Subway Sociology #9: The Wheels on the Bus Don’t Go Round

All the conditions were right for a repeat of our apartment-hunting bus experience. It had again been raining. We had again accidentally attempted to take a shuttle bus that was replacing regular train service during a major popular event (in this case sportsball instead of a concert) that had filled each shuttle bus to max capacity. We were again already tired from previous events (in this case travel, plus deciding that maintaining our regular weekend commitments instead of planning a crash weekend made sense.)

My Partner started joking about how this was a perfect setup for Stopping in an Urban Wonderland. The couple seated in front of us didn’t, at first, quite believe our stories of our past transportation experience(s). After assurances they were, in fact, all true, they nervously rationalized, “What are the odds it’s you, though, really? If we have to take shuttle buses, at least we get a show from our neighbors. And, we always have decent transit luck.”

Until, of course, the bus we were all on started shuddering like it was going to shake itself apart on the highway on the way to our station. “That’s not right,” they murmured the first time it did that. “It’s like a reverse Speed. The bus will explode if it goes over 50 mph,” they giggled the second time, after the bus driver had gamely tried to compensate. “Ok, you are cursed!!” they exclaimed the third time.

Does it count more for the experiment if sports fans dressed head-to-toe in team colors – known for being a more-superstitious-than-your-average-commuter-bear lot – independently decide the common denominator in all of your transit adventures really is you?

Or is their opinion counterbalanced by the fact that, ultimately, we got the last laugh? The bus only wheezed out its final dying gasp right as we pulled up to our terminal station. And, though later than expected, that other couple ultimately estimated they’d only arrive at the game 15-20 minutes after it started because they had planned ahead?

Just asking for a friend** who happens to be about to board a shuttle bus into the city for a performance today because the trackwork is continuing this weekend. And, said friend is entirely too pop culture clueless to know if there are any major sportsball and/or entertainment events in her city today…

**Said “friend” is also posting from her phone because she took her overdue “crash” day yesterday and almost certainly will be too tired to post anything else afterward. For some reason, WordPress doesn’t seem to like allowing comments when I post from my phone. So, apologies in advance if by the time you all can weigh-in, the question has already been answered!

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