Take the Bus

So, I've decided I'm going to seriously look into public transportation when I get home to Indianapolis in this summer. Now that I live inside I-465, I'm thinking that traveling en commun is definately do-able.

Here are six reasons why public transporation is a good thing.

1. You save lots and lots of money. For 25 euros a month (student rate), I can ride all the trams and the busses in Grenoble. I can go wherever I want in a relatively short amount of time within the metropolitan area and not have to think about gas prices while I'm doing it.

2. I am more productive during travel time. Let's be honest: everyone eats and does stuff when they travel to economise those precious minutes lost just sitting in front of a wheel. It's more efficient and a lot safer to do those things when someone else is doing the driving.

3. It's better for the environment! I'm not a tree hugger, but let's be honest. 5 tanks worth of carbon emissions for each person, each month is not a good thing whether it's causing global warming or not.

4. You realize there are other people on the world. When you have to stand next to a guy who hasn't showered in a couple of days while you wait for your bus to arrive, this idea starts to sink in. It's good to remind yourself that when you travel, you are never alone (I think people tend to forget that when they pick their nose waiting for the light to turn green).

5. You become more purposeful and efficient when you go out. Transport en commun takes more time than driving your car somewhere, so you combine errands and only go out when you need to. After you do this for a month, you realize you could use your time a lot more wisely if you thought a couple errands ahead.

6. As a nation (as a state, in the case of the US) you pay less taxes in road construction and repair because they aren't used as frequently due to the fact that more people ride the bus and less people drive their car each day.

Europe is a little more compact than the big US of A, and the cities here are in some sense built for public transporation. While this makes riding the bus a little less practical in the United States, I am hoping that it's none the less do-able. I guess sometimes you have to try something to realize it's not that bad.