Project: What's the Best Bus Route in America?

[marmar]

My vote goes to Chicago's Sheridan (151) route, up the Mag Mile, along the lake and thru Lincoln Park.




from GOOD Transportation:



Bicycles can be chic, subways artful, but buses? Buses are not exactly the golden child of transportation. They're more like the red-headed step child: Deep down you know they mean well but they're just a little harder to love.

Yet public buses are an essential form of transit in cities across the country, and they account for a big chunk of the nearly 10.2 billion trips Americans took on public transportation in 2009. We think it's time to give a little love to one of the least celebrated modes of transit. To that end, we've teamed up with Transportation Alternatives and an impressive group of bus-loving jurors to see and hear why your bus route is the best in America.

What is it about your bus route that you love? Is your bus driver brilliant? Is the view from your window breathtaking? Do your fellow riders characters belong in a Hemingway novel?

the OBJECTIVE

Show and tell us why your bus route is the best in America.

the ASSIGNMENT

Take a photo with your camera phone (no fancy cameras please) and send it to us with a 140 character or less caption by Wednesday, November 10.

the REQUIREMENTS

Photos should be taken with camera phones and each caption should include the location and route. Please include your name and the best way to reach you.

Email your entry to: [e-mail] ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.good.is/post/project-what-s-the-best-bus-route-in-america/

[nxylas]

1. Self-delete

Redundant post, sorry.

[marmar]

2. I did.

[nxylas]

3. I saw that after I posted

That's why I deleted. I didn't realise it was you, sorry. Not everybody knows about all the forums that exist on DU.

[marmar]

5. It's good that you did post. I forget to link to the forum.

nt

[marmar]

4. And my second choice would be the Haight-Noriega line in San Francisco.....

...... In addition to the up and down hills and some nice views to the north, there are some REAL characters that board that bus.

[MineralMan]

8. That IS a great line. There are so many of them in SF.

Another wonderful transit city.

[notesdev]

6. Best? Subjective. Most frequent?

... most frequent is the "under the" bus route

[MineralMan]

7. In my own area, I don't use the bus, but when I travel,

I utilize public transportation at my destination city all the time. I love it. You see the city you're visiting from a terrific perspective. Buses travel slowly, so you see the details of the neighborhoods and business districts you pass through. You see a cross-section of the population, too, and it changes constantly. You can get off the bus anytime something interesting appears, then get back on it again.

My favorite public transit system is in NYC. The minute I arrive there, I buy a transit pass that covers the length of my visit or longer, if that's what's available. I often take the subway to different parts of the city, then use buses to explore that area. I see more of the city by doing that than any other way I can imagine, and often just explore at random, getting on a subway at one point, then getting off at some other point and climbing onto the nearest bus and going wherever it goes. A transit map is essential if you're doing this, because it's really easy to get to the point where you need it to get back to where you're staying.

I usually stay in a hotel near Lincoln Center. On various trips, I've found myself as far out as Coney Island, and have visited every area of the city at one point or another. Random exploration is my favorite way to learn a city. I've also met more interesting people than you can imagine, and never find an unwillingness to talk about the neighborhood I find myself in.

Finally, on my last bus ride of the trip, if there's any time remaining on my transit pass, I just hand it to someone before exiting the bus. I always get a big thanks from whoever gets the pass.

Anyhow, the same trick works in every major city. So, I guess I don't have a favorite bus route. I love them all.

[marmar]

9. That's true. ..... I once gave my BART pass, which has about $5 on it, .....

...... to someone at San Francisco Int'l Airport. You would have thought I handed him a gold bar. :)