Showing posts with label 50. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Stuck in the middle with you

Facts.

1. I have zero tolerance for people that smoke. (If we banned smoking at bars and restaurants, how hard could it be to ban it at bus stops?)

2. I go to great lengths to avoid sitting by smokers on the bus - that includes taking the 16 when I see them get on the 50, and making sure I am the last one to board the bus as to maximize seating distance, and getting off a stop or two early if it means a little more fresh air.

3. If you are carrying a cigarette that is partially used, you will make the whole bus stink. Contrary to popular belief, you can't snuff out something that was just on fire, and then get into a confined space with 40 people. More reasons why we should ban smoking at the bus stop.

This morning I was caught off guard by an unusually full 50 bus - of course, old Smokey McSmokes decided to sit right next to me. Panic ensued. I fumbled awkwardly with the sliding window that was behind my seat. Fail. I held my breath a couple seconds and then tried again. Big effort this time, flailing around to use both hands. Smokey looked at me awkwardly and I gave him the panicked face. Recognizing me as the crazy person on the bus, he quickly switched seats. Sometimes subtlety is overrated.

Speaking of things that aren't so subtle - cough - the bollards and chain for the intertrack fence finally went up. I can honestly say it's everything I thought it would be - which is to say, I'm still not a fan.



Fences are meant to keep people in or to keep people out, right? This one does neither. Somehow I feel that will be its downfall.

And as long as we're stuck in the middle, er, median, I'd like to point out what happens when you get 800 inches of rain in a month. What used to be a gravel placeholder for our median planting area has become a lush forest of volunteers.



The good news is, something is able to live in the middle of University Avenue. I've never been so happy to see a pile of weeds.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, March 16, 2012

Bus etiquette 101

I have several theories about people who talk loudly on cell phones on the bus. One is that this person was a hipster holdout, that is, someone who resisted getting a cell phone until about 2010 and is still going through the awkward "I can talk to you from anywhere" phase. Another is the type of person who has a short attention span and hates riding the bus, but hates more to pay for parking downtown (so they hide & ride in your neighborhood and punish your whole bus to listening to their convos). We'll call him...Guy in a Suit. I hate to say it, but the loud people are almost always men. Yeah.

Here are some typical conversations you can use to identify these riders.

Hipster Holdout: Hey man, I was just on the bus and I thought I'd check in...yeah - I'm calling you from the bus! I know, I'm almost home but...why not call you from the bus? Oh, hold on, I'm getting another call.

[Note: The Hipster Holdouts are also often guilty of talking on the phone while riding their bike, which is even more terrifying.]

Guy in a Suit: Hey, I'll be there in about 12 minutes, but I was wondering if you could read me all my emails in the mean time. I'm so bored! Hold on, I'm writing this down - wait, I'll put you on speaker so I can take notes.

To these and other offenders, I have one word for you: texting. Texting! It was invented so people could ride the bus in peace. True story.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:The 50 bus

Monday, January 30, 2012

Midwinter Poetry Slam

There's something about winter that really intensifies my love/hate relationship with transit. My patience is short, but my ride is pre-heated. I never have to scrape a windshield or move for plows, but my toes have some frostbite damage.

In any case, I'm a Mac grad living in Minnesota in January. And that can only mean one thing - I'm doing a J-term project. Bus haikus.

back door! back door, please!
pushing doesn't help, lady
touch here to open

a bird in the hand
better than 2 on NexTrip
should have made that bus

seven years riding
fare card works inside mittens?
just occurred to me

I should always wait
I can outwalk the 16
where is my 50?

I just ran five blocks
don't shake your head at me, sir
open the damn door

sitting a bit close
are you reading my facebook
over my shoulder?

why do the people
from suburban park and rides
like the queue so much?

number 63
is impossibly quiet
that is just not right

I'm making sure that
you're looking at me looking
at your badge number


It's almost too easy once you get started. Post your own! I will carve the best ones into the back of the seat in front of me. (Uh, just kidding, Metro Transit!)