I can tell you right now that unless you go (or plan to go) to a college that utilizes a bus system, this particular blog entry will probably not interest you in the least bit. As I have mentioned before, I go to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and for the first time today (in fact, it happens to be my one month anniversary of living here at Purdue!!), I rode a campus bus. I had always been a little apprehensive about using the bus system because there are a number of buses and each has a different route, and even though I have a bus schedule, I have had a continual feeling that if I get on a bus, I would still end up on the wrong one, leading me to the wrong destination.
Anyway, I had just got done with my 830 class and did not have another until 11:30 so instead of walking the usual 20 minutes back to my dorm today, I decided I should just conquer my fears and ride one of those bad boys. So my friend (who had never ridden the bus either) and I walked 2 seconds to the bus stop, and we began to scrutinize the schedule to find which bus/route would take us to the closest area where we wanted to go. Eventually the right bus pulls up and we get on and sit down. The bus made frequent stops before we even got close to the Shreve Residence Hall, At each stop, people were either getting on or off and all of a sudden, the bus went right past Shreve!! Now what the heck?! We had no idea that we had to pull down on a black handle in order to indicate to the driver that we wanted to stop and get off. Of course, she and I ended up at the same bus stop at which we got on in the first place. My advice to you: LOOK AROUND AND OBSERVE WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING INSTEAD OF STARING OUT THE WINDOW ENJOYING THE SCENERY. Chances are they’ve ridden the bus before and they know the routine and/or they’re just not as stupid as some of us can be.
In order to get to my 11:30 class, I decided to take the bus again because I knew exactly how to use it this time! I was pretty excited about it and all so I go to the bus stop, got on when the bus pulled up, sat down, and ended up stopping at 6 different stops before my stop. I was late to my 11:30 by 7 minutes. I know for a fact that walking would have been a lot quicker. So how about you don’t take the bus if you are trying to get to class (just to be safe!!). More often than not, walking is probably quicker anyway. Besides, 8 out of 10 times, if you take a bus, you're just being lazy. =)
If you are just absolutely set on riding the bus, here are a few more helpful tips integrated into this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKzilLsUZCw
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5 comments:
I know exactly how you feel about being anxious to ride the buses for the first time. Even though I am a sophomore I have never ridden the buses and do not know the routes. This year I am living a little farther away from campus. I have not had the desire to ride the buses yet since the weather has been so nice, but I was thinking earlier (when the weather drastically changed) that when it’s snowing the bus will be looking pretty nice. It’s good to know that someone else was nervous about getting onto a bus for the first time. And now I will remember to pull the handle when I want to get off :) Plus the YouTube video was pretty humorous, too.
Its good to know I'm not alone. I took a bus to the mall during BGR and the bus driver "refused" to bring us (the entire bus full of Purdue students) back to Purdue. She told us the bus would go where she took us and we should stop asking where that was. We got on and off the bus twice before we figured out which bus to be on, which was the one we started on. I will probably never ride a city bus again because of that one experience. I will probably regret that decision when it starts snowing, but until then walking is fine for me! Plus I'm keeping off that freshman 15!
God, you couldn't be anymore right. I have had similar experiences with these "convinient" buses. Just last weekend I walked down to that train station to pick up my girlfriend and decided a bus was a better way to get transport her stuff, big mistake. We drove right past my dorm and were lucky enough to spend another 45 minutes in our seats. And just yesterday I was with my roommate and he down by Chauncy Hill Mall. He wanted to take a bus and I wasn't havin' any of that. I walked and I beat him back to our room by 10 whole minutes.
Overall I think that the bus system is fairly ok. There are things they can improve to make it better (i.e. be alittle nicer to those who had waited patiently by the bus stop for minutes but still misses the bus because they didn't do the 'wave'). Don't be discouraged to take the city bus. I don't know about you guys, but I rather take the discomfort than walk in the rain/ snow at 7AM going to a chemistry lab.
Haha I'm glad you liked the video Laster. It was pretty goofy. But yeah, I agree... I'm sure once winter rolls around, that bus ride will look like Heaven.
Anonymous, are you serious?! I thought those buses took you TO and FROM the mall?! Why would the buses pick you up and not take you back? That's incredibly lame. I'd probably feel the same way about never wanting to take a bus again. Let me know if you ride the bus at any time in the next 4+ years that you're still here and let me know how it goes! And yeah, I don't mind the walking anyway. ThaT FrEsHmAn 15 hAs NoThIn oN uS!!!!
the dimer-- Oh for crying out loud! That's crazy! Actually, I'm not surprised at all. My friend who is now a senior at Purdue took the bus to get to Walmart (the bus even said walmart on the front) and she ended up going all the way around campus once, passing walmart, going to lafayette, and then going all around campus again. Once she had finally gotten to Walmart on a different bus and gotten back to her room, it had taken a course of 4 and a half hours! I think I'd kill myself. And about getting to your destination faster via walking is completely true. Over half the people I know think the same thing.
name123-- Gosh. Some people like you just get all the luck huh? Honestly, I've ridden the bus multiple times since I put up that post just to prove myself wrong, but nothing has improved. It still takes forever and the drivers aren't that nice to you. The bus driver got mad at some girl today because her bookbag strap got stuck on the rail somehow and she was taking forever. Now 1) that had to be embarrassing and 2) if I'm patient with the system, I think all parts of the system (including the driver) needs to be patient with me and the other riders. So yeah, that was the last time I take the bus until I found out how miserable the winter weather can be. Besides, with all of the people riding the bus in the winter, I'd rather just walk no matter how cold I might be. I'd rather be cold than be in an overcrowded smelly bus burning up in my layers of clothing and my coat. However, I'm glad the system is working for you. At least we know its not a COMPLETE failure.
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