Suddenly You Are a Bus Rider?

We all know it is hot in DC. I mean really hot. Today when I was trying to get home, I noticed that every bus stop had at least 20 people waiting for a bus. I don't mean those commuter buses, I mean the city buses that go up Conn. Ave and Mass. Ave.

It just annoyed me that suddenly we had a surge of Bus Riders in DC. How do I know these weren't the usual commuters with me? Because they were all paying with cash and coin on the bus. It was insane. Person after person piled into these mobile air conditioned methods of transport as they tried to get home.

It doesn't help that the metro trains have no AC either. I see people getting ready to pass out as the train approaches the platform and the famous Express or Examiner being used to fan themselves. This is sign number one the metro is suffering big time this summer. The other sign is the masses of people piling on buses - suddenly and surely to get a little AC and try and get a little closer to home before they have to walk in the swamp of soupy humidity.

Can we get a break? Or a few like the amount to equal the broken escalators on this crippled capital metro? Stay cool out there.

Metro and Metrobus feeling the Pain in Public Affairs

Not a good summer for Metro and Metrobus Public Affairs - take a look at these sites and news items.

http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/

http://dcist.com/2009/08/two_metrobus_operators_fired_a_thir.php

I also heard a rumor that DC DMV closed down the Brentwood Branch - this calls for a big long blog post in memorial to the worst DMV location on earth. Does anyone remember that parking lot where they did the driving test? Worst location ever.

TOO BAD, SO SAD!!! But oh the memories.

A Whiteboard Aboard?

This weekend I was riding the bus in honor of the outrageous price of gas - $3.99 a gallon in my neighborhood! As I got on the 32 bus on Wisconsin Avenue I noticed that behind where the driver sits, there was a whiteboard in the place of where an advertisement poster usually hangs. At first I thought it was one of those creative UPS ads...you know the one with the guy drawing solutions on the whiteboard. But as I looked closer I noticed that it was in fact a whiteboard that the driver has used to write messages to the passengers.

The message of the day said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Cash fare $1.35 / Smartrip Fare $1.25.
Thank You!"

I couldn't make it out really. Was this a way for the driver to communicate with passengers and reiterate to them the benefits of getting a Smartrip card? Tangent warning - I am about to go off here. I know that the bus drivers hate when passengers jam the fare machine with the buckets of coins they carry. Just my opinion, but I think there should be Smartrip-only buses, similar to Smartrip only lanes in the metro. Maybe these could also be the express buses to downtown. "Next stop Farragut Square - no local stops." Sure there is traffic, but those pesky stops along Mass. Ave - you know the one right outside the British Embassy and the Brazilian Embassy - I mean who lives around there anyway? And chances are if they live around there, they can afford these gas prices. Not saying that they should drive just because they can afford it. All in all, I am glad they are taking the public transport.

Anyway, back to what I was saying about the whiteboard on board the bus. I think it is a great idea and could be a very creative way for the bus drivers to interact with the passengers - albeit one way initially, I think it could strike a pleasant tone. It could be the bus-stop version of when metro train conductors stray from their script and talk to their passengers - "Good Morning Red line passengers and welcome to the Red Line to Shady Grove, I hope you are having a wonderful Washington morning. Please make sure to take your belongings with you as you leave the train today, yes including those pesky Express papers. I appreciate your assistance and hope to see you again on metro." I love watching the faces of the passengers when this happens. Some laugh, some scowl, others are completely ignorant of anything but their blaring iPods. Remind me to send a complaint to Steve Jobs about those terrible headphones that emit more sound outside the ears than in the ears.

You all know what I am talking about - when the conductor decides to get creative and change it up a bit. Sometimes they say funny things - I call those the rail riding wannabe comedians. I hope they are working hard to eventually go on at the DC Improv. Then, there are the mean lecture type conductors that yell at you the entire time telling you to not block the doors because it will break their train and ruin our day, blah, blah, blah. I like the ones that tell you the time in between tunnels...it reminds me of the old fashion recording you used to call that would say "When you hear the tone, the time will be seven thirty seven and one quarter...BOING!" Ten points for anyone who can guess that line from a movie - a very old movie, but a classic. I digress again.

So, back to the drawing board, I mean whiteboard. I hope it is a new idea in implementation, because I would look forward to boarding the bus to see the thought of the day scribbled behind where the driver sits. After all they do have some of the hardest jobs in the city. I mean come on, I wouldn't last two seconds dodging those people on bikes in this city. That is why I always thank them when I come off the bus. It is great to see them thanking us as well - whiteboard or no whiteboard.

Who Decides The Code Red?

Do you ever wonder who gets the decision authority to declare a code orange or code red day in the Nation's Capital? Is it the weather man? Is it the mayor? Is it a health official? I just want to know who I can send a thank you note to when I get a free ride on the bus or a free ride on the metro. Of course, a free ride on the bus comes with drawbacks - namely everyone takes the bus. Thank goodness I get a seat early in the commute, because otherwise I wouldn't not be happy about standing face to armpit with someone trying desperately not to fall with every touch of the break pedal. No, instead I get there early, get a seat and read the paper all the way home while people fight their way to the back of the bus - "Can you please move down?"

Although the other day, there was this guy who had a huge umbrella. You know the type that look like jousting sticks. He was listening to his iPod and with every beat of his music he would pound the tip of his umbrella on the floor of the bus. Well, it drove me absolutely batty! I turned around and shot him several looks that said, "Cut it out!" He was clueless and had no idea. He continued to do it until the bus driver got pissed and stopped the bus to ask him to stop. Of course, the man did not hear him because he had his iPod earbuds in his head. Finally some woman tapped him and got his attention. The bus driver explained to him that every time he would pound his umbrella on the floor, the driver would think there was something wrong with the bus and it was making that noise. So, the idiot stopped. I was able to enjoy the rest of my code red bus trip all the way to NW D.C.