Being a commuter student is not easy. Enduring everyday commute takes a lot of patience. If you are like me who uses the public transit to go to and from UBC everyday, you know that commuting is very much like being a tribute at the Hunger Games. You spend a lot of time running (to catch the bus) and competing with others (to grab a seat).
Needless to say, commuting is stressful. I know I speak for every other commuter out there when I say that these are some of the most common #CommuterProblems:
*You need to wake up early every day–probably at least 2.5 hours before your first class–because you have to think about the possibility of your bus not coming on time, experiencing pass-ups, or insane traffic.
*So since you always wake up early, chances are you want to maximize your time by sleeping on the bus. But there’s a problem: you don’t want other people to see you sleeping. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22… wait, what? I feel like every time I fall asleep on the bus, this is what I look like:
*You want to sleep. But the bus is either too cold or too hot.
*You want to sleep, but you can’t because the bus is too full and the concoction of different scents emitted by the commuters around you is just too nauseating to tolerate.
*More often than not, you have to run like an Olympic sprinter just to get to your bus stop/loop on time.
*Sometimes, even if you make it to your bus stop/loop on time, chances are the bus that you plan on taking will arrive 10 (or more) minutes late.
*On some days, you spend more time on the bus/train than you do at school.
*Pass-ups. Fortunately, I have experienced only one pass-up this term so far. Since I live fairly close to Metrotown (where the 49 UBC bus leaves), the bus isn’t usually full yet when it arrives at my bus stop. However, those who live 10-15 minutes away from UBC have to allot additional 30-45 minutes because (naturally) busses tend to be more full as they come closer to UBC.
*When drivers are not in the mood to stop at every bus stop. Sometimes, they’ll just flash “SORRY, BUS IS FULL” when clearly they just have some personal appointments to attend because there is still enough space on the bus for me to sleep like this:
*You can NEVER estimate your travel time accurately. Sometimes, your travel time will be 15 minutes less than your estimated time. Other times, it will be 45 minutes more than what you expected.
*AND PROBABLY THE BIGGEST #COMMUTERPROBLEM OF ALL: 94.79% OF COMMUTERS DO NOT KNOW HOW TO “MOVE TO THE REAR OF THE BUS”. I mean, come on. When you know it’s rush hour and there are many people trying to get on the bus, why don’t you just move to the rear of the bus and make everyone’s life easy? If you are too concerned about your private personal space, then I’m sorry to break it to you, but you have to stop taking the bus. Just bring your own car. Or bike. Or walk. Just don’t take public transit if you expect commuters to give you some private space. If you’re part of that 94.79%, I have nothing to tell you but this:
Although I am aware that commuting also has its own perks, I focussed on the downsides of commuting because this blog post is primarily a reflection of what my commuting experience has been like this week. I am probably going to make another post in the future to list the advantages of commuting. For now, if you are living in residence, revel in the fact that you are lucky enough not to experience the aforementioned #CommuterProblems that we commuters regularly have to deal with. If you are a commuter like me, I want you to know that you are not the only one experiencing these things. I guess we should just be happy and thankful that we arrive at our own destinations safely every single day 🙂