Thoughts on the Bus--Journaling

I have been riding the West Jordan Fast Bus for about three years now.

I pick up the bus in the morning at its second-to-last stop. There is a stop that's about a half-mile closer to our home, but it is on a busy corner that is difficult to exit from in the afternoon; so I choose to drive the extra half-mile in the morning so I can get out and get home in the afternoon. In the mornings I make my way completely to the back of the bus because the lumbar support on those seats is better than the others. I also sit on the left side so my face isn't in the sun for the majority of the trip into the city. I get off the bus about a half block away from the Temple Square. There's a later stop, but I like the view as I walk in from the stop I choose: the flowers, the Beehive and Lion Houses, the temple.

In the afternoon I pick up the bus on the north side of the COB. I usually sit somewhere near the middle of the bus instead of the back, because I am going to be one of the first people off. I almost always sleep all the way home. Yesterday I woke with a start--I had been sound asleep and wondered if I'd missed my stop. When I looked around, I realized that we were still in the downtown area. :) There have been two times when I slept through my bus stop, and one other time when I would have if I hadn't been awakened by a friend.

I have made several friends on the bus and at the bus stop. There are several other riders who are friends from the areas where I work. I've had a couple of people in the COB say hello and follow it up with, "I think you ride my bus." I've had the same thing happen in Macey's in West Jordan. There are also ward members who ride my bus, though usually at a different time than I.

I pay $12 a month to ride UTA. There are times when I drive into work, but you can't beat the low cost of the UTA commute. I also love that I don't have to drive in the rain or the snow. And at the end of the day I would ALWAYS rather be on the bus, because I'm really sleepy.

The bus drivers usually drive a designated time and route for about 3 or 4 months. There have been a few who make me a little sick because of their stop-and-go driving; for the most part, the drivers have been friendly and great. Once there was a Polynesian driver on our morning route. Every morning when we got off the freeway in the city he would do a big long greeting. I once understood that he said that date. Another time I understood that he told us the temperature. But for the most part he spoke too quietly, and I didn't understand a word he said. The first few times, we all looked at one another saying, "Did you hear any of that?" It only took a couple of days before we all stopped worrying about it. :)

UTA and the West Jordan fast bus are things I love.