Today I Started An Experiment!
I took the bus to work.
This morning I had just over an eighth of a tank of gas. I drove 10 minutes to the nearest Park and Ride lot. Spent $1.25 and 30 minutes to get dropped off a block away from work. After work I reversed the process, picked up my car and drove home. I still have just over an eighth of a tank of gas.
Not only did I save gas and money, I listened to NPR on my headphones, read a chapter of "World War Z" and never felt the need to flip anyone off or yell at anyone.
I can cut my gas costs by 75%. I can go from my $40.00 a month covered parking garage to a $5.00 a month open lot. I can lower my car insurance. I can reduce the frequency of my oil changes. My tires will last longer. I can lower my blood pressure and my risk of a stroke. I can reduce the risk of getting carjacked, shot or shanked on Independence Avenue. I can mostly silence the alluring siren songs of the crack whores.
It's really not bad at all. I think the pros outweigh the cons. I think I'm sold.
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17 comments:
Nice picture! When was that taken? You look different - playful even!
It's the eye shadow.
You can freeze to death waiting for a bus.
You can catch a cold and die.
You can suffer heat stroke in the summer.
You could get puked on by an AIDS infected crack whore.
Should I go on?
The D- Aren't you little Miss Sunshine!(not the movie!)
I'd trade my car for a bus ride in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, my commute is not A to B,more like A to B to C and back from C to A. If there was a way to do it easily I would. That's why light rail is a retarded idea. There needs to be a grid of intersecting transportation options.
the d - Know what can't happen while I'm waiting for a abus?
I can't grow a third ball.
No documented cases of "spontaneous tritesticulationgenesis while waiting for a bus" have been published in any peer reviewed journals.
So I have that working for me.
Oh Hell no! You didn't just suggest that I could get puked on by a crack whore waiting for a bus.
You're so provincial!
That *totally* costs extra where I come from.
Fantastic post, and you're doing the responsible thing for your wallet and our world.
I've never ridden the bus. I wonder how long it would take me to get to work from my house. Apparently, I can get a discount through work.
My commute is 55 miles one way and I work nights, so public trans isn't in the equation. If you can stand it, take the bus. Just watch your stuff.
I'm like Meesha...there's no A to B for me. I have to catch a bus at like 6 AM to then catch 3 other buses and still end up about a half-mile from work. FAIL.
The public transit here sucks unless you go downtown and not at 4 am
And instead of trying to make sure you have 10 quarters in your pocket everyday, you can buy a pass for 40 bucks a month. You can ride it into/around downtown to see a concert, First Friday or whatever as much as you want on that monthly pass and not worry about parking around the Sprint Center, Bartle, or wherever.
Sorry, I'm a big fan of public transportation... when it works. I enjoy being able to go to Chicago, Denver, Seattle, wherever, and not have to have a car to get around town and piss off locals while driving around lost and aimless, like a tourist. I'd rather look like a traveler.
XO, isnt' there a special short bus that you're supposed to take?
stink - "That *totally* costs extra where I come from." LOL! How much, man?
anon 10:59 - "...you're doing the responsible thing for your wallet and our world." Thanks, but I don't really give a shit about "our world". I'm 52 and I'll be dead soon. I'll let my 14 year old daughter and her smartypants generation clean up after me and fix "our world". They need a hobby. It will build character. But I am supremely interested in doing the responsible thing for my wallet.
h-train - The Kansas City ATA has a trip planner. http://www.kcata.org/tpintro.html You give them your destination, tell them when you need to be there and where you are starting from and they will tell you which bus to catch at what time to get that done. It even covers transfers if necessary. Riding the bus is some prime time people watching. This may become regular blog fodder.
Joe, Shane and Poodles - sucks to be you. sorry. LOL!
t - actually, the coworker who got me trying this mentioned something about a monthly bus pass in the $26 neighborhood. We might get a subsidy from our employer. I know they give us a subsidy on our parking garages. I need to check into that.
emaw - fuck you. LOL! I have a HUGE bus! I think you know what I mean.
Dang, you totally scooped me on this one - my KCATA Transit Experiment started last week, too. Not bad, so far. Huge new respect for bus drivers. Was that you on the westbound 47, or someone in an XO costume?
lapin - wasn't me. I don't take that bus.
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