As I finish my first week of riding this bus to work I have to say that it has been mostly positive. The weekday commuter crowd seems to be mostly well dressed business people listening to iPods. The bus drivers are friendly and efficient. Even when the bus tunnel has been closed because of computer issues, the alternate routes have been easy to figure out. I've only seen a couple of crazy people, and they mostly kept their crazy to themselves, so it was fine. My previous, off hour bus rides have been filled with a lot of very interesting people who should probably not be out on their own recognisances. The commuter passengers are quite boring by comparison.
I used to say that riding coach on an airplane has become as dull and unpleasant as riding a bus. Now I think that statement is unfair to buses. I think the city buses are much better than the last time I rode coach. I did purchase a pair of noise canceling ear phones for my iPod and I would recommend that to anyone. I do have one bus that runs late in the morning. It is consistantly late, and I have tried to suggest to the Metro people that perhaps their schedule is just incorrect since the bus is always the same amount late. They assured me that no, if it is on the printed schedule then it is correct. Sigh. That bus does have Wifi and I can work from the bus. All of the buses should have that service. It works well and doesn't drop my connection. I would be happier if it was just on time, however. This morning I tried a bus that goes through downtown Bellevue instead of downtown Seattle. Even though it has a later scheduled time than the Seattle connection, it arrived slightly earlier than the Seattle bus. The only down side is that the bus from downtown Bellevue to my office is a small bus so I can now say that I ride the short bus to work. Going home in the evening works very well on the bus. The connections are quick and I get right home in good time. Since I work in a windowless cave, it is even nice to get out and walk a little as I catch my connections.
All in all, I think that I will keep riding the bus while it is free for me and works out reasonably well. It is not nearly as entertaining as I thought that it was going to be, but sometimes dull is better.
I used to say that riding coach on an airplane has become as dull and unpleasant as riding a bus. Now I think that statement is unfair to buses. I think the city buses are much better than the last time I rode coach. I did purchase a pair of noise canceling ear phones for my iPod and I would recommend that to anyone. I do have one bus that runs late in the morning. It is consistantly late, and I have tried to suggest to the Metro people that perhaps their schedule is just incorrect since the bus is always the same amount late. They assured me that no, if it is on the printed schedule then it is correct. Sigh. That bus does have Wifi and I can work from the bus. All of the buses should have that service. It works well and doesn't drop my connection. I would be happier if it was just on time, however. This morning I tried a bus that goes through downtown Bellevue instead of downtown Seattle. Even though it has a later scheduled time than the Seattle connection, it arrived slightly earlier than the Seattle bus. The only down side is that the bus from downtown Bellevue to my office is a small bus so I can now say that I ride the short bus to work. Going home in the evening works very well on the bus. The connections are quick and I get right home in good time. Since I work in a windowless cave, it is even nice to get out and walk a little as I catch my connections.
All in all, I think that I will keep riding the bus while it is free for me and works out reasonably well. It is not nearly as entertaining as I thought that it was going to be, but sometimes dull is better.
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