From Toledo, Ohio: "TARPS driver finds, returns $1,220 to rider," by David Patch for the Toledo Blade

Having just dropped off the last of his four passengers, bus driver Ron Guy of the Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service was tidying up the wheelchair straps in his bus one recent afternoon when he spotted a rolled-up $20 bill wrapped around a wad of paper on a seat. (Read more here.)

From Portland, Oregon: "TriMet loses free speech case over bus, train ads -- again (poll)," by Joseph Rose for The Oregonian

Atheism. Booze. Sex. Charlie Sheen reruns. Political agendas. Anyone selling anything can keep plastering TriMet buses and MAX trains with ads, despite the transit agency's objections. (Read more here.)

From Darwin, Australia: "Laughing baby kicked off bus," by Caine Edwards for The Australian

A woman and her 13-month-old daughter have been allegedly kicked off a bus because the young girl was making too much noise. (Read more here.)

From Albuquerque! "The Joys of public transportation," by Leslie Irwin Lujan via Open Salon

This story originally appeared on Open Salon under the heading Tales from “The Burque” at this address: http://open.salon.com/blog/leslielujan/2011/03/26/the_joys_of_public_transportation. This link no longer works. A copy of the original story appears below.


Although I don't live in a major metropolis, I'm fortunate that because of where I live here in Albuquerque, our bus system, ABQ Ride has been not only a lifesaver when my car broke down, but this little "gem" in my life has brought me much joy. Case in point - in the summer of last year. My car had broken down so I was forced to use public transportation. I had seen the buses around town, and it's not like I have ever been one to think "I'm too good for that", etc..but (embarrassingly), I was afraid of the bus system. I'm a bit OCD, especially when it comes to travel. I want to know the directions to where I'm going ahead of time (btw, I do not now, or ever intend to own a GPS), howlong the trip is going to take, what time I will arrive at my destination, etc... 

I could omit the first requirement of getting directions since I wasn't driving. Silly as it sounds, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to figure out how to pay the fare; I would hold everyone up in line, or worse yet - not have the correct change, etc... 

Now the ironic thing about this whole thing is I've not only taken buses before, I've taken buses, trains, subways, etc...

in large metropolis's such as Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. So it's not like all this stuff wasn't new to me. Fortunately after I took the bus a couple times (I made sure it was during "non peak times to ensure there would little or no possibility of embarrassment), it was like riding a bike. 

And once I got used to it I figured since I don't have a conventional "job", why worry about the car for now. After all, everywhere I need to go, I can pretty much get to via the bus system.  

So this is when I discovered the "Joys" of the bus system...  

Because the transit center was almost a mile one way (uphill going), not only did I get in shape fast, I lost a LOT of weight. And no wonder since I would typically walk fast while toting a loaded down back pack (one needs to always carry a lots of water around here), many times in the heat of the afternoon. I also got a great tan that summer. Not that that's a good thing with the whole skin cancer subject, but it was truly an ego booster along with the weight loss.  

And now for the BIGGEST joy and BLESSING and why I love our bus system:  

One day I decided to take a trip to go see my Mom on the other side of town. She had offered to come pick me up, but with gas prices, the mileage, etc...well it just made sense to take the bus. Now by this time I had gotten the hang of the bus system in general but I had never ventured out of my "safe zone" which entailed taking the commuter from the transit center to VA and back. So I spend a great night with my Mom and in the morning she drove me to the departure bus stop just down the street. I was to take the number 11 to Lomas and Second, then transfer to the number 790 at Fourth and Lomas. Now understandably, this sounds quite simple. I mean really, basically two blocks between the connecting stops. Well unfortunately, not only was I not at all familiar with downtown, I have absolutely NO internal compass. Long storyshort - after 45 minutes of wandering around downtown (probably looking like an idiot), I figured out where the connecting bus stop was. 

Once I got there, I plopped down on the seat, made a big SIGH, and scrambled to find my water bottle. This was one of those days where it was extremely hot. At this particular stop, there is an LCD sign that tells you when the next bus is coming (I guess it works off GPS). Well apparently I had just missed the previous bus and had 45 minutes to wait. Sigh again. I got into my backpack and took out a book to read. Ten minutes later I see a figure running across the street. A thin man with a backpack, what looked to me like typical "geek glasses", sporting a sleeveless red t shirt and denim shorts. Of course my first thought was - "oh God, please don't let him start talking to me. He could be a panhandler, a pervert, well who knows this day in age. 



He asked me when he got across the road if I knew when the bus was coming (I still chuckle at that question, being that I couldn't even find the bloody bus stop two blocks away) and I replied "I don't know - I think it's coming soon". Well (VERY) long story short, "Jimmy" and I started
talking and for the 45 mins we were waiting for the bus, we found out how much we had in common. For both of us - it was like talking to another one of ourselves. During the conversation, he told me of a free open art studio. I had never heard of it and I was absolutely thrilled to learn of it. We exchanged phone numbers and agree to get together on Thursday so he could show me the art studio. Another long story short, he texted me three days later, I called him back and we talked for hours. This man I met is now my HUSBAND. 

We met on June, 23, 2010 and were married at the same bus stop we met at on October 2, 2010.  We were married by a minister, our best man and bridesmaid were our witnesses, and we invited everyone back to the studio for a laid back reception of pizza and cake. 

Since then, my car has been fixed, and guess what? I'm still on the bus whenever I can. Because of the mild weather here, and the shortage of rain for the most part, most days are conducive to taking the bus. I did take a brief hiatus from the bus during the winter, but I've been back on the bus for a month now. I literally had "bus withdrawal". A lot of 
the people that ride the bus do so because they don't own a vehicle or for whatever reason have lost their licenses because of a DWI or something. What's ironic, is that those people complain about taking the bus and me - I complain about driving. We now own three vehicles and two bicycles and lately I haven't used either or. To me, being on the bus is a treat. 
There is no stress over traffic, you don't have to pay for gas, and instead of constantly having to keep your eye on the road, you can relax and read, listen to music, or even compute. Yes, I actually bought a set of 600 thread count sheets on overstock.com while on the bus. How much better can it get than that? 


I could name probably 100 more reasons why riding the bus is so cool, but I'll end with this
 one:



People are social creatures. If we don't interact with people and isolate, it can be detrimental to one's health (this is actually a proven fact). I have met the most wonderful, diverse group of people on the bus. From students, professors, military personnel, retired veterans, many homeless people (contrary to what most belief, MOST people who are 
"experiencing" homelessness have fallen on hard times, not just drugs), and various other people of different ages, races, social classes, and personality types.



Tomorrow is calling for sunny skies and warm temperatures. There is no way I would be caught dead NOT on the bus. It's just too fabulous of an experience.



So to anyone who may think that public transportation is only for those that are "lesser than", or have no choice BUT to be on the bus - you're terribly misconceived. It's a glorious experience!