Monday 6 October 2008

Public transportation

It is much too cold this morning for biking, so I decide to try yet another option: the bus. Cambridge boasts about its wondeful bus system, and I have already studied the map. There is a bus stop right in front of our house, but I have never seen any bus. It runs twice an hour and only between half past nine and half past five on weekdays. Not much help. But two minutes walk from us is another bus stop, and it is promised that this bus runs every ten minutes. A young man at the stop comments as the bus approaches: "See, it's even on time!" which apparently means it is an exception rather than rule.

I have to change buses in the centre, but I am not quite sure where, so I ask a fellow passenger. One should never do this - people are always ashamed to say they don't know and say something stupid instead. So I go off far too early and have to walk on. Fortunately I am not in a hurry. Both buses go in intricate loops, and I get excellent sightseeing. It is very relaxing. Not too many people. New passengers get tickets from the bus driver, and it takes ages. But I am not in a hurry, and I am not stressed because I am not driving. I watch people around me. I am part of the crowd. The way home goes even faster and smoother.

If I get into the habit of taking the bus to work I will probably, to my children's triumph, buy an iPod.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There are other good mp3-players as well, if you don't care as much about the fancy shell. But I think iPods are getting cheaper.

(You can get audio books and podcasts, too!)