Public Transportation

For the past nine months, I have taken full advantage of the free (courtesy of the University of Utah) Utah Transit Authority Education Bus Pass: I have taken the bus. In doing my part to reduce traffic in and around the University, I have also observed the many different passengers that throng together in their common bond to get from one place or another. In this paper, I will discuss specific public transportation experiences I have had over the last nine months that have caused me to become privy to some of life’s intricacies.

Recently, while riding the 213 home from work, an older Hispanic man sat near me. I continued listening to my iPod and reading from the New York Times, which I routinely did on my way home from work. He waved his hand for my attention and motioned me to remove my head phones. He said, “You from New York?”, referencing the paper I was holding. I replied in the negative and continued to tell him I was from Seattle. He pointed out the window and after short confusion over the direction of Seattle, he pursued more personal questions such as my name, my age, and where I went to school. My comfort level decreased. I began to ask him questions. After a vague answers to questions about where he was from and his current occupation, my comfort level dropped even further.

After moving to Salt Lake from the semi-ghetto of Tacoma, Washington, about an hour south of Seattle; I felt my personal safety skills were high. However, my confidence was dropping rapidly. After this man expressed that he was “coming with me”, communication on my part became forced and short. Suddenly, I realized we were the last two remaining on the bus. I hurriedly packed my backpack and walked to the front of the bus.

This event taught me a lot about myself. I enjoy learning about others as well as enjoy their company, but once boundaries were crossed I realized the importance of making those boundaries known. From this event I learned that the safety to show interest in another’s life does not exist everywhere. In some cases, optimism and friendliness can appear as vulnerability.

In a contrastively positive experience, while riding home on a Fast-Bus from Provo, I talked with a recently married BYU student. This student, product of another BYU success story, shared her plan for the future. Her excitement and optimism was like a peak from the sun through dark rain clouds. She shared my optimism for entrepreneurship as well as music. Her story and plan, however, were not as interesting as her invigorating excitement about the future and her firm belief of a successful outcome. This interaction, facilitated by our similar need for public transportation, allowed two individuals (her and I) to relate personal hopes and dreams.

Transportation does not always include, and most of the time rarely includes, interactions between individuals on a verbal level. Subtleties are found in watching others interact with the bus, the seating arrangement, personal belongings, children, the bus driver, and whatever passed outside the windows. I notice that although I am riding to my destination, that every other person is living and breathing while they continue to their destinations. At the end of a day, when most are tired and thought-filled, public transportation provides personal reflection time. Public Transportation is a cool down lap prior to returning to the stresses of reality that all return upon the first step off the bus.

Through my personal and external observations regarding public transportation, I have learned that everyone deserves a time in every day in which they can mentally slow down. Each individual deserves Me-time. My advice: Ride a bus.