Exploring and Experimenting with Public Transportation

     Lately I have been pondering the idea of giving the bus system a try to get around town. Orlando has a valid reputation for its very poor public transportation system. Actually, if you live "in the city" it probably pretty good but since Orlando, like many cities, suffers from urban sprawl, its bus system did not keep up with the outlying areas very well. Trying to navigate from point A to point B, I've heard, can be a nightmare.

    So I decided to grab a friend and take a day to just experiment and experience getting around via the bus. Though I currently walk everywhere, many places are out of reach. My church, my sons' home, the community college that I am considering attending, all of these require a wheeled system to reach. And yes, I'm waiting for a bicycle to roll into my hands so some of these destinations will be a little easier to access.

   The day started off great. We arrived at our first bus stop and waited only about 5 min. Our driver, Ricardo, was both new to Orlando and a new bus driver. A recent transplant from NYC where he worked as a doorman at the Ritz Carlton on Park Ave, he came south seeking a less frenetic and quieter life. I guess it is slower in Orlando to him compared to NYC.

 

Ricardo, our first driver and the friendliest



    My friend and I asked for a day pass which allowed us to ride all day everywhere on $4.50. Ricardo processed my friend’s ticket without a hitch but, I guess with all the chatting I was doing, he got discombobulated and processed mine incorrectly. This haunted me the rest of the day! Some of the other drivers gave me a really hard time but I managed to sweet talk my way onto each bus.

    My fellow travelers were an interesting lot. Some I managed to garner some helpful information about bus riding while some seemed a tad, hmmm…”disturbed”. One woman talked to herself, non-stop and very loudly. One lady was dressed, broom included, kind of witch-like and I don’t mean the Halloween costume variety of witch. Actually, I snapped a quick picture of her but it didn’t turn out which (hehe) is just as well because I didn’t get her permission to do so.

    Transferring from Ricardo’s bus to another got us to Valencia Community College within an hour. I was very pleased with the timeliness of that trip in the event I end up going back to school rather than walk across America.



    That trip checked off the list, we walked to the highway about ½ mile away and had some lunch then waited for the next bus. Another great thing is that you can call a customer service line and get A REAL HUMAN to talk to. She let me know which bus I needed catch to get to the mall. (I wanted to shop for those two little grandbabies I will be visiting next week.) We waited about 20 min for this bus and only went about 2 miles. Off again, cross the street and wait again. Call customer service. This next bus only comes every hour and we had just missed it. It was about 3 miles to the mall so I’m like: “OK, let’s go, we can get there before the bus comes to pick us up.” Well, my bus companion was not OK with that. I walk all the time so 3 miles is nothing. In 93 degree heat. I felt all that sweat pouring off me felt great…she didn’t share that opinion. We walked some but rather than leave her behind, we waited for the bus. Got to the mall, got tall glasses of cold water and let the sweat dry.



    I never did buy anything for the grandbabies, everything that I love was crazy expensive. Finally we visited the Apple Store…talk about expensive! I gazed in wonder and drooled in delight…then off we went to catch another bus which would take us downtown to the main terminal. Here we would catch our final bus back to Winter Garden where I live. This took 2 ½ hrs. Not a trek I want to make frequently.

Standing room only

     As we waited for this last bus, boredom kicked in and some sword fighting with our umbrellas entertained our fellow travelers. With the late afternoon melting into evening, people became increasingly loud,  even violent (one man at a bus stop had some serious mental issues or anger issues as he swore at the driver and kicked at everything in sight. He never did get on the bus, for which I was grateful). Small children slumped over in sleep filled many of the seats. They were exhausted. Had they started their day, earlier than we, on the bus? Was this their existence, day in and day out? Parents, equally exhausted, jerked their little ones this way and that. That last bus was filled with the screaming of both parent and child.

Empty bus
 

 

    For me, the bus trip was novel, a new experience. I looked around in wide-eyed wonder. But this is the daily life of many of my fellow Orlandonians, day in and day out, in the heat and cold and rain. There is nothing novel or fun about using the bus as one’s only source of transportation. And I don’t really see it as cheap. A month long pass is $50. As someone pointed out to me, (as if I hadn’t thought of it), it is cheaper than a car payment, insurance, gas, tolls…but, here’s the truth…most of these people do not have a car and $50 would be a lot for them. Heck, it’s a lot for me! I think it should be much less expensive to ride the bus, but hey, that’s just my opinion.

    What I do know is that my gratitude meter jumped up dramatically. How blessed am I to be able to walk; to have friends, neighbors, family that will come and take me places now and then. How blessed am I to have had a vehicle when I was raising my children.

    How so very, very blessed am I.