The Bus

On Tuesday my friend and I went on a crumpet excursion in Seattle. Since we live outside the city there was a question of transportation: car or bus?  I personally detest city driving and find that hunting for parking is even less desirable, so taking the bus is my first impulse, and when I deduced the decision logically, there are many great reasons to utilize public transportation. 

The benefits for riding the bus extend beyond my personal preferences. It results in less traffic, accidents and emissions, and gives us more local government revenue and more access to new jobs and commerce centers.  It’s so good I question whether to sell my car, then buy a zip car pass and take the bus.  But of course my transportation needs vary, and it is pretty cheap to buy a car. However, when considering the cost of driving across the lake to go to the city during off-peak hours, the bus is cheaper and even if you say that the convenience worth dropping ten dollars for parking downtown in maddening traffic, I consider where that ten dollars goes.  Ten dollars to park downtown, plus gas money, or ten dollars for round trip fare for two people?  Giving the metro that ten dollars tells the city that I value public transit as a service and that when I want to use it I appreciate it being there.  Giving it to parking lot that charges outlandish fees for a mere hour or two of use is telling the city that I don’t need the bus, I’d rather give my money to some greedy fool who pays attendants minimum wage with no benefits. 

I admit I’m not willing to ride the bus all the time, but it does make trips to the city very pleasant.  I hate traffic, and city driving and paying to park.  And my friend and I had more time to visit while we relaxed on our smooth ride down the car pool lane.