Why I Take the Bus

Hello everyone. I have truly been a pathetic blogger (obviously no posts in 1 month = pathetic), but we’re going to try to get back on track this week.

Your average college student faces many difficult decisions over the course of 5 years- if you haven’t chosen your major by your sophomore you feel like the entire world is pressuring you to choose; you have two groups of friends who want you to live with them and you don’t want to offend John and the boys by not living with them even though you know they’ll never do the dishes; and then there’s that thing called dating. Equally intriguing to me, especially now after living without a car and realizing the benefits of that, is what goes into the decision for a student to have a car on a college campus.

What is it that causes a student, already burdened by rising tuition and Minneapolis rent, to fork over another $100/month to have their car in a heated garage below their apartment building? Even for those that live on the fringes of campus where street parking is handily available, exorbitant parking garage rates and meter fees, not to mention that $34 ticket from the city of Minneapolis when you thought you could get away with that spot, can equate your grocery bill for the month.

Therefore, as not only a thrifty and money-conscious college student, but as a world traveler with an international perspective and now a conscientious objector to a consumption-driven culture, not having a car on campus was a no-brainer to me. From my perspective, this holds many benefits- I reduce my ‘carbon footprint,’ I save money, I get more exercise, and I have the opportunity to thank the kind individuals who give me rides!

But, until I actually made my first trip on the bus to South Minneapolis where I volunteer on a weekly basis, I was totally oblivious to another benefit of public transit. Sure, it may be unreliable, inconvenient, and confusing at times, but for me, the actual experience of a bus ride makes up for all that. All of you who have ridden a bus in the US are probably wondering how this could be. Let me share an example that will help illustrate my point.

It’s Tuesday morning. I board the 22A and take a seat a few rows from the front on the driver’s side. I pull a book out of my backpack, taking advantage of the opportunity to be transported while relaxing, reading, and not being stressed out by traffic or that idiot driver ahead of me (which we have all been at one time or another). As I do so, an unlikely connection begins to happen. A heavier-set white man across from me, slightly balding with a cane, strikes up a conversation with the young black male sitting in the row behind me, curly haired, lanky, and what society would generally refer to as ‘rough around the edges.’

I’m not really sure how the conversation started, but the topic of conversation moved to a subject of common ground. The ‘fat and bald white guy’ turns out be just coming off a night shift- I couldn’t pick up where- and is in great spirits. I gather that he has seen a good variety of jobs and people over the years, living and working in Minneapolis. His comments and simple yet engaging, and the ‘young thug’ is drawn to him and answering his questions. He begins to open up to his older friend. Still in high school, providing for his family has become the focus of life. He is trying to balance a job with school and the responsibility of caring for his younger sister. The man understands, he relates to the struggles the young man is having. He provides words of advice and encouragement.

After about 10 minutes, the young man’s stop is up. His stop is the same as mine. The unlikely pair says their farewells to each other. As he exits, me behind him, I hear the man yell, “Keep those grades up, too!” I was touched. Two human beings, seemingly nothing in common except the bus line they shared, had connected. I was moved. Who knows, maybe this interaction was what the young man needed to find the motivation to stay in school. What if this is the conversation he remembers five years from now for the positive encouragement it provided?

Everyone riding the bus has a story. All coming from different origins, moving to different destinations, but doing so through the same means. And all with something deeper in common.