Public Transit

I was finally offered an opportunity to interview for a position that I had been waiting for. YAY - however, the only opening for said interview was at 8.45 am. I have sold my car and it is winter here and I want to make the best choice for transit (environmentally) that I can. So I weighed the costs and decided that the bus was my best option.
This sounds like it may have been a simple activity - weighing the costs.... it wasn't. It never is!!
Late November on the prairies is always cold. This week was very cold (even the locals are making comments!!). Cold is not a problem if you dress correctly, and don't get stuck outside. Both of these realities were challenged by my situation. Taking the bus means waiting around outside and presenting appropriately dressed for an interview means that dressing in a snow suit is probably out of the question (however, taking a change of clothes would be ok).
Then there is the bus service itself. I have to admit that I was pretty much a beginner when it came to taking the bus. I used to do it as a kid - when the bus pulled up to my driveway and conveniently dropped me at the school gate. I used to do it when I was a teenager - with all the other kids, eager to escape boarding school, looking for adventure in the city on a Saturday morning! I did it last time I lived in a city - to get to work. However this was the fourth choice of five other transport options - fifth being driving my own car (First = riding my bike. Second = taking the train, Third = getting a lift with a colleague). I didn't like the bus because I always fell over when using it. The stops and starts were rough and there were always so many people on there (so I usually stood... therefore fell!!).
Additionally, I was forced to take long bus trips to get home for school holidays. This always meant feeling ill for four hours at a time and combined with dread at returning to school I guess I conditioned myself to hate long bus trips. Busses... yuck. So recently (as in earlier this year) I decided it was time to toughen up. I took a bus trip to a meeting three hours (by car) away. And what did I find... well I had a wonderful trip. I slept comfortably, read and listened to pod-casts, arriving happy and healthy. No illness, no tiredness from driving and no huge footprint (and the cost of the return trip was fine - cheaper than the car). So I did it again and again.... each time it got better and better. I was cured!! YAY
So now it was back to using the bus - it really was my only option. And believe me I checked... I can’t ride a bike in the icy snow (sure some folks can - but I cant... must be something to do with growing up in freezing winters). There is no commuter train in my new city. I couldn't get a lift as no one else was going to my interview - I checked! And I don't have a car - anymore!
OK - so the bus it is!! So where to begin...
I had recently learned that I could check the schedule online. Convenient! I checked it out. Hey this was simple. Nice and quick and forced me to be sure about where I was heading. It also forced me to be considerate of the time it would take to travel. Conscious travelling is like conscious eating. It takes time... slow travel movement here we come!
I had to get my head around the "issues" I had with travelling on the bus. I would need to get up extra early to be ready in time and not rushing. I would have to be time aware so that I was not waiting outside for too long (important consideration in winter). I would have to get out my winter woolies and dress appropriately (and for all possibilities - like if the bus was late and I needed to be out for an extra half an hour). And I needed to consider how to get home now.
There were still some unknowns that I had to "allow" for. I didn't know how much the trip would cost. Was there a student rate? I didn't know if the bus would be on time. I didn't know how long it would take. I wasn't sure if the route the online service had chosen for me really was the best.
So I did it.
I found out that the busses do run on time. They are super warm inside and bus shelters really are good windbreaks. The route was not the best - I discovered this by looking at a paper schedule and map - I now have these documents to help me out with my next big adventure. The bus driver was helpful and let me off at the right place so that I could walk the rest of the way - much quicker than veering off in the opposite direction to have to then catch the other bus that comes back. I could get all the way there on one fare (as long as it didn't take longer than an hour and a bit) - and that if I went to my student guild at university I could get special student passes (10 trips for 40c cheaper).
So now I am all set.
My next challenge is to see if I can get everywhere I need to go via public transport. I have to keep challenging myself to not say no to an invitation/event because it is difficult to get to (ie: not here on campus) and to not accept lifts all the time. If I cant use public transport - why not? Is the service not good enough in this city? If not, what can I do about it?
Personal action is important - but that doesn't just mean keeping my actions to myself. How can I empower others to lower their transport footprint? I might have to lobby for changes to the systems so that it is easier for others to use and how will I know what needs changing if I am not out there testing it out!!
The busses are going anyway!!