Travelling by bus is like a game
Before going to somewhere by bus, I will need to check the routes and pick up one of the options on, like, Citymapper app.
It was no exception when I got home last Sunday. From Central London to my home, I was advised to take two bus rides (let’s say route A first followed by B) and where I could interchange. After arriving at the bus stop, I would have to wait for 6 minutes, following by the second bus of A which was only 2 minutes apart.
Route A
Destination A: 6 mins
Destination B: 8 mins
Destination C: 21 mins
I got on the second bus instead, especially when all the seats were occupied and some passengers were standing on the bus which arrived at the stop first. From my experience, the following bus should have more vacancies where it is much closer to the first bus as usual, and there may be a chance to overtake too! It happened!
On the upper decker, I checked my Citymapper again around 2 minutes before getting off at the stop they suggested, and the app predicted that there would be 15 minutes interchange.
Route A
Get off at A1
Route B
Destination B: Due
Destination B: 15 mins
See the bold words above. The two buses (my bus running route A and the bus of route B I supposed to miss) are quite close, and A1 was not the only interchange because both routes started overlapping.
I continued on route A. Shortly I could see that bus on route B. My bus on A successfully overtook it so that I could change to route B more seamlessly than expected, saving me 15 minutes.
It’s like playing a game.
What did I learn from bus rides?
Even though new technology like ETA has been introduced to bus networks, due to the complicated road conditions bus is never reliable as rail. The nature of the transport makes the journey a lot of fun.
Sometimes I have to learn to accept uncertainty because uncertainty is not necessarily bad. Rather, it can be better than expected.
Bus rides usually take longer than rails unless it is an express bus covering a lot on a highway. Learning to be patient is required, or I will feel painful.
Being stuck on the bus doesn’t mean my life got stuck. I can always do something during the journey, from looking at what the passengers are doing, the people on the streets, to reading my books and writing, sketching on my phone.
Be water — be flexible. Thanks to the wider bus network in London, that when the bus service in London can be frustrating like terminating earlier than expected even without reasons and heavy traffic. I can use the alternative routes to reach the destination. The easiest way is to check my Citymapper again, or think of any route according to my previous experience, or briefly change my plan to have a coffee first before continuing my journey, if time is allowed.
Wrap-up
Yes, bus is inefficient, but taking bus is a sort of great practice in life, when our modern life has become much more convenient and straightforward so that we can be more vulnerable to changes and even challenges which we are unable to avoid. The fun of life is always from things that need effort, which will eventually bring satisfaction, happiness, growth and strength.
