Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Public Transportation

I've said before and I'll say it again. I hate riding the bus. It doesn't matter which bus it is; I hate them all. The bright yellow school bus, the ugly white ones we borrowed from the Navy for NJROTC trips, Grey Hounds, Community Transit, King County Metro, those ridiculous tourist "Motor Coaches" I had to ride all over Europe. They all suck. People are always pointing out all the great things about public transportation and telling me, "The pros far outweigh the cons." Well, guess what, folks? I made my own pro/con list, and here it is:

Pros:
  • It's cheaper than paying for gas.
  • Saves wear & tear on your car.
  • It's a little better for the environment.
  • Traffic isn't nearly as bad when you take the bus.
  • You can read a book/ finish up homework.
Cons:
  • It takes 30 minutes longer (than if I drove my car) to get to the college.
  • I lose 30 minutes of sleep every morning I take the bus.
  • It's the Pacific Northwest, so it can get damn cold waiting for your bus to show up.
  • Germaphobes beware! People sneeze on you.
  • There is no such thing as "a personal bubble."
  • If you're like me and hate turning your back to somebody, might as well get over it and embrace the anxiety of wondering if somebody is going to knife you.
  • People stare at you like you stole their seat.
  • People are rude. If you have a window seat and somebody you don't know sits next to you, don't expect them to be super friendly and move when you're stop comes up.
  • Still on the rude people con: People don't give up their seats for the elderly anymore.
  • Some people don't understand the concept of showering.
  • And, most importantly: Some passengers are just BAT-SHIT CRAZY!!
So, obviously the pros do not outweigh the cons, at least not that I've seen.