SCANDAL!
- Wade
Yes, I know what time it is. 1,000 lashes with a wet noodle, etc, etc. I'm sure that since wadE was not at a computer this afternoon Al was the only one who noticed my late gambit. And he can suck it. :)
It's actually good that I waited, because the subject is my ride home. I ride the bus. It's $5 a day, cheaper than nearly all parking lots, and I don't need to deal with traffic / weather. Which, if you know how stressed I get when I drive, is a good thing. It also picks me up a block away from my house. So all is good.
Mostly. There's the whole wierdo-on-the-bus factor, but since mine is an express that goes right from downtown to Richfield / Bloomington, that's a minimal risk. What is annoying (sometimes) is that your transportation is completely dependent on someone else's schedule-- that is, the driver. If the driver is timely, that's good. Even if the driver is late, as long as he/she is consistent, no worries.
Apparently, after the recent driver switchover two weeks ago, the morning bus right after mine (I take the 6:48) has been consistently 30 minutes late. (Remember that consistent thing I was ok with? That doesn't apply here.) Since a lot of people that take the 7:18 are apparently lazy, they take the same bus home as I do. So for the last two weeks people have been *bitching* about this. Which I understand but it annoys me because a) my a.m. bus is fine and b) I've learned that most people take their bus timings way too seriously and complaining after-the-fact does no good.
It happened on the way home again today... and the bus driver got on the microphone and said that he'd been hearing us talk and wanted to find out what riders were being told when calling Metro Transit. It was a pretty interesting discussion, and I give credit to the driver for facilitiating such a discussion. It's good to see that social capital isn't completely dead, especially based on peoples' responses.
Anyhoo, one woman told me her theory: Metro Transit wants to get rid of my bus route, so they're intentionally giving crappy service to decrease ridership so that it's easier for them to kill the route. At first it sounded dumb, but then... MTCO tried to kill our bus route at the beginning of the summer, but enough people complained so that they just reduced service. What's the best way to get rid of it, then? Disenchant enough users so that they give up. MTCO claims they're losing money on the route (which I can't believe since the bus always seems full) so... frustrate enough people into driving, and kill the route. Seems like an odd goal for an organization whose goal is to provide transportation. But it's not known for its good decisions. Choo choo train, anyone?
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feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
