Bus Chick: Articles of membership

Bus Chick, Transit Authority

by Carla Saulter

Carla Saulter

• You carry an all-purpose bag with you everywhere you go.
• Aside from your bus pass, your wallet contains at least two of the following items: library card; co-op membership card; car-sharing membership card; the phone number of someone who recently chatted you up at a stop.
  
• You consider any distance under a mile to be “a short walk.”
  
• You’ve memorized Metro’s rider information number and/or web address, and at least one bus schedule.
  
• You’ve memorized the locations of public (or not-so-public) restrooms on your regular routes.
  
• You keep a running list of items you need, so you can be ready the next time you’re walking by (or waiting near) a store that carries one of them.
  
• You use at least one delivery service.
  
• You’ve traveled with an item (a steaming hot fried turkey, a surfboard, a backpack full of change) casual riders would consider bizarre.
  
• You know without looking at the sign whether the bus you’re boarding is “pay as you leave” or “pay as you enter.”
  
• You have at least one bus friend.
  
• You have a bus pastime (reading, knitting, drawing, eavesdropping) and carry the necessary supplies with you at all times.
  
• You have a favorite seat.
  
• You have “bus legs,” which means that — assuming you’re able-bodied — you can stand without holding on and walk while the bus is moving.
  
• You know exactly how long it takes a particular route to get from the time point on the schedule to your stop.
  
• You know exactly how often (and in what sequence) the signal lights change at crucial stops.
  
• You know exactly how long it takes you to walk three blocks.
  
• You sometimes leave a social event in a rush, before you’ve had the chance to say a proper goodbye.
  
• You’ve been encouraged by well-meaning family members to grow up, get over it, and buy a hybrid already.
  
• You have at least one device or gadget (a cell phone with a data plan, a GPS unit, a PDA with city maps) that makes riding more convenient.
  
• When you’re at a big gathering (sporting event, festival, concert, fair) you see several people you remember from the bus.
  
• You pay very close attention to weather reports.
  
• You think of the operator of the year as a celebrity.
  
• You’ve made peace with: comfortable shoes; low-maintenance hair; weatherproof outerwear (see previous).
  
• You are an expert at fending off unwanted advances.
  
• You always know what time it is.

I realize all of these won’t be true for all bus chicks — I own no ride improving-gadgets for example — but if you recognize yourself in half or more of these, odds are good that you’ve got a few (hundred?) rides under your belt.

Got something to say about public transportation in Seattle? Email Bus Chick at: buschick@gmail.com or http://www.blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/buschick