Bus Stories

Every day I ride the bus, and every trip to and from campus is different.

I wait. I get on. I sit. I ride. I exit. I say “Thank you”. I am at my destination.

I’ve shared my bus experiences once or twice before; they are never the same. There’s the bad-driver, the crazy-driver, the friendly-driver….the list goes on. But there’s also the passengers.

There’s the older guy who goes bowling every afternoon with his buddy. They get on at Allen Street with their bowling balls in a rolling-suitcase (fit for a bowling ball. Yes, these apparently exist), and they chat with those around them. He always has a “Steelers” hat on, sometimes a jacket too. I always wonder what he does before his bowling time. Maybe he eats lunch at “The Corner Room”. Maybe he even has a specific “pre-bowling” meal. I wonder if he gets Strikes and Spares, or is he in it for fun?

There’s the guy with the back-pack. He will randomly get on and off the buses, taking “Ride Guides” and saying “hi” to the drivers. His bag always sags off his shoulders, and his jacket always looks too big. He walks up to everybody at the stop and says something. “Good morning”, “How are you?”, “HI!”. He always has headphones. What does he listen to? Sometimes he walks around the library too, I only know because I work here. Where else does he go?

There’s the people who are always there in the morning. We share the frustration as full buses pass, paying no attention to us. We share the relief when we finally get on, and it’s warm. We share the dreaded departure, because it means that we are going to class.

These are the people I see frequently. What about those that I don’t? What about the woman sitting next to me today?

I sat down and put my bag on my lap. She got her phone out of the pocket closest to me, I moved a little so she had room. Without thinking about it, I looked down at her hands. At first I thought she had gloves on, it looked like a faux-snake skin material. I quickly realized that this was her skin. The age of her hands didn’t match that of her face. Another look would tell me that she was scarred.

What story would her hands tell about her? I wondered. How long ago did this happen? Does she even notice anymore? I thought about how I put lotion on all the time, does she do this too?

The guy standing in front of me had let me go on the bus before him, gentleman-like. As we rode to campus, he held onto the bar over-head. He pulled Carmex out of his pocket, and as he unscrewed it we were turning. I thought, if I knew him, I’d offer to unscrew it for him so he didn’t fall. He managed, which I found impressive. I always have to hold on the entire way, or I feel so unbalanced. I hate holding the bar on the top, because my arm falls asleep. He didn’t seem to mind.

The three of us got off at the same stop, and went three different ways.

Bus Etiquette, 101

There is a long list of things to do and to avoid while riding public transportation. Riding on a bus, packed with people, early in the morning is not exactly the perfect way to start your day. However, it beats using gas and having to walk from the “Commuter Lot” out by the football stadium.

The past year and a half of frequently using the bus service from our apartment complex to downtown or just to campus, we have accumulated some pretty interesting stories. Anything can happen, and trust me…it does! Aside from the late night adventures on the weekends, most people follow the standard bus procedure: get on, sit/stand, and ride quietly to your destination.

But of course, as with anything, there are those people who like to shake things up a little bit. These include, but are definitely not limited to, the following “people”:

1) The Cell-Phoner You think you are talking quietly, and that nobody around you is listening. You’re wrong. Since you are (usually) the only person talking, everybody is listening. You’re not quiet and you’re not discrete. Plus, since we can only hear one side of the conversation, you seem a little crazy sometimes.

2) The Multiple-Seat Taker I admit: when the bus isn’t full, I use the seat next to me to place my “stuff”. However, when the bus is packed, and there is a line of people still getting on…Move Your Stuff! This is just rude. Nobody likes to stand, and some people can’t reach that over-head bar. Even if you can, it really doesn’t help that much. Especially not with some of the crazy bus-drivers loose on these streets.

3) The Stinker This one is self-explanatory. There will always be those people who just don’t smell good. They may not be aware of this, but whew…body odor is pretty potent. There are preventative measures that can be taken though! Please look into this before riding public transportation. You will be doing us all a favor. And yourself, because it’s not fun to be the Stinker. You don’t want to be “the stinker”.

4) The Shopper Around here, the buses are frequently used by students traveling from campus/downtown to Wal-Mart, Target, Wegmans, etc. I think it’s great that we have a bus service that allows students to do this! With so many students crammed into a small space, it is somewhat of a nuisance to have a car due to limited parking. So kudos to you taking the bus, saving gas money, not polluting, etc. One little tip though; remember that you have to get back on that bus, with all of your purchases! If you have to load them onto the bus in multiple trips, you’ve probably exceeded a limit. Then you get to ride the whole way back to campus surrounded by plastic bags, and people who might be slightly annoyed that you are taking up the space equivalent of about 5 people. Just a heads up.

And now, due to my bus experience this morning, I have a special addition to this list of things NOT to do…..

5) The Gum-Chewing Over-the-Shoulder-Reader

As I am riding to campus in my seat, I am reading an article in the newspaper I had just picked up at the bus stop. The bus is packed so there are people standing in the aisle next to me, and apparently the space behind my seat. A few minutes into the ride, I hear a constant “smacking” of gum. By smacking, I mean loud, open-mouthed chewing of the gum. You know, the kind of chewing that everybody around you can hear. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Gross. Gross. Gross.

Luckily for me, the gum-chewer is standing right behind me. And leaning down towards me, reading over my shoulder! Chomp-chompin’ right in my ear as he reads the paper from behind me.

I’m not a fan of the reading-over-the-shoulder tactic. Let alone when it is somebody I don’t know, and they are chewing gum in my ear. So to bring a stop to this nonsense, I looked up. Not enough to catch the gum-chewer’s eye, just enough to notify him that I’m aware of his presence. I gave him “the look”. Ugh. I put my newspaper away, and spent the remainder of the ride to campus listening to his chomping.

Future advice to all who use public transportation; Be courteous to the riders around you. Try to avoid all of the above, and we will all be grateful!

Larisa has also documented some interesting bus stories. Check it out. Also, feel free to add to this list with your stories, because I know there are many floating around out there!