Riding the bus

The price of gas, and the presidential primary, threw me over the edge this week. The night before the primary in our state, I kept seeing candidate’s ads about how they were going to fix the gas price situation. I really feel like we are totally screwed and it’s not going to get any better.

That night, I downloaded bus maps and schedules for the city bus in my city. I was surprised to learn that I can pick up a bus just a few blocks from my house, and it will drop me off less than a quarter mile from my workplace. And price of a bus ride, including a free transfer, is A DOLLAR. If I did this every workday, it would cost me $40 a month. That is the price of a tank of gas for my little car—at this point, probably less. I will go broke if I continue to drive to work.

Nobody uses mass transit in my medium-sized city. Everybody drives cars, and nobody walks anywhere. We were once named the fourth fattest city in America.

I realized that I can no longer depend upon my government to help my situation. I have to do it myself. I’ve been lazy, and I need to get off my ass and make a better choice.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to listening to music, crocheting, reading, and dinking around on my electronic devices while I ride. I’m starting this on Friday, May 9.

I found an interesting tool via Citilink that helps you calculate the cost of commuting. Here are my results: