If I haven’t mentioned already, I’m a commuter. In actuality, I spend more time commuting to work on the weekends than I do commuting to school during the week, but I still don’t fail to notice some of the faux-pas people are committing while on transit. So, I decided to write this post as a little friendly reminder of what to do (and not do) during your daily commute.
Here’s my list:
1. DO listen to music on the bus. It keeps you in a good mood!
2. DON’T listen to your music so loud that by the end of my trip I know all the words to Lamb of God’s Sacrament album.
3. DO offer your seat to the handicapped and elderly! What goes around comes around, don’t play to the bad karma!
4. DON’T forget that if a child gets on the bus, you should offer your seat to them, too. The other day on the SkyTrain I saw a mother who had to crouch down and hold onto her five-year-old to keep him from falling over. Not acceptable!
5. DO catch up on your reading on your trip! If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my first few weeks at UBC, it’s that there’s never a bad time to study.
6. DON’T take out your textbook, the novel you’re currently reading, your laptop and your notebook. I don’t want to have to read about trigonometric identities just because your stuff spills onto my lap. Please limit it to one study material at a time.
7. DO take transit when it’s raining! Even if you don’t live far from your destination, make good use of your UPass and take the bus. You only get this awesome deal for the next few years, then you have to shell out the big bucks for transit fare.
8. DON’T put your wet umbrella on the seat next to you so that no one can sit there for the next 3 hours. Thanks, I don’t want to look like I’ve wet myself because you can’t put your umbrella on the floor. Also, DON’T stand in the doorway while exiting to open your umbrella. People are in a rush. You won’t melt if you stand in the rain for 3 seconds to open your umbrella after you’re off the bus.
9. DO take express buses like the 99 B-Line. They run often and get you where you need to be fast.
10. DON’T push your way onto the bus, especially express ones. Lots of people take these lines, and the truth is if your trip is longer than 10 minutes, you’ll likely get to sit down at some point before you reach your destination. Same goes for the SkyTrain – there’s a sign right on the door that says ‘Allow others to exit before boarding.’ Follow the rules and everyone is happy.
Thus concludes the main points of my list, although I’m sure we can all think of a few other pointers to add in!
In my first point, I said that listening to music on your trip can make the time much more enjoyable. So I created a little playlist on 8tracks (those of you who haven’t heard of this site need to check it out, like ASAP). Dubbed ‘in transit,’ my playlist is a bit of a play on words and includes songs with themes of going through change and thinking about the past (but all in a happy-bubblegum-early morning-wake up kinda way!)
Here is where you can find the playlist, and here is the track list:
All In – Lifehouse
Brand New Day – Ryan Star
One Foot – fun.
Move Along – The All-American Rejects
This Isn’t Goodbye, It’s BRB – We Are The In Crowd
Weightless – All Time Low
Carry On – Hedley
Make It Up As You Go – Plain White T’s
The Remedy (I Won’t Worry) – Jason Mraz
Happy listening and happy commuting!
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