A Return to the Bus

Korrin B.

February 19, 2011 - 8:30 PM

I have confessed in previous posts that I do, in fact, bring shame to my sustainable Planning, Public Policy and Management department. I drive a car. As a member of a department that prides itself on city bike lane planning and green energy policy (and much, much more, but for the sake of exaggeration, I will only list those two), I fail. Perhaps it was my own looming hypocrisy that led to the recent events that brought me back to public transportation. In short, my car is having problem. More specifically, its power steering rack is shot and a few other things. Therefore, I had to take my car into the shop Thursday afternoon and was then told I probably won't get it back until late Monday.

Now, I used to ride the bus. Up until the place I live now, I was always on a convenient bus line to the UO. I have always been a fan of LTD and its transportation service to Lane County. However, since last year, I have been living up a large hill, not exactly on a bus line. Fortunately, I still believe that my undying love for my house cancels out the many parking tickets, time spent trying to find a parking spot, that tow I got last year, and all of the many other woes associated with driving to campus that my living location has caused.

Being without my own transportation, up in the woods, on a hill, however, left me no choice than to return to the bus I once loved. So, today, I bundled up in several layers of clothing and walked my way down my hill and through the neighborhood to the nearest bus line. I was going to meet up with a friend on campus to go see my first basketball game at the new Matthew Knight Arena. I sat at the bus stop for a while, wondering if I had already missed it, despite my near running pace down the hill. I got nostalgic as I looked up the street waiting to see the bus nearing. Finally, right on schedule, it did.

I flashed my UO student ID to the driver and got onto the bus for free. I think this is possibly one of the best uses of the student incidental fee. Anyway, I loved it! It felt neat to be back on the bus and to observe the diverse faces it held. It got me to my final destination right on time and I met up with my friend for a great basketball game. The only downside was when it was time to return home. Not knowing the schedule, I waited in the cold for about 45 minutes and then once I got back to the stop near my house it was dark and cold, as I began my walk back up the hill. In the end, I will still probably go back to my car when I get it because with my schedule and location, the bus just doesn't always work for me. However, this experience did reinstate my gratitude for LTD and my love for public transportation adventures.