I had never used public transportation in the US before, and it was a wild ride. After missing my connecting bus to salt lake (I may have been late, but I really think the bus never came) I was stressing because I didn't want to miss my flight, as it would have been very difficult to find another one the day before thanksgiving.
I was fairly certain that spending that much time on a bus meant that I would have some type of venerial disease by the time I got off. No weird rashes or anything yet, but my stomach feels kinda funny.
Let's take a second and talk about the people that ride busses. I really hope I don't come off as a jerk or a snob, but seriously, everyone on the bus and train today had those wide eyes, buck teeth, and that permanant half-smile/blank-stare thing going on. I'm actually really glad public transportation exists though, because I wouldn't ever be on the road if I knew they were going to be behind the wheel.
Okay, that was mean. I'm going to hell I know. But seriously, I had a seeing eye dog come lay on my foot on the bus. No joke.
So, part of this experiment/adventure was to make it to the airport on as little cash as possible. A round trip by car costs about $12, so I figured the $1.60 for bus fare was pretty good. I didn't really take into account the intrinsic costs of riding a bus. Filth, disease, seeing-eye dogs and the 3+ hours of travel time may not have a dollar amount attached to them, but they definately cost something. Then, to top it off, I couldn't find where I was supposed to catch the bus to the airport after I got off TRAX, so I ended up having to call a cab anyway. That cost me $18, so if we add in the $1.60 for the bus and, oh, say $25 worth of hassle, we're looking at a $45 trip to the airport.
Still, it was really fun. I got hit on by some crazy 20-something year-old on TRAX.
Worth every penny.
-Daniel Wilson
( sent via blackberry)
