Go Metro Redux

About a year ago, I wrote about my experiences switching to public transportation instead of driving to work every day. At the time, I was very eager to do my part to help the environment and to avoid the maddening frustration of rush hour traffic here in Los Angeles. I enjoyed riding the bus because I could read, listen to music, or sleep while leaving the driving to somebody else. Well, time has passed and things have changed.

Unfortunately, the bus route by my apartment changed schedule as of the new year and the results have not been helpful to me. The bus should now arrive only about five minutes earlier than before, but for some reason it has been very inconsistent as far as being on time. It either comes ten minutes early, or ten minutes late; a few times it never arrived at all!

After a month of dealing with this hassle, and being late to work several times, I gave up and went back to driving my car. Luckily traffic has not been too bad lately, so I haven't had many frustrations. Sadly, I have not read a single book since driving again, compared to more than a dozen books I read last year. Also, my cardio strength is reduced because I'm not getting as much walking exercise as before and a little bit of a rubber tire has returned to my waist line.

The nice thing about driving is I have a sense of privacy and quiet, which is definitely lacking on the street and the bus. It's great not to have loud traffic noise drowning out my iPod, and I haven't had to suffer through hearing everyone's cell phone conversations (in Spanish) when I'm trying to read or relax.  Plus, I'm guaranteed a seat when I drive!

I also feel more motivated to run errands after work. I can get my grocery shopping done on the way home and I have enough time to do laundry in the evenings after work because I get home much faster than the bus. After a lengthy bus ride, I felt tired and very reluctant to get back out on the streets in the evenings. So, time is saved as well.

However, gas prices continue to rise -- we're real close to $4 a gallon out here -- so I may go back to the bus if I can find a reliable schedule. As it is, I would have to leave the house 30 minutes earlier than before just to make sure I'm not late to work.

Probably I'll end up compromising by driving on days when I need to run errands, and taking the bus a few times a week to save gas, help the environment a little, and to catch up on my napping...I mean reading!!