The Bus

I serve as a volunteer appointee on the SamTrans Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC).

That’s my county’s transit agency, which operates fixed route buses and a paratransit service.

One route runs north/south on the long El Camino Real (ECR) corridor, and the route services ~1/3 of all of the system’s riders.

I do my best to walk the walk (“bus the bus”) by choosing the bus as a transportation choice, even though I could use my household’s car or bicycles.

Sometimes it truly is the best choice! And I thankfully live <2 blocks from an ECR bus stop.

So let me take you on a ride to a SamTrans CAC meeting:

Having hopped on the bus, we careen down the state highway (ECR is in fact a highway) and hug the rightmost lane as passenger vehicles pass us on our left:

You can tell how the commercial businesses that front the state highway use over-sized fonts & signage to try and inform drivers that they can stop for a good deal:

The riders generally are in a good mood socializing with each other, ignoring the anxieties of operating their own vehicle:

There is no dedicated real estate on the route for operating a bicycle, and I saw 2 (men) riding bikes on the sidewalk, traveling faster on average than the bus due to avoiding bus stops:

My bus ride usually takes 25-30 minutes to travel 6 miles.

That’s an average of 12 miles per hour.

That is a speed that many (most?) people are able to bicycle over flat ground for such distance.

In perspective, the bus fare is $2.05 without discounts (youth, senior, income).

The evening’s CAC meeting agenda was receiving survey results conducted of riders:

It was a big shock to me to learn just how many low-income fellow riders are my ride companions.

I rode the bus home from the meeting, and I’m always fascinated by my fellow riders’ demeanor & fashion:

Staring out the window you see much–the demeanor of drivers, and the other buses in operation:

Ride the bus–it is good for you and your community:

· california, photography, transit