Pat myself on the back.
This summer I took the opportunity to turn my morning solo commute into a bus + walk commute. While it was a great opportunity to save a few dollars on gas, slow the addition of mileage to my vehicle and help to save the environment, it also took a lot of my free time by increasing the length of my commute.
A regular round-trip car commute for me via car takes 60 minutes, 60 miles and 2 gallons of gas. Plus, I get to set the air temperature and listen to the Adam Corolla show. Plus, I can leave work during the day for errands (or lunch).
The round-trip bus commute takes 3 hours but only costs $1.50 (or less if you buy the monthly pass and use it often). So, it's nice to save money, but the extra two hours of commuting every day is a bit unreasonable. Also, there's a risk that you'll end up sharing the seat with some unpredictable personas.
So, why is this being discussed on this blog site?
Simply so that I can announce that my summer of bus riding also allowed me to walk more than 100 miles as I made my way from the downtown bus station to the office (and back). It's not hiking (and I didn't take a single picture) but it's physical and I really enjoyed those 25 minute walks twice a day.
Believe it or not, there were only two days in which I donned a raincoat. Other than that the weather during my walks was fantastic!
Bus fares are increasing from the $1.50 round trip up to $4.00 round trip on October 1. While it would still be about 50% cheaper (at today's gas prices) than driving, I'm not sure if I'll repeat this project next summer or not. Those two additional hours of travel time could be used more wisely I'm sure.
Oh yes, I also had the pleasure of meeting two people on my daily bus rides who really helped to make the travel time enjoyable. Thanks Jeff, Phil and Shauna. Enjoy your ride.
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