Promising sign at the bus stop

Go ahead and accuse me of racial profiling (or class profiling, or whatever), but I noticed something promising on Assembly Street this morning.

It was a young white guy, in a crisp shirt and tie, conservatively groomed (at a distance, you might have mistaken him for Brian Boyer), sitting on one of the benches at the big bus stop between Gervais and Lady streets. He was sitting like an athlete on the bench waiting to go into the game — elbows on knees, hands clasped, head up and looking around expectantly.

In other words, he appeared to be waiting for a bus. An encouraging sign, in Energy Party terms. Like people ditching SUVs, or John McCain changing his mind and advocating drilling off the coast. Another sign that maybe we’re starting to make choices that don’t prop up petrodictators.

That was the good sign. The bad sign was that this young white-collar guy was still sitting there, still waiting, when I came back 40 minutes later. That indicates that if he was trying the bus as an alternative today, he might not try it tomorrow.

This underlines the need to improve our transit system to the point that it is a rational and attractive choice to people who do have choices, and not just a last resort for those who have no options.

Of course, maybe the guy wasn’t waiting for a bus at all. In which case, never mind.

55 thoughts on “Promising sign at the bus stop

  1. Susanna K.

    I agree on both counts. It’s high time people stop thinking that “transportation infrastructure” is defined solely by the number and condition of roads in the state.
    By the way, as long as it’s on topic, I wanted to show you this map displaying percentage of income spent on gas around the U.S.
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/06/09/business/20080609_GAS_GRAPHIC.html
    That guy who wrote the editorial saying he only spent 1% of his income on gas? Is definitely in the minority, especially in South Carolina.

  2. Brad Warthen

    Yeah, I’m pretty sure I spend more than that, and I have a higher-than-average income and don’t drive all that much, beyond work and back. Actually, that’s an interesting topic for a separate post…

  3. Snead

    At least he had a bench to sit on. I’d love to see the number of bus stops in Richland County alone that have no covering, no bench, nada. Meanwhile, Devine St. is littered with benches in a town where no one walks anywhere.

  4. David

    There are a host of reasons a well dressed young man could be sitting at a bus stop. Waiting on the bus cannot be eliminated as a possible reason, I suppose. But,
    I bet not. If a young man is well dressed and groomed he probably has the wherewithal to operate a motor vehicle. At least he would until the un-party (whatever the hell that is) succeeds in taxing gasoline to the point that no one can afford it.
    In any case, and depending on the time of day, I bet this young fellow was waiting to meet a partner for lunch. Or waiting to meet someone for some purpose other than boarding a mass transit vehicle that is probably late and likely doesn’t go any closer than four blocks to where he wants to go. Four blocks which could just as easily have to be walked in the rain. Or 110 degree heat.
    Gasoline is going to have to get much more expensive before it makes the discomfort, inconvenience and general bother of riding a bus look attractive. David

  5. Lee Muller

    I used to ride the bus downtown to work every day, wearing a suit, leaving my Mercedes in the driveway.
    That is when the bus ran on time, ran 4 times an hour, and was not a rolling homeless shelter.

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