public transport
Jun. 29th, 2008 10:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smittenbyuA few of N's friends have been moving to around Maryland or Virginia recently. And we have been busy catching up with them. Majority of them are people he knows from the West Coast and are Mumbaikers. We have been introducing them to the places around the city of DC. And one of the perks is the public transport. It's quite a simple line here; if you compare to New York or London. And yet they all prefer driving all the way down to our place and then catching the train together to wherever we are going. At first I laughed. But then I guess if one got so used to a certain way of getting around; having to try something new could be quite daunting.
My first memory of catching the bus, a public bus, was in Hyderabad. I don't exactly remember where we were all going to and what purpose we were allowed to take public transport when there's a shuttle that takes us to the city for free. But I just have a memory of being 8 years old and going along with a group of friends of different ages in a crammed bus down old Bombay Highway.
Once we got older and were in Rome, my dad shared that he would not be chasing after us in the car to take us from one extracurricular activity to another and neither would mom. So, we took the bus home; on occasion alone. Of course, we got our training. In the beginning mom would come with us. Then she would test us by watching and not guiding to see if we learnt what they were trying to teach. Then they would pretend that they were letting us go on our own and mom would follow us behind. We didn't even know until mom recently told us! And then we got our independence to move around.
Majority equate having a car to independence. I have always equated public transport to independence. I don't have to worry about driving amidst idiots, nor sitting in traffic, nor the car breaking down, nor parking and its fees, nor the many other costs that come along with it; someone else did the worrying. I paid the taxes to let someone else worry about it. I guess I also lived in places where public transport was reliable - Rome, Singapore and Honolulu.
I didn't get my driver's license until the age of 26! I remember since I turned 20 years old, dad would persist that I get a license. At the time I was in Hawai'i and in college and owning a car was not cheap and TheBus (which is what the system is called) was great! Dad even bribed me with purchase of a car if I learnt and I refused!!! My dad thought us (my sis did as well) weird! Afterall, it was his doing!
So, now as we house hunt one of the key aspects I search for is access to public transport. It's a challenge but we like challenges, no?!
My first memory of catching the bus, a public bus, was in Hyderabad. I don't exactly remember where we were all going to and what purpose we were allowed to take public transport when there's a shuttle that takes us to the city for free. But I just have a memory of being 8 years old and going along with a group of friends of different ages in a crammed bus down old Bombay Highway.
Once we got older and were in Rome, my dad shared that he would not be chasing after us in the car to take us from one extracurricular activity to another and neither would mom. So, we took the bus home; on occasion alone. Of course, we got our training. In the beginning mom would come with us. Then she would test us by watching and not guiding to see if we learnt what they were trying to teach. Then they would pretend that they were letting us go on our own and mom would follow us behind. We didn't even know until mom recently told us! And then we got our independence to move around.
Majority equate having a car to independence. I have always equated public transport to independence. I don't have to worry about driving amidst idiots, nor sitting in traffic, nor the car breaking down, nor parking and its fees, nor the many other costs that come along with it; someone else did the worrying. I paid the taxes to let someone else worry about it. I guess I also lived in places where public transport was reliable - Rome, Singapore and Honolulu.
I didn't get my driver's license until the age of 26! I remember since I turned 20 years old, dad would persist that I get a license. At the time I was in Hawai'i and in college and owning a car was not cheap and TheBus (which is what the system is called) was great! Dad even bribed me with purchase of a car if I learnt and I refused!!! My dad thought us (my sis did as well) weird! Afterall, it was his doing!
So, now as we house hunt one of the key aspects I search for is access to public transport. It's a challenge but we like challenges, no?!
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 05:08 am (UTC)If public transport is reliable, that is very true. I hate driving myself. I just wish Bangalore had better public transport. Driving *does* give you more freedom here.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 12:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 08:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 09:17 am (UTC)I still don't have a driver's licence, I got a provisional one 3 years ago which lets me take driving classes but there's no need for it really as we're not planning to get a car.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 08:38 pm (UTC)Appreciate your attitude on public transport
Date: 2008-07-12 05:36 am (UTC)