Sins of My Bus Drivers

By the Wanz

            Even though I did NOT post this on time, I would LIKE to think that most consistent thing you can expect from me is my inconsistency… J

            I apology profusely for writing and posting this late, but as some of you know I’ve moved to California and I’m “technically” homeless (i.e.: without a residential address). I’m staying with family in a different city and commuting into San Francisco Monday-Friday (and on the weekends I take a LONG bus/lightrail ride between cities). So my free time to write is a little limited just cause… well, there are only certain buses here in the Bay that I’d take my laptop out on.

            Otherwise, muggings ensue, we don’t want that to happen again, and I wouldn’t be able to write my blog. #robbedbloggerproblems

            ANYWHO, on this week’s Life In Transit, we’re going to discuss errors that my bus drivers have made. I was gonna originally call up “Fuck Ups My Bus Driver Made” but I felt the other title held some slight degree of subtly. Just remember, this is just recounting some blips in the lives and careers of some amazing people who commute us around! They are people too, and sometimes, they mess up. (Though one or two may just be truly bad people.)

            Let’s begin our stroll down memory lane…

1.              Drive-by(e)s – Here’s a basic one. As much as I appreciate my chatty drivers, I have definitely encountered distracted drivers. This is a problem when a driver passes by someone waiting for the bus and then they don’t stop to let them catch the bus. They’re just like, “Ooops. Sucks for them.” and I’m like, “We haven’t even gone one whole block. You can still redeem yourself. Better yourself. Save yourself! STOP THE BUS.” (I’ve never actually said this, but the thoughts are there… especially when said person who the bus passes is… well, me.) I will speak up if my driver SKIPS my stop and I’m on the bus. That’s unforgivable.

2.              This isn’t a game of Mario Kart – This is more a jab at my commuter drivers, but there have been some instances where I was thrown back and forth on a bus in a manner that could have resulted in whiplash. (Just saying, uncool.) I would say it’s just me, until you exchange that look with a fellow passenger who’s like “What the unholy fuck is going on?!” (Oh you know that look.) And some drivers think they’re just badass at driving… Of course, then I remember a certain snow day…

SNOPOCALYPSE!!!!

(And no, I was not on this bus, just proving a point…)

3.              Pop, lock, and drop… to the floor – In the same vain, sudden stops are raaaaather annoying. Now, not all of these are the fault of the driver. In fact, most bus drivers may even think that all of these incidents are not their fault. But sometimes, we take sudden stops and yeah, the everyone on the bus is jolted forward, it’s not great. Sometimes it’s due to someone in front of us… and sometimes the driver just didn’t realize the light was red… And then, half the people are sidewalks, old people are wailing, and the bus driver’s like “No one report me… no one report me… no one re—oh, wait, IS EVERYONE OK??!”

4.              Wait? It was that way? – In their defense, drivers who get lost usually are newer drivers. However, for those of us who must endure the detour (or for those who get skipped over all together because the bus went the wrong way) are not super duper happy in any shape or form. Laughing moment for you Sir/Madame Driver, glaring moment for us.

5.              The wrongly accused – I guess I look like I listen to loud music (i.e.: young, black man). On several occasions I’m stared in the eyes and told to turn my music down by a very annoyed bus driver. I frown and usually “mime” doing it, before I check my volume. (To do the check, take out your headphones and check and see if you can hear it one foot in front of you. If you can, it’s on too loud. If you can’t, then the white dude next to you who would “never listen to music loudly” is probably the perp.) Way to assume… and we know what happens when you assume…

6.              Misdirection – Certain buslines run along the same routes as others. In fact, some buslines are the same as other buslines they just start in different arenas. (SF Example: the 7 and the 71 and the 6 from Haight Ashbury toward downtown all bring you to the same place. Tacoma/Seattle Example: 590 and the 594 all bring you from Tacoma to Seattle, one bus just starts in Lakewood.) There was definitely a driver who told a passenger waiting for a bus (that took them to the same place as they were heading) that he wasn’t that bus and that she should wait. That poor woman was probably waiting for another 2 hrs, or until a driver who knew what he/she was talking about came along.

7.              Childhood Memories – This is less of a sin, and more of a win, but our schoolbus driver definitely would go as fast as he could over certain speed bumps when we were in summer. Not safe, but still fun. (Coincidentally, he got fired for smoking weed on the bus during his transit breaks… Classic.)

8.              Red light runners – Seriously, they don’t give a fuck. Laws? Pffft. Fuck that.

9.              You’re old as HELL – I would get carded a lot when I was 16 and 17 by my drivers. There are  some who I think genuinely thought I was like in my 20s trying to pull a fast one on them. (I saw pictures of me when I was that age, I was not old looking.) Anyway, you prematurely scarred me. Just a heads up.

10.           You drove off that one time that I got mugged – JUST SAYING, you did. (Boom! Brought it back full circle.) Because I remember the day my laptop was snatched outta my hands and I grabbed onto the guy who stole it and was flung to the cementy ground. AND YOU DROVE AWAY WITH THE REST OF MY STUFF STILL ON YOUR BUS. I had to CHASE AFTER YOU just to get the rest of my stuff, and most definitely bled on your bus (my only win.) You are, and forever will be, the must sinful bus driver. The worst part—I don’t know remember who you are, but I will also remember what you do. And now the rest of the internet hates you.

a.     On a subnote: The bus driver who was there when that young girl got robbed on the bus (no physical harm) probably didn’t know it happened, because the 7 in Seattle is a pretty long, sketchy bus. But if you did, then you have no soul good sir… no soul…

Yup! And those are the sins of my bus drivers!!! I love most of you (you take me places) but you select few are on my shit list… may you one day be redeemed… some day…

Think I was too harsh? Care to share your own tale? Think you have a better story?  Then I say prove it!!! Leave us a comment dammit! J (I share-dare ya!) Post your experience on our blog or our twitter account at http://twitter.com/LifeInTransitTJ or on our facebook at http://www.facebook.coom/lifeintransittj or send us an email at LifeInTransitTJ@gmail.com and we may post your message / picture!!

Car Rentals, Yelp, and the Facts of Life

by the Wanz

            (Never thought I’d do a blog cars, did ya?!)

            HAPPY SUNNY SUNDAY FROM SAN FRANCISCO!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry if it’s cloudy in Washington… that sucks… but it’s expected… right?)

            Today we are moving away from the list-format to discuss a specific car rental incident I witnessed with my friend. I don’t drive, so I don’t find myself dealing with shit like this, however, I was there for the whole ordeal and wanted to give the incident some justice. So, today, I blog. And dammit, I blog for justice… and also because I couldn’t think of anything else to write about.

            So my friend, her boyfriend, and I begin on a journey to go to some car rental place. She’s heading up the coast for the weekend to help her sister move and her car wouldn’t make the journey, so she needs to rent a car. (A similar and familiar concept I’m sure.) As we’re driving there, she mentions the name of the place a few times and her boyfriend and I seem a little confused, cause she keeps saying “Payless.” I make a few Payless shoes joke I think until we actually get there and we’re like “Right, it’s actually called Payless Car Rentals… hmmm….” She explains that it is the cheapest car rental place and that her sister set her up with a good deal…

            First warning sign: It is away from the other car rental places. We’re out by Oakland Airport, and so there a number of rental agencies and when we pull up to the main one, the guy outside the door shakes his head and is like “Turn around and go that way.” The place is pretty small, a little odd and sketchy, but that can be anywhere in Oakland. My friend goes in and her boyfriend and I just shoot the breeze for a bit in her car. It’s a good 45 minutes later and we’re both like “Does it normally take this long to rent a car?”

            Then we see our friend storming out, on the phone with her sister, near to tears. We bros just carefully watch her from the mirror until she makes her way back to her car. Apparently, they require mail in order to prove that you live in Oakland and she had just moved. She was then yelled at and berated by the customer service guy for a good 20-30 minutes because she didn’t have any mail and he refused any other type of verification. Plus, they were unsure of if her car was even ready/there yet.

            As she’s explaining this in the car, the couple in front of us approaches the car and informs us of a similar situation/problem that they were having. They were also refused a car and yelled at by the same man. There’s apparently a woman who works there who is more considerate, but she wasn’t available that day. Our friend’s sister calls her back, unable to get any better news for her, so while we wait, her boyfriend whips out his phone and goes to the yelp reviews of this place. And this is what we found…. (Ignore any of the 4-5 star comments, those were written by someone who works there.)

            With reviews like “I've never had trouble with a car rental company before I went where” and “tires are so worn that they're not safe” and “The car has gross stains on the seats and 44,000 miles on the odometer” it becomes clear that this was not the best place to get a cheap car. As we pull away, we then notice the cars that they are renting out… One car looks legitly totaled, another’s bumper is hanging on by a thread, and the third has a gigantic dent in the passenger side’s door. We realized that the cost of they would charge us for in “damage” would out-weigh the “cheap and affordable price.”

            In the end, we end up going back to the Oakland airport, renting a car form the place where the rest of the awesome car rental places are, and my friend got to drive in her dream car. But the short of it is, if you find yourself in Oakland, needing to go to a car rental place, AVOID PAYLESS CAR RENTAL!!!!!!

Our life lessons for today: Just say no to Payless Car Rental; if it's really cheap and sounds too good to be true... check yelp. All answers reside there. And remember: sometimes you deserve an awesome car to rent, even if it's just for a few days to help your sister move. CHEERS!

Do you have your own Payless hell story? Or would you want to defend Payless? Well, prove it and leave us a comment! J Share your experience on our blog or our twitter account at http://twitter.com/LifeInTransitTJ or on our facebook at http://www.facebook.coom/lifeintransittj or send us an email at LifeInTransitTJ@gmail.com and we may post your message / picture!!

Favorite Tweets of our First Year in Transit

On July 17^th, Bandito Betty and I sat down in a bar in Tacoma, took a picture, started a twitter, and began this, our Life in Transit (TJ). Over the year, we had some delightfully random tweets! In a very similar vain as a clip show, here are some hilarious highlights from our twitter account this year! (BTW, if you don’t follow our tweets then WTF, and OMG, you probably should click here… otherwise there may be another abbreviation…)

Standing at bus stop, bus pass visibly in hand, dude asks me, "are you waiting for the bus?". This isn't the bathroom line? -BB

I admit it, I was the awkward guy bopping along to my music on the bus to work today. Judge away, I was having a good time! -wanz ‪#SelfJudge

Definitely don't have to worry about getting lost on this bus with these two by my side.. http://yfrog.com/gz1jkqbj

Man: can I sit here? Me: nods head yes. Man: I don't bite so it's all right, you're safe. Me thinking: you have no teeth.

A fiery-braided mullet, a lady carrying a toy baby, & a chick w/ flesh colored, super tight tights? Just another day in transit. -wanz

To the dude who chased after the bus, which was nice enough to wait for you, plan better (I.e.: don't board w/ only a $20 bill). -wanz

Elderly lady wearing clear safety glasses. You never know what could fly in your eye on public transit.

QOTD "There'll be a threesome come the next family reunion." Ew... Thanks for keeping it classy route 1. -wanz

There's a rat tail in front of me and a mullet to my right. I smell weed in the air. Party bus!

So nap may not happen. Girl next to me has a twitch in her elbow that keeps nudging me!! When will I sleep?! When?? -wanz ‪#elbowedinseattle

To the well dressed caucasian gentleman looking me dead in the eyes with concern, who's across from me, calm your racism down, I don't mug.

Pretty sure Santa Claus is driving my 594 bus today!! Time to ponder what I want for christmas!!

Tis a cold day for those lives in transit http://yfrog.com/nvjq8sfj

QOTD (a grown woman): i chew on thumbtacks.

Definite scary-clown-spotting this morning while pass through commerce street station. Not the funniest way to start the day

22 minute bus delay. Somebody better be dead.

So when the bus says "music devices can only be played at a minimum level" who thinks the guy with the loud music can actually hear that?

A high schooler just got on the bus with a giant cardboard heart. Whoever that's for, you go git that! -wanz

There are literally 2 girls (probably 3rd graders) swing on the bus pole and banging their hands on the window... ‪#whereareyourparents‬ -wanz

The bus driver was actually just clipping his fingernails at the stop light. True story.

mmm nothing like the thick, humid aroma on bus passengers right after a rain. ‪#smellsintransit

Guy2Me: Did I just see you 20 days ago? Me: Where? Guy: ...weren't you just locked up. Me: Nope! –wanz

Ghostbus!! http://yfrog.com/h0l9jxefj

And the award for creepiest transitter goes to Guy-Watching-People-at-the-Gym. You're creepy. Kudos! http://yfrog.com/nyv2etaj

Firstly, your pants are insanely yellow. Secondly, sit down dude! Or let me sit down. Move your business pic.twitter.com/iGuRMnhX

Bus driver just told me, "haven't seen you out for awhile" apparently the bus has officially become a bar.

Who needs a trailer park when you have public transit? -BB http://pic.twitter.com/UWTaOWDv

This dude who caught the bus on the last stop before i5 is complaining about there be no seats during commuting times. ‪#youdidthistoyourself

When you sit down and your seat mate says out loud, "I made a friend" that's the perfect time to change seats. –BB

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US DURING OUR FIRST YEAR OF LIFE IN TRANSIT (TJ)!!! We love an appreciate pretty much most of you (one or two of you may be an asshole, I don’t know, so I just have to be honest about it),  but we definitely appreciate you reading these, following tweets, liking our Facebook page, and leaving your comments!

YOU ROCK!!! So thanks! Keep a look out for more new content this year!! ENJOY!!!!!

My Goodbye Review or Rant of Metro, Sound, and Pierce Transit

By the Wanz

            HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!!

I know that this is a particular truth for those readers in the Puget Sound Area cause there’s been actual WARMTH and a little dash of something called SUNSHINE outside lately!  WOO!!

So if you’re reading this today, you may momentarily stop, and ponder “Why is this being posted on a Sunday?!” And the reason, I start working on Monday. (RIP Funemploymnet.) And I start work in… San Francisco!

Yes, as I’ve already noted, this month I transition from Tacoma, Washington to the San Francisco Bay Area (cue: screaming applause). This means that Bandito Betty will be holding down the fort up in Washington while I report the transitfulness of the Bay. There will be some new kinds of posts coming soon, so be on the look out for those.

            So, for my ode to the Puget Sound Area, I’m giving you my goodbye review / rant of the public transit system for Metro, Sound, and Pierce Transit. Certain transit lines offer more to review-rant (rev-rant?) about because of the kinds of services they offer (i.e.: Sound Transit has the lightrail, the buses, and the commuter train).

             Rapid Transit is not reviewed because I never really rode it, but I’m sure one day I’ll have a chance to complain about it. And the busline to Olympia can be damned, because it stopped accepting my ORCA card, so I rejected it from my heart. (#scorned.)

            So let’s get this rantful review started!!

Metro Transit

            Let’s flatter Seattle and start there. First of all, I have never lived in Seattle. I’ve only commuted in there for work and occasional social visits on weekends or after work. Admittedly so, I’m a lot less familiar with it than Sound & Pierce.

            All in all, traveling on Metro, I always get where I needed to go and there’s usually a number of buses available to get me multiple places. The timeliness of Metro is a double-edged sword; there is conveniently a shit ton of buses running, but there’s a lack of accuracy to them. Buses arrive too early for my bus-system or even horribly late. (My almost flawless technique of catching the bus on time was frequently challenged by Metro.)

            Metro is sorta dirty and a little sketch. I remember sometime during my first months working up in Seattle, I saw a girl get ambushed and mugged by two girls and she lost her iPod. And the bus driver was just like “eh, whatever” and drove off (minus the words, his gestures and silence spoke volumes). This shouldn’t reflect all drivers. The bus drivers are hit or miss. Sometimes they were very caring, but other times, the driver does not give a single flying fuck about some of the passengers, cleanliness, how they drive, etc.

            And cleanliness was just… absent.

            Metro gets 2 out of 5 Proof of Payment Stars. It’s dirty, not super safe, hit or miss with the bus drivers, but at least there were a lot of lines and you could get where you needed to go in Seattle. Getting where you need to be, kinda important.

Sound Transit

            (I must separate my eternal annoyance with long commuting with this review/rant, since I was commuting between Tacoma and Seattle for like 2 years.)

            Aside from the 590, 592, 593, 594, and the occasional trip on the 595, I took Sound Transit a few times to other cities around the Puget Sound Areas. (Definitely took an Issaquah trip, ventured to SeaTac, meandered to Auburn, even up to Snohomish.) The drivers are typically really nice, they got me to my destination, and they even maneuver through traffic and haul major ass on i5 (which I very much appreciated).

            Pricing-wise though, it is a little expensive—ESPECIALLY when they stopped accepting transfers for those who paid in cash because of the ORCA cards. Now, that’s another major complaint, since you can only use transfers if you had an ORCA card, but those with cash can’t. Just kinda feels like a douche-bag move. Understandable why it was done, in order to make a push for the use ORCA cards, but for those who like bill-to-bill, or were visiting the area, or any other reason, that’s just uncool.

            (And yes, I did have an ORCA card, but it was paid by work, so I never paid for the $90 monthly passes. Though this may be more of an ORCA card rant than a Sound transit rant… oops! That’s right, I’m gonna rant-review-anger-rate them anyways. ORCA, you get a 1 out of 5 Proof of Payment Stars in my book! Now, re-routing rant.) Anyways, Sound Transit is pricy and ORCA didn’t help.

            The buses themselves are very clean. Buses run very regularly. The one to the airport almost runs throughout the night. The commuter train is cool, but it’d be great if it ran more frequently than it did. And, lastly, there are the two lightrail systems. *sigh* The Seattle lightrail is great, gets/connects Downtown Seattlers with south Seattle (most specifically, the airport), and it did it at a quick pace. It covers a lot of area. Now, the Tacoma lightrail is free, probably because people wouldn’t pay to go from Downtown Tacoma to only 1.6 miles away to the Tacoma Dome Station. (I accidentally capped that last sentence and rewrote it, but my anger definitely subconsciously slipped into my typing.) Does “pointless” and “ridiculous” summarize the idioticness of the t-town lightrail? Nay… justice hath not been served by pointless and ridiculous.

            Sound Transit gets 4 out of 5 Proof of Payment Sars! Great drivers, clean buses, plentiful routes, with bad pricing and one awesome lightrail system and a joke of a lightrail system. Good job!! J

Pierce Transit

            Sadly I used to really appreciate these buses. They weren’t perfect, especially compared to SFMUNI (which I had been taking prior to moving up to Washington), but I actually get around parts of the city pretty reasonably price, and it was fine. But, every year, the prices kept creeping and creeping, and at some point, it matched and then surpassed the fare for San Francisco, but it in no way matched the quality of the frequency of buses nor number of routes. Then, when I became commuting more to Puyallup and Lakewood from varies areas in Pierce County, I noticed that the lengthen of time getting places took forever. (Getting from my house in Tacoma to Puyallup on Pierce Transit matched the length of time it took for me to get from my house to Downtown Seattle on Pierce & Sound Transit.) Plus the frequency of buses supremely sucked.

            Then came the great fire that destroyed a natural fuel gas tank right before the major bus cuts/re-routes of 2011.

            For those who are unfamiliar with this event, here is a news article explaining what occurred with the explosion. As an outcome of this accident, Pierce Transit was forced to have limited usage and to borrow vehicles from Sound Transit. I still theorize that this fire was set by Pierce Transit themselves, to make their future cuts/re-routes appear to be less shitty. This limited bus schedule resulted in overcrowded buses, confused schedules, SOL passengers, and PO’d drivers.

            From this, we transitioned into the proposed route cuts and re-routing of nearly all bus lines, which left riders without ways of getting home passed 10pm. :\ It was slightly readjusted over time, cutting more routes, extending the time and change the frequency for certain lines, but not very well. Suddenly, commuting in Tacoma became the hugest pain in my ass. Walking seemed like a better fiscal and life choice than the over priced buses in Tacoma.

            The buses are decent in regards to cleanliness, though sometimes seats were broken, smelly, or messes were made. (But it’s a bus, those happen.)

            HOWEVER, their drivers majorly redeem services for Pierce Transit. Their drivers are by far some of the most friendly, concerned, and customer-orientated drivers I’ve ever had! I remember my favorite route-one driver, who was a “take-no-shit-from-anyone” would always welcome me with a smile, check in on me, noted how I lost weight (hella swoll) and would always honk as she passed me to wave goodbye to me. (Right?!) It is a common trend. Or if drivers notice issues or harassment on the bus, they stop the bus and address it. They clearly care… well, most. There’s always room for exceptions, but for the most part, drivers remember the riders and express a genuine concern. Shitty routes aside, they helped and did their best with the transition of the limited usage and the cuts/re-routes.

            All in all, Pierce transit gets 2 2/3 out of 5 Proof of Payment Stars! Bad prices, ok buses, bad routes/times, but phenomenal drivers.

That’s ALL for you commuters in Tacoma / Seattle / all the places nearby (*ahem* except Olympia). You will be missed and frequently visited!! My ORCA card hath been retired for a CLIPPER card (yay area) since I left my heart in San Francisco, but my liver will always be left in Tacoma.

Feel like you disagree with my ratings? Feel like I should give Olympia a chance? Maybe have some insight into Rapid Transit? Well, like always, I scoff with doubt and say prove it. Follow us!! On the internet. I dare ya. And leave us a comment! J Share your experience on our blog or our twitter account at http://twitter.com/LifeInTransitTJ or on our facebook at http://www.facebook.coom/lifeintransittj or send us an email at LifeInTransitTJ@gmail.com and we may post your message / picture!!