In order to
get to work, I ride the Al Tran public bus transportation system. They pick me
up from Bluff St. in Marquette at 8 a.m. and drop me off at Grand Island
Landing (the ferry dock). Luckily I have a $100 bus pass, which ends
up costing approximately $2.50 one-way as opposed to the $6 without the pass.
One of the
largest downsides of living in the country/rural area in the U.S.A./UP is that
the public transportation system is drastically lacking. If I’m not at that bus
stop before 8 a.m. or back on the mainland in time to make the bus, I’m
screwed. I cannot get to work or home. There is a bus I can catch an hour later
on my return to Marquette but it doesn’t take me completely to Marquette. It’ll
drop me off in Harvey which is six miles from Marquette. Walking home from
there wouldn’t be all that fun considering how badly I need a shower after
work.
Some of the
characters who ride the bus are quite a riot. Last year there was a Mexican man
who asked my coworker and I, if Lake Superior was the Pacific Ocean. I’m
still unsure of whether he believed us. Another man road because he had his
license revoked due to drunk driving and yes he complained rather extensively
every day. And a woman who also had her license revoked due to drunk driving
but brought her high strung dog on board without a leash (and yes the dog would
greet me whether I encouraged it or not). This year we’ve had some rather
disgruntled housekeepers from various hotels in Christmas and Munising, Michigan
and some car enthusiasts. I wish that I could retain the information from the car enthusiasts shared at a more fundamental level. Basic car maintenance would make much more sense to me if I could.
 |
| Tokyo: Waiting for the last train. |
When I
studied abroad in Japan, I was introduced to the concept of public
transportation. I spent the summer riding the trains to see the sights and
riding a bicycle to get around Hikone, the town in which I was staying. They
have trains that can get you within walking distance of just about anything
(minus the mountain villages). I got to ride a night bus to Tokyo and would’ve ridden
the Shinkansen or “Bullet Train” if I had had the money and time to go Hiroshima.
I really wish that we had something that was that accessible to the U.S.A. Our
dependency of cars would be greatly reduced if we did.
