Busin' It

Now, I know when people think of DC transportation they usually think about biking or metro-ing. Well, my friends, I tried biking and failed miserably...no need to try and comfort me, I have accepted the fact that I am neither a city biker nor a mountain biker (strictly a training wheel, suburban biker here). AND metro-ing is insanely expensive in DC. Therefore, I am a buser (a muggle as Colleen would say). 

In my two-year long career as an avid bus-rider I have witnessed and experienced a plethora of interesting people and of course, as many young people do, I feel that entitles me to have an opinion on busing etiquette.

Things That Bother Me (and yes, I realize this makes me sounds a million years old):

- Youngins' playing their rap music crazy loud on the bus. Get headphones or don't listen. I heard the "n" word at least 12 times today in one young man's choice of music...I don't want to hear that and I'm sure the 70-year-old women next to me didn't want to either.

-People who talk on speaker phone on the bus. I mean, really? No one wants to hear the gossip about Tiffany hooking up with Angela's boyfriend on loudspeaker; just as much as I don't want to hear your wife telling you what you need to buy at the store. Turn off speakerphone.

-People who are so self-consumed, they don't move to the back of the bus so people don't have to have their noses in someone's armpit. No one likes that, both the owner of the nose and the arm-pit owner. As a short person, this happens to me all the time and it could be remedied if the one bo-zo blocking the way would just continue walking to the back of the bus.

-Youngins' who don't even offer their seat when an elderly person, disabled person or mother with children gets on the bus. OR people who are skinnier than I who intentionally sit in the middle of the two seats and don't scoot over when it begins to get crowded on the bus...you don't need two seats, dude, you weigh 100lbs. soaking wet; I know guys like to sprawl out their legs to let their "man parts" breathe or whatever but close your legs, stop being a jerk and share your seats. Same thing if you have your purse, ladies, it doesn't need a seat either...put it on your lap.

-People sitting in the aisle seat who don't get up when it's your stop. Instead, they just swing their legs over to the aisle and make you climb over them as you try to exit the bus. Come on, people, don't be rude and lazy, just get up and let me off...you don't want my butt in your face and I don't want to slip and land in your lap.

-People who are pigs on the bus. It says don't eat or drink, but heck, I do it. Just don't be a pig. I don't want to sit in your squished Cheeto stained seat after your done. AND (this really happened to Emily and I) do not defecate on the bus and hide it somewhere. From experience, once the bus driver finds it, they kick everyone off and the bus goes out of service...plus it's just nasty; not the kind of present we want to find.

Things I Like About the Bus:

-Talking to strangers. When people are friendly and actually strike up conversation, it's awesome. Makes my bus riding experience 10 times better and we both learn a lot that way. I learned about public pools, directions, grocery stores and thrift shops that were hidden in DC. So start talking, you never know what you might discover.

-The bus drivers can be really awesome. I had one that I saw every morning when I went to school on the 7:17am bus and he learned my name and said "good morning" to me each day. In the rare occasion I took an earlier or later bus, he'd notice too. Such a sweet man.

-It's cheaper than the metro, more direct than the metro and takes you through the city whereas the metro goes underground so you don't get to see any of the city.

-Sometimes has air conditioning and heat. 'Nuf said.

I just wanted to shed some light on the busing adventures in DC. I love to bus, but sometimes, it can be frustrating when people aren't considerate of others.