 am or something (which, now that I'm in a "management" position, is kinda required of me on occasion), I'm reliant on someone who works there going out of their way to drive me home. Thankfully this does not happen often. And the buses do not run at all on Sundays, so luckily, I can usually get a ride in at 6 am every Sunday with this guy that works the same shift (and is in/used to be in the same department as I am) as I do.

[Sezjeuric]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I take transit to and from work 5 days a week. I can't give you a time of how long it takes because it varies SO much. For example, if I open the store and catch the 5:30am bus, I am at work in 8 minutes. If it is the weekend or during rush hour, it is more like 25 minutes. Also, I am currently taking a bus, but it is a streetcar route that is under construction. When it is completed next year, it will be a lane designated only for streetcars so the ride will be super fast. (It is already like that for half of the route going the opposite direction).

What is sad is that on Toronto's old buses, my feet can't reach the floor so my feet go numb halfway into my ride. I can comfortably sleep only on the new buses and streetcars.

I pay $115 Canadian a month to have unlimited travel on Toronto's transit. (It was $99.75 until November 1 )

Although this may seem like overkill, Vancouver is WAY more expensive. The cash fare rate here is $2.75 for an adult, and in Vancouver, that will only get you across one zone, and there are about 4 in the city.

Karr and I live right on the subway line and I love it! I did my Christmas shopping in one day, went to two different major malls in Toronto, all without going outside.

Yes I have nightmare stories, but I am a very patient person and know that it goes hand in hand when delaing with the public ( I DO work in retail after all).

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

And then today, I had my ass on the edge of the seat with my knees on the metal piece in front of me like I've done every morning for the past 4 years (it's more comfortable for me to sit that way and rest/nap on the 45 minute trip to work), and the bus driver, while waiting at the transportation center, came up to me and told me I have to put my feet on the floor, and that the way I was sitting wasn't allowed. I told her I've do this every day, and she didn't seem to care. So just to appease her (and in order to not get kicked off the bus), I kinda leaned with my back against the window, with one leg on the floor, and one crossing my other leg. I honestly CANNOT sit with both feet on the floor for any length of time and find it comfortable. Luckily, I was running late today, and took a later bus than I normally take, so if I take my usual bus, I probably won't see her again.

in her defense the way your sitting was a safety issue. if an accident would of occurred you would probably be hurt due to the way you where sitting so i dont blame her at all for telling you to sit properly. in fact the opposite, im surprised she cared enough about the safety of her passengers to go over and tell you to sit properly.

why do you think parents tell children to sit properly? it certainly isnt for appearance sake nor because they are bothering anyone.

[The_Real_Crunk]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I dont have a car, so I if it raining, or I dont feel like riding my bike I grab the bus. They start running nice and early around 6am here. But past 6pm they only appear at a stop every 45minutes, and then they only go till 10pm

[Alex]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I usually sit at the back, right corner of the bus, with my feet on the seat in front of me, which is a pair of seats facing the left side of the bus. This one driver told me to take my feet off the seat. I was one of two people there and it ****** me off, but I did it anyway because I'm afraid of starting a scene.

The bus junkies aren't usually bothersome unless they're the type of bus junkie who smells and is in a permanent state of drug-induces schizophrenia, yelling at someone in their head, sometimes looking at you and asking you about some bull**** that doesn't make any sense even if they weren't drooling while they mumbled.

Then there's the guy that has his hood on with his walkman rapping to himself.

Ehh, the bus isn't bad.

[The_Real_Crunk]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

Maaan, there was this one time this crazy dude was pacing up and down the bus saying the military wouldnt let him leave, and was always comming to get him. He was freaking people out and the driver kept telling him to sit down and stop swearing.

I was all ready to jump him if he took a swing at somebody.

[lil_das]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I used to ride the City Bus. Now I strut.

[altoecko]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I have ride the bus to my campus just so I can park for free. Which I need since I have to commute an hour and a half everyday.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I pay $59 a month (CAD) for a bus pass and I'm set. I believe Edmonton has some of the lowest, if not the lowest, transit fare rates in Canada.

My Mom and I drive to the LRT (light rail transit) station every morning and take the train to work each day. When it's cold, we take the bus and then the LRT.

I live in a neighbourhood with really bad bus service, though. It's okay during school months because it comes every fifteen minutes during peak hours, but when it's not peak hours or it's summer vacation, the bus comes every half hour whether you like it or not and if you miss it you're boned. The best part is, sometimes it likes to be early and zoom by as you're approaching the bus stop.

I really like taking the LRT, though. It's fast, it's reliable, it comes every 15 minutes at the most, and it goes quite far througout the city. It can go from the north side to the south side in 35 minutes and is continuing to expand! The best part is, the station I get off at to go to work has an underground pedway straight to my office building, so once I get on the train I don't have to go out in the cold to get to work.

[Patryn]

Re: Who here takes public transportation on a regular basis?

I take the bus everyday, pretty much.

There's this one guy with Tourette's who's on it quite a bit. However all he does is announce that Steve Miller was a wonderful guitarist over and over.