We’ve been in New York City for over seven months now and, all in all, really love it. Friends will often want to know what it is like here and it is always most effective to describe the way the city differs from the suburbs, since that is everyone’s frame of reference. There is, after all, only one true city in this country and that is New York. If you can’t tell from that last sentence I have acquired the requisite snobbery of a New Yorker and find all other places in the U.S. always inferior. I recently returned from a weekend trip to Philadelphia. When the ladies at work asked about my trip upon my return, I said honestly, “Philly was nice. A bit boring, but nice.” They all instantly burst out laughing (at Philly’s expense) and declared that I was a true New Yorker. I was glad to be called one.
But anyway, I digress. Today I want to talk about the bus. Public transportation. Now living in Orlando, I never personally knew anyone that had used the Lynx system. I knew where the hub was located (downtown) but, again, never considered using the bus. Why would you when you have a car? Not only do the people I know not use it in Orlando, but there is a definite stigma attached to riding the bus. There are several stereotypes of people that immediately come to mind, which is ironic since I’ve never even been on it so I can’t say for sure who the bus riders actually are or what they’re like. But, alas, assumptions abound. So when I arrived in New York City, I took to the subway with ease. It was the way to get around for us when a distance was too far to walk. In September, after being in the city for almost four months, I still had not used the bus system and the aforementioned stigma continued to prevent me from doing so. In September, I met up with a friend who had just taken the bus to meet me. I made some face that reflected my disdain towards the bus when she told me that is how she got there. She has been in New York over ten years and graciously ignored my ignorance. But I feel embarrassed today for that reaction. You see, there is no stigma with riding the bus in NYC. Sure, the elderly tend to be on the bus more than the subway*, but that is really the only thing I can stereotype about the bus system here. The bus is an accepted, normal way to get around the city. It’s a nice ride if you can relax and don’t have to be anywhere by a certain time. It never goes above 10 mph in the city because it stops every other block (which is a bit too often if you ask me) and you can almost always get a seat (unless you’re going crosstown and then it is a bit harder to find a seat even though it’s the length of two busses). I even prefer now to take the bus in the morning to work rather than the subway because I can get a seat and read my book. I find it hard to read on the subway. But the subway is another post.
Just one more example that shows a major attitude shift regarding the bus: When we found our apartment, the broker pointed out how there was a bus stop right outside the door of our building. I counted that as a negative but now am terribly pleased that the bus stop is right outside our door. It’s quite convenient to have it right there actually. I rather like it save the whistling sound of the bus lowering itself that can be heard in our apartment every 4-6 minutes.
*I discovered this through observation and noting that it is difficult for the elderly to climb up and down the stairs to catch a subway. Also, by one elderly lady telling me on the street one day that she “doesn’t like going underground.” Fear of death perhaps.
