At
a bus stop on a Saturday morning:
“Do
you know if the bus is coming?” A woman sitting in the newly
installed shelter, what actually imitated wrought iron decoration.
“Let's
see, it's 8:31,” I said. “A few minutes.”
“I
didn't know if it would show up. I usually take the bus on weekdays.”
“Oh,
it's coming. Maybe on time instead of five minutes late. Less riders
on the weekends.”
“Well,
it's really much simpler.” She showed me her pass like an
advertisement. “My car was in for repair and because I need to go
across town, it's much easier.”
In
a city of 100,000, most people don't rely on buses. But near Lake
Superior, above which are steep hills and in the winter, snow and
ice, I was surprised that there isn't more bus use.
I
ride the bus because of an eyesight issue. My sight problem is not
usual; I had an eye muscle operation as a child that isn't done
anymore. Like a character in a short story I wrote, I barely passed
the driving test, getting 71 twice. In grade school, I dreaded the
art teacher but later could do well enough in photography because my
eyesight tends towards the two-dimensional. That made it fearsome to
drive on many laned highways. In fact I could drive anywhere in
Minneapolis and St. Paul without taking a freeway. I don't think
eyeglasses helped because of the muscle limitation.
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| Image by Ben Schonewille @ FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
I
refrained from repairing an old car before I moved from the metro
area. It was really because, with express buses in Minneapolis, I
found public transportation more relaxing and a better prelude to a
workday. Riding home was good for reflection. Reading on the bus,
then using a tablet and next, a smart phone made that time useful.
I
was the first of my peers to get involved with a car. In high school,
I drove our Volkswagon two hours on Saturdays to Minneapolis for
flute lessons, taking 35 W, a flat, straight trip. A week after I
graduated from college, I bought a car.
While
at my first job in Minneapolis, I began using public transportation.
At 7:00 in the morning, I didn't feel like driving some days. It
became the best alternative, I decided a few years later while
trawling for a parking place near the University of Minnesota. There
were other benefits. In the winter, I didn't have to warm up a car
or sit on a freezing car seat. A few minutes waiting at a bus stop
seemed less jolting. Especially if the bus was a good route.
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| Image by Sicha Pongjivanich @ FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
What
I finally disliked was the dependence on a car. With less car repair,
I noticed the general dependence and the constant issue of parking.
Walking was my main exercise so I didn't mind walking to a bus stop.
I knew there weren't many people on my sidewalks at the time, so not
many who could identify, which made those thoughts fuel for fiction.
Two of my short stories in the collection Curiosity Killed the
Sphinx dealt with car issues.
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| Image by Ben Schonewille @ FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
I
realized that others might, if they stopped driving some of the time,
enjoy riding. The setback is that our public transportation isn't
often suited to a pleasant trip. If in places like the Midwest, there
were more of a demand for public transportation, it might become more
comfortable, especially for commuters. This year, a few electric
buses have been introduced up here and apart from their being the
newest, they are no different for the rider.
After
the successful campaign against cigarette smoking, and with the
statistic from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - 52 percent
of outdoor air pollution in Minnesota comes from vehicles such as
cars and trucks - a similar campaign could be launched. Yet I
believe that if people tried using their cars less, some might prefer
the change. Car-pooling is usually less dangerous than driving alone.
If many made the switch, it would lessen the climate issue in the
atmosphere.
