Shoe by Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly for July 24, 2013

Hey, Cosmo, be grateful you have any public transportation at all.

Most work places will not let you put down ‘transit’ (rapid or otherwise) as reliable transportation….

OR 8 or 10 routes pass the stop, but only one goes where you need to go, invariably all theothers will come before yours does. On a really bad day, two or three of all the others willcome while you wait for yours.

where i live,gas is 4 dollars a gallon.i still prefer driving than taking a bus or riding a bike.i just don’t drive as much as i used to.

Particularly in Cosmo’s case, it’s MASS transit ;)

He must ride Lynx in Orlando, Florida!!!

Wait…….Cosmo is a bird isn’t he? Why not fly?

Brings back memories of CTA (Chicago). Waiting for a bus in the snow and near zero temperature. 4 arrive at once. 1st full beyond belief; 2 (almost as full), 3 & 4 won’t open doors until in the “bus stop”. I often walked to destination faster then bus.

don’t birds fly?

I’m a bus driver, and have a different perspective. If you’re hiding in the shelter the driver can’t see you. There is a glare on the glass from the headlights. Be in plain sight. Don’t hide behind a tree and jump out at the last possible second. Fourteen tons do not stop on a dime. I cannot violate the laws of physics. Instead of standing at the farebox for ten minutes counting out your sticky nickels, have your fare counted up and ready. It will give you something to do while waiting for the bus. Don’t make everyone wait while you gather up all your scattered parcels. Gather your things a few blocks before your stop. Be ready. I lose more time to the ill prepared than anything else.

They’ll get you there, Cosmo—eventually. But don’t go asking impossibilities like timeliness.

Is mass transit where you pray the bus will be on time?

Never truer words said

meby y’all should get a car?

I watch for my regulars. I don’t wait for those who have given me trouble in the past. I scan ahead and watch for passengers at the stops, but I’m not going to risk getting rear-ended and having my passengers injured for people who hide until the last second, especially when the roads are icy. When you see the bus a couple of blocks away, that’s the time to step out of the shelter. The bus is not your private limo. There are people besides you, and those people have somewhere to be. Then there are the teenagers who think it’s a joke to flag me down and make me stop but they don’t actually want the bus. Or the people who flag me down to ask what time it is. No lie, I once had a guy flag me down to ask for a light. Because of them, I no longer stop for people between stops.

PS: Safety is more important than the customer. That’s the rule where I work.