Madison Metro

Good Friday everyone. Does this image relate to you?
It did me too.

I remember in Elementary school you weren't cool unless you rode the bus. It was the best part of the school day riding the bus with your pals goofing around. Our bus even had a cheer when we passed the house with a hummer-don't ask my how I remember that. We felt so cool too when we could be late for class to do a bus fire drill, the principle would catch us as we jumped off the back of the bus. Then a time came when the bus was NOT COOL. It became a topic of total avoidance, a forgotten friend. Pubic transportation was never an option I considered for transportation in my life. I have one memory of riding a public bus. I was with my grandma who lived in Rose Park and we took it to go to the Disney store at Crossroads mall. The End.

When we moved to Madison I saw that public transportation/ riding your bike is a very easy and common thing. There are a million bike paths or lanes that can get you anywhere you want to go. I started riding my bike to school everyday and it is probably my favorite thing to do in Madison. As the semester progressed the air got colder. Snowflakes started to fall, and I remembered that this place is a an arctic wasteland from december-march. In the winter lots of people still ride their bikes (crazies), but I couldn't weather such a feat. -15 degrees with wind, snow, sleet, ice? NO THANK YOU.

winter cycling in Madison looks a little less like this.... ...and a LOT more like this.

I didn't want to drive to campus because that would mean spending 5-10 bucks a day on parking (con of a downtown campus). I decided to get a bus pass (which was free. perk of being a student). I was terrified. I had never ridden on a bus all by myself before! What kind of people rode the bus? What if I get on the wrong bus and end up God knows where? What if someone falls asleep on me? Do you see the sorts of anxiety arise when such audacious things like public transportation have to be considered? I had to put my big girl panties on and get things figured out. I started using maps on my ipod touch in bus mode. It tells me what routes to take, and when the bus comes etc. aka amazingness. Once I started riding the bus I realized it is a piece of cake, and actually really fun! Most of the people on the bus are just students like me, but there are also the cute old ladies, creepers, obese folks in their scooter chairs. Classy. I got a creeper photo bombing in this pic. I will let you know if i am lucky enough to get my scooter chair guy.So riding the bus isn't this glamorous, but it saves me tons of money on parking and gas. I am helping the environment by reducing my driving, and I get to see cute parts of town that I would normally bypass in my commute.

When I ride I feel like this....
...but look more like this-rockin the headphones and listening to my jams!

If you are scared of buses like I was I say give it a try! It could make a fun date night to take the bus into town. Like the saying goes, "getting there is half the fun".Now if we could please get more double deckers in the US that would be great!