Here begins my story: The closest bus stop listed to my apartment is about a 2-3 block walk, really not bad at all. The part about it that I wasn't excited about was that it's listed at the corner of two relatively busy streets for morning commuters. This would have been drastically less overwhelming if there had been a distinct sign that said "bus stop", however, there was nothing. I first thought that the stop might be further down away from the busy intersection, so I started walking hoping to find something, anything. Alas, there was nothing to comfort my worries that I would start the day pissing off the bus driver by waving him/her down at the wrong spot. Of course in my eagerness to not miss the bus I also arrived early to the stop which compounded my worries about the bus being late or completely skipping by my stop if it wasn't frequently used or called in ahead of time. As I later found out, the bus may be a FEW minutes late, but they don't skip stops.
At last! I saw my bus coming down the street that intersected the one I was standing on. Now my anxiety spiked, fearing that I would get passed for not being at the right pick up location or, even worse, getting yelled at! So I stuck out my arm as confidently as I could make it seem and to my great relief the bus's flashers came on and I was aboard. Now for the apologies... none needed! As I found out on the rest of my trip, the buses will stop pretty much anywhere they get flagged down within reason. In fact there were several people who were picked up nowhere near any bus sign that I could see. The driver was quite talkative and the ride was quite pleasant.
While on my trip downtown, there were only a maximum of 6 people on the bus at one time. I asked the driver if it was ever very busy and his response was that depending on the time of day, the buses that went to the mall and to Wal-mart were usually the busiest. The total trip took me about half an hour including time spent waiting at the invisible bus stop.
For the return trip I arrived a bit early again to purchase a 10-Ride Pass. This allows me to ride 10 times and doesn't expired. There is also a 31 day pass, but that would expire after 31 days. I boarded at the Transit Center or GTC. There were several people waiting for buses, but it was definitely not crowded. I had a different driver on the way home and there were a maximum of 4 passengers, including me, on the way back. If you would prefer to wait on the bus, make sure to go out right when it arrives in case the driver goes in side for a bit. Most people seemed to stay inside or on the "on deck" area to wait for the driver to come back.
The other perk that I found was getting dropped off. Whenever you want to get off you just
press the "tape" shown in the picture to signal for a stop. The bus will then stop at the next intersection or wherever is most convenient. Overall my experience was positive and I think I'll continue to ride the bus downtown when I don't have other errands to run.Below are some extras to help encourage you to try the bus:
1. If you don't have a pass, be sure to have a dollar bill or change ready when you get on the bus. You can't get change so make sure that you have exactly one dollar.
2. Sometimes public transit can be nerve racking especially if you don't know what to expect from the other people riding. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the people on my route were using the bus to get to work or school and most worked downtown including City Hall and the ARC. Everyone seemed to have a friendly relationship with the other riders and greeted each other as they got on.
3. I know the picture is fuzzy, but I saw this sign inside the bus. It advertises that you can get a free ride home on the bus if you show your receipt for $15 or more from Hy-Vee. If you're interested, take advantage of this!
4. Benefits! Not only does riding the bus help decrease the number of cars polluting, you don't have to worry about traffic, you can read, listen to music, or entertain yourself while riding, and you get the awesome experience of seeing life through interactions with and observations of the new people you meet.
I hope this long tale encourages you to try the bus at least once and helps calm concerns. Questions? Go for it.
