James waiting for the bus

Over 33 million trips are taken on some form of public transport each work week in the United States. In 2006, it is estimated that Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation.* We eat, sleep, play, talk, listen to music, watch TV, have business meetings, carry out missionary work, sing, cry, laugh, and even get married on public transportation. Currently, my public transportation of choice is the bus. Buses have taken me safely home from many a night out on the town. They have carried home groceries, gifts for my wife, new books, and a kitchen gadget or two. I have crossed international borders, rivers, lakes, and mountains on a bus. The bus does not exclude. It does not care what color you are or what your gender is (I think the one exception is nudity—bus drivers tend to frown down on that). It can accommodate people with disabilities and will even let you take your pet onboard.

So why do so many look down upon the humble bus?
I have to admit, at times, public transportation can be scary. I have been mugged on the tube in London and threatened on a bus in Seattle. Small details in the larger world that stepping onto a bus opens up. So often we are faced with the good and bad found in society—why not on the bus?

So why do I still take the bus? I ride the bus because if you truly want to get to know and be a part of the place you live or are visiting, there is no better way than the bus. I once met the man who invented the Kit-Kat candy bar. He had also invented several other popular candies but the candy industry got scared of his innovative products and bought him out. He was almost sane enough that I wanted to believe him. My nephew got so excited the first time he took the bus, he licked the window. To be honest, I thought doing that would be fatal but it appears that children are immune to bus germs.
The bus represents the great unknown to me. When I climb onboard, sometimes I am not even sure where it is going to take me. Most of the time, I have no idea who I will meet or what will happen on the trip. At times, this is frustrating. At other times, it is an adventure and an inspiration. The bus gives me hope that one day we will all be able to get along and co-exist. I mean, if so many of us can cram ourselves into a six ton steel box after a hard day at work and hurtle home at speeds in excess of 60 m.p.h. in temperatures that range from freezing to boiling, there must be some hope we can share this huge planet peacefully and gracefully.
So, I urge you to leave your car at home and take a walk to the nearest bus stop. Take the bus to work or to the park or wherever it is you want to go. When you climb onboard, try to remember the excitement my nephew felt when he climbed aboard his first bus. I don’t expect you to lick the window but please open yourself up to the world you live in and enjoy the ride. It is good for the environment. Really it is. But I’m sure you probably already knew that.

James McGrath is a Web developer for Rhizome Design and avid supporter of public transportation. Secretly he wishes to be a bus driver and command the masses for a day.