Gettin around

For most of my adult life, I have had a love-hate relationship with public transportation. In Chicago, we relied on the L and buses to get to work, to church, to see friends. For the most part, I was incredibly grateful for the comprehensive nature of the Chicago Transit Authority, but I also struggled with letting its unpredictability affect my mood. Too-full buses, late trains, running for blocks to catch something, waiting in the sideways-blowing snow on an elevated platform, sprinting from one platform to the next and just barely missing a connection. Sometimes I would call Eric as I left work after a perfectly fine day and arrive home in tears after a long, particularly trying trip. But I love the L and miss the random encounters with people and the adventure of it all--and I loved not needing a car!

In the West, things are a bit different. We're in a small town connected to a large city and quite close to the very end of the Tri-Met system and we do rely on our car (too) often. But a bus passes just 3 blocks from our house (the same distance we walked to the bus stop in Chicago) and we can take that bus west about 2 miles before the line stops in Forest Grove, or take it east, then hope on the Max and head downtown or all the way to the other end of Portland if we so desire. Pretty handy.

And unlike the CTA, trains here are quite, smooth, clean, and, remarkably, devoid of a constant urine smell. Even more surprising is that everything has a schedule and actually sticks to do, something that's unheard of in Chicago (I can't tell you how many times I waited for 35 minutes, then had two buses come right on top of each other!). And we can call a number from home to find out when the next two buses will arrive.

The best part, though, is that here, I've experienced being treated more often like a human being. A few things have happened recently for which I've been thankful. Last week, Eric was trying out the new-to-us inter-county bus line that runs from Hillsboro to McMinnville and passes Yamhill, where Eric's second church is, on the way. It only runs about 5 times a day, so I drove Eric to the stop, schedule in hand, and waited with him for the bus. We saw it approaching, then both raised our arms as it got closer, and the driver looked right at us....then kept on driving! What? Eric called the number on the schedule and the dispatcher contacted the bus driver who actually turned around 2 miles down the road and came back to pick Eric up (not an easy manuever on a divided highway)! They were now 20 minutes behind their schedule, but we were thankful.

And then on Sunday, I took the bus to church in Hillsboro, forgetting that the cost is now $2.05 and not $2.00. But I put my two bills in after searching for change in my purse--no dice--and the driver just handed me the ticket anyway. And instead of the normal two hours, he had torn the ticket much lower on the schedule and I know had 3 1/2 hours to use my ticket! Usually, I spend just enough time at church to miss traveling again within the two hours, so he saved me two bucks! Yay!

Not only is taking public transit good for the environment and wallet, but it allows me to read a bit or call someone while I walk or talk to my neighbors or just look around and enjoy what's there.