UTA Bus ride

The first thing that impressed me was how clean the buses actually were. I always pictured them having nasty seats like the ones from a bus I rode in New York.  The only people talking on my bus were two girls and they were speaking an Asian language so I couldn't understand anything. Everybody else was dead silent.

The only negative experience I had was that I had a hard time figuring out the schedule and ended up waiting for more than ten minutes outside in the cold. That was probably the only real negative thing and I wouldn't mind riding the bus once it starts snowing so that I don't have to walk in the crazy cold.

Rut #7-Rob Witt

I love the experience public transportation brings, especially in large cities like DC, Philadelphia, and New York. I am rather confident when it comes to riding the Metro through DC, and getting around SEPTA in Philly but ask me about UTA and I am clueless. Thank goodness for the internet.

I live on 700 East where a bus stop is literally at the end of my driveway. However with the never-ending construction that has been going on, the route has been detoured to who knows where. So I decided to catch the next closest bus route. I caught the 832 by the WILK. I chose this route for two reasons: first, a friend recommended I take this bus because she rides it every day for work. And second, route 832 goes past University Mall. On Friday I had to pick up my runner’s packet for the Halloween Half Marathon so I figured I would make the most of this public transportation journey and travel to a place I needed to get too.

A few things I learned was my cousin Brook rides the bus! I ran into her while I was getting on the bus, she was on her way to Wyview where the majority of bus riders got off. The bus was unexpectedly full for a Friday evening, particularly with females. I thought that was interesting but there were much more females then males in that particular bus.

I was surprised at how people amused themselves while riding the bus, I honestly thought more people would entertain themselves by talking/texting/browsing on their phone but only a few were distracted with their phones. A good number of people were engaged in conversations with other bus cruisers, and one group was even singing some tunes…

Rut #7--Laura Coalwell

Disclaimer: I have not ridden the UTA bus in the past week, but I'm planning on taking a little trip today or tomorrow or Thursday.

One of the most valuable skills I've been learning in the past year or two is how to navigate my way through mass transit in different cities (Portland, San Francisco, New York). It's pretty intuitive most of the time, but there are times when it can get tricky.

We went to New York for AdWeek and one of the girls we were with is in a wheelchair.

We took the subway every day.

The Subway system is not particularly accessible. Many stops don't have elevators, and those that do....smell awful. Needless to say, we had an interesting time finding our way around, and opening emergency doors (and feeling like a rebel) to get through.

It's an interesting dynamic going from the hot, humid platform, to the cool, air-conditioned subway car, to the rainy, muggy streets of NYC.

I really like mass transportation. I don't really like driving all that much, particularly when I don't know my way around, so I'm totally fine with taking the BART, the lightrail, or the subway.

What I've learned:

-it's not the subway that smells, it's the outside of the subway. or the elevators.

-new york could stand to have more ramps and nicer attendants.

-it's pretty nice that the subways run all night, because that means you can hang out in times square, eating late night treats from duane reade as long as you want.

-hand sanitizer is your friend. (and your friends' friend).

-hold onto the rail unless you want to end up on someone's lap.

Rut #7: Emily Jacobsen: Bus Ride!

I have to admit, I had never taken the bus before! I have taken trax with friends up to Salt Lake for concerts, games, and shopping, but I have never taken a bus! And to be honest I was scared out of my mind! Do you need a pass? Does it cost money? How much does it cost? You need exact change? What if I don't have exact change!? How do I make sure I get on the right bus? What if it is going the wrong direction? What if I break bus riding social norms? Needless to say, I was freaking out.

So I called my freshman sister who takes the bus from Wyview to the Wilk every day and asked her all these frantic questions; she eased my fears and I decided her bus ride would be a perfect first experience for me. So I met her at her dorm, parked my car, and walked to her bus stop. Thankfully, because of my little sister, I made it on the bus alive, and thankfully because of my little sister, I made it to the right place, and thankfully because of my little sister I made if off the bus alive. I think a lot were students, (but not all) some on the phone (is that a bus ride norm no-no, cause it should be), some with ear-buds, some with roommates, most with backpacks, some texting.

I learned I can meet a whole new genre of people if I start taking the bus regularly. I could save a lot of money on gas. I could probably avoid more near death-by-ice experiences in the winter. I could make more friends. I could get homework done WHILE driving, the safe way.

I weirdly was imagining getting off the bus being as stressful as getting off the ski-lift or a escalator, But it wasn't :) D (P.S. I wish my dang iphone weren't broken so I could have taken pics to show my mom)

#7 Public Transportation--Marie Lewis

Dear class,

I hate public transportation. Why? I have twelve years of reasons why. As a very young person, i spent seven and a half hours each week in a hot, sticky, yellow buss with 48 other, equally unfortunate, children. I'd like to say that this all changed when I finally reached that blessed age of sixteen. But I was NOT that fortunate. I had no car. And I lived a good twenty miles away from the school. At first it wasn't so bad. At first I was eight. But when you are eighteen and still riding a school bus, you resent it. Not just because you can't seem to turn your music up loud enough to avoid the swearing. And not just because you can't shut your eyes tight enough to forget what you saw going on in the back of the bus. But because you are eighteen. And you are STILL riding a school bus.

So when we received the assignment to get on a bus, I fumed.

I hate public transportation. A lot.

When I told one of my co-workers about my plight she agreed to take a bus with me to the hospital. There we would part ways and I would make my way to the hospital cafeteria and purchase some delicious eats, and she would make her way to the plasma center.

Saturday morning we met up and walked to the bus stop. We waited a few minutes until the bus showed up. Then, as it came to a halt in front of us, we walked up, stepped in, and dropped our tokens in the token-taking contraption. We sat down and talked and watched as others made their way down the aisle toward empty seats.

There were some pretty scary people.

So I talked to Melanie and tried to ignore them. When we got to our stop, we pulled the cord, and walked out. And much to my surprise, Sonic Drive-in was sitting right there looking just like it came from Oklahoma, which is the greatest place on earth. So I turned to Melanie and said, "Change of plans. I'm eating here." It seemed like a good idea to her, so she decided to join me before she let those plasma people suck all of the juice out of her. Then I went on to Big Lots (cause it reminds me of home, and my mom) and she went on to her doom.

What I learned:
1. I like bus tokens.
2. I hate buses. I will probably never like them.
3. Big Lots and Sonic remind me of home.
4. The scariest people in Provo frequent bus stops.
5. The pull cords are fun.

that is all,
Marie

Rut 7: My Bus Driver Had a Gold Badge, How About Yours? -Elise Meservy

I have not been a bus for a long time. And thank goodness I had McKenna and Scott with me, or I might have gotten lost (I tend to do that easily).

I went onto the bus wanting to do something crazy. Hence the guitar, which I turned out to not be a cool as I would have wanted it to be (but if you are interested in legit music/bus/iphone skills check out the Atomic Toms).

So after that failed attempt at the guitar, I decided to just be plain creepy and nosy. It started with me creepily leaning over the shoulder of the guy in front of me and ended with me getting a personalized note from the bus driver.

I decided to make friends with the bus driver while we were waiting for it to go. This is because on the way to the mall I did not have adequate change and that bus driver just let me on but seemed pretty upset with me. I was not going to le the same happen with this new bus driver.

As we waited for the precise time for the bus to leave, the driver stood eating an apple and reading his book. So, I did what I had to and I yelled across the bus to him and asked him what he was reading. Best question I could have asked.

Seriously. He was dying to share that book with somewhat. Not only did he explain it, but he read the back of the book to me, and during the middle of our ride back to campus he called me up on his intercom to come get a piece a paper he had written the book title on! I almost stumbled getting the paper from him.

So if anyone is interested, my bus driver (who has a gold badge, a number 500 out of 6,000s (which means he has been around for awhile), and has been driving this exact route for 3 years but other routes much longer than that) recommends reading:

David Gemmell's Hero in the Shadows



I guess I am going to have to read this book, seeing as I told the bus driver I would.

Best $5 I ever spent. I want to go again! I made friends with Yu-Gi-Oh game -playing geeks, a girl who ended up knowing my little brother, and the most fascinating bus driver ever.

I noticed that a lot of people feel awkward on the bus and are too nervous to go out of their way and make friends, but that when someone approaches them in a friendly manner, they usually are excited for the human interaction and even pull out their headphones. ;)

RUT: Bus-tastic-Summer Holm

This morning I rode the bus. I decided that I wanted to take the shortest ride so I just hoped on and rode it to for two stops. Then when we arrived I pulled my roller blades on and…just kidding. I walked home. The bus ride was not a new thing for me. I once did a ski trip and in highschool up here and we rode the bus everywhere! It was at that young age that I realized the beauty of the bus system…and the beauty of the people who rode. The bus was fairly quiet, with only two other people on the bus. Overall it was a successful trip and it was nice to take a little trip around south provo. Standing out in the cold this morning, however made me realize how lucky I was to not have to depend on the bus during the tragic utah winters! My camera is still on the fritz so i apologize for the lack of pictorial content...

"The wheels on a bus go round and round." (McKenna)

For me, the real adventure was trying to figure out the bus schedules online :P  (And I'm only kind of just kidding about that.)

Elise, Scott, and I decided to try the bus together:

I discovered that I'm apparently too short for the bus:

We all took a turn serenading the passengers (they were pretty unimpressed haha) which reminded me of take away shows (<- which are live street performances by bands you may or may not know; check it out!):

I had really only taken the subway before (back home, I live pretty close to NYC), so the bus was technically a new experience.  It was cleaner and less crowded than the subway.  It was still noisy (not ideal guitar playing acoustics) and the people weren't overly friendly.  It was the epitome of public transportation.

Rut 7 Tyler Nelson

I rode the bus today! I rode the bus in Provo. I have lived in Provo since I was 5 and have never rode on the bus here. It was quite the experience. It wasn't very eventful. I got on the bus at the university mall and rode it to BYU. Then I rode back to the mall after studying on campus. The ride there was cool. I saw an apple core on the ground. You can sorta see it in the video I took. The ride home was a lot different. It was packed. I had to stand up on the bus. I didn't realize how many people use the bus. It was a lot of freshman I think because they all got out at the Ymount stop. (I think that is what those apts are called). I got stressed out sorta when I wasn't sure what bus would go where. Overall it was a good experience. I learned that even in Provo I can have new experiences. Enjoy this video...actually try not to be too bored. It mostly just proves that I actually rode a bus.