Immediate
benefits of bus riding
(And
some hidden costs of not)
draft 2
Being new to Centre County I was surprised by the
limited scope that bus services offer between Penns Valley and the bustling
State College community. But after riding to work for a year aboard the
efficient, but thinly spread transport system that Centre County offers Centre
Hall, I gathered a few observations about why this might be.
*
My fellow passengers pointed out that our county
commissioners have long sought to expand Penns Valleys ride services. But our
transport managers believe this won’t work when they’ve held discussions and conducted
feasibility tests, because commuters quite enjoy the freedom of driving their
own cars and have tight schedules to keep. Driving one’s own car may give a
strong sense of independence, but I wonder how many of these commuters have
conducted their own comparative studies?
*
For instance, how much do you think you’ve invested
in your own vehicles maintenance, bodywork and upkeep over these last decades?
What about fuel costs and insurance? Moving
violations, parking tickets and meter fees? Car depreciation costs? And what
about folks who gamble driving home after some drinks? And what then if they
crash into somebody and hurt them? That shaky decision can prove to be more
costly than the value of a new car.
*
Besides these sometimes unconsidered price factors,
people who choose mostly not to ride buses miss out on other enhancements: Riding
the bus helps ease road rage. We create time to get to know each other better,
and discuss community issues. We can take quick power naps. We listen to
educational recordings and music playlists through earbuds. Without distraction,
we conduct business and make personal phone calls. We experience freedoms of
cloud watching and daydreaming. On the bus we make book annotations and concoct
riddles with gag prizes. We playfully share go-to jokes, solve crosswords and contemplate
mindbenders.
*
Other frequent treats we share in this merry commute
include creative poetry sessions, seasonal songs in unison, catchy limericks
rehearsed, and bus Haiku’s spoken. Spring brings colorful natural photo ops and
wildlife watching. Just yesterday two smiling passengers shared interesting stories
about their recent spring bear encounters. Overall, this multitude of options
gives riders broad ways to smooth out and balance our characters. And we find
this wholesome fun more apparent now, when we compare it to most of the
times when we drove alone.
*
Many bus services provide convenient aps, which
indicate if particular buses are running on schedule. Seniors, children and disabled folks frequently qualify for discounted or free rides. On rare occasions when a
bus breaks down, fresh drivers soon appear with relief buses. If additional commuters
decide they want to be part of the solution for traffic-jams and pollution bytaking the bus, the higher demand will open the possibility for expanded bus
routes with frequenter stops.
*
Provo, Utah’s Transit Authority encouraged more bus riders
by making its service free for a while. This increased their ridership fivefold
in the first month of their new rapid transit route between Provo and Orem. Most
riders quickly become more comfortable with using buses after simply going
through the ritual of trying them out for a few times. We too, can make similar improvements here,
around our cutting-edge college town, when more of us decide to become a viable
part of the solution in this modern bus era.
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