Here’s my hot take: choosing to commute by taking the bus or riding your bike is sexy. Now I know you may be thinking that the bus is lame, and a bike sounds like a lot of effort, but stay for a while and hear me out. There’s a reason why buses and bikes are usually frowned upon by the general public, even if people have never personally used them for commuting. In America, we live in a huge bubble of car culture, which ultimately affects our everyday decisions. Due to poor urban planning, lots of Americans were raised to believe that a car was the only mode of transportation; it was not a choice, but a need.
Personally, I was raised in a town where you needed a car to get just about anywhere. There was no public transportation like a city bus or community rail. If you tried to commute by bike, you would usually run into a place where the bike path would end, or trails to your ideal destination just didn’t exist.
When you compare American cities to European ones, the differences in urban structure are drastic. Our cities are designed in ways that make daily life more inconvenient without a car. However, instead of admirably looking to our friends across the pond for urban design ideas and epiphanies, American car culture has developed into a huge industry that ultimately profits off of scaring people into buying and using cars.
Media depictions and common misconceptions about alternative forms of transit play into these limiting beliefs. Think about the appearance of bikes and buses in mainstream society today. Usually in popular movies or TV, bikes are portrayed to be uncool, weak, and usually belong to the underdog in the story. For example, in Robert Mark Kamen’s film Karate Kid, Daniel (the protagonist) rides his bike everywhere, and ultimately gets beat up by a bunch of boys with cooler, faster, motorized bikes. This is a perfect example of using a vehicle to add onto the characterization of the protagonist and the antagonists in the film, the “good” guy rides the old, beat-up manual bike while the “evil” boys ride the bigger, faster, louder, motorized dirt bikes. One character is seen as weak, while the others are seen as strong and ultimately, intimidating.
Society has had a huge influence in the way we view vehicles, and their portrayal in TV and the media are still very present today. Ultimately, if you connect the dots, you can probably imagine why so many men decide to invest in driving large and obnoxious trucks or lifted cars. This introduces the notion that the more intimidating your vehicle is, the more power you have over others — which may be why most deeply insecure men drive excessive vehicles.
This concept is the foundation of nearly every car advertisement. Think about it: car commercials often feature vehicles aggressively plowing through forests, deserts, and tundras—ironically showcasing environmental destruction to sell cars that contribute to it.
A man in a very deep voice will usually narrate as he describes every aspect of the car. The “luxury” of the interior, the “cutting-edge” design, and most importantly, the “freedom” that awaits you. Again, they appeal to a sense of power, dominance, freedom, and convenience.
Although the societal norm may be to own and drive a car, taking the bus, walking, or commuting by bike or scooter have various advantages. In previous articles, I’ve stated the advantages of commuting by bike and the improvements it can bring to your overall enjoyment of life. However, even though I enjoy cycling, I do understand that in a climate like Colorado’s, sometimes it is just more convenient to take the bus — especially in February.
As a student at the University of Colorado, taking the bus is extremely easy and carefree. However, if you are nervous about taking the bus, I do have some tips for you to make your experience as smooth as possible. Here are some things you should always have when you board the bus:
- Buff OneCard
-
This is how you will pay for your fare, fun fact: it’s basically free. The university (which you pay a lot of money to attend) gives you a free fare through your Buff Onecard. If you don’t have your Buffone, you will unfortunately have to pay for a ticket to ride the bus. You cannot use your GET Mobile app on the bus to make up for your Buffone, so make sure you bring the physical card with you to act as your ticket.
- The Transit App
-
Download the Transit App on your mobile device. This app has every bus route, train route, bcycle station, etc etc. The app constantly updates with your location and will bring up nearby buses and stops closest and most convenient for you. You can even put your starting destination and final destination into the app and it will tell you which buses to take, where to get off, and where to make connections if needed. This app is super helpful for figuring out just what bus you need to take to get where you are going. While visiting New York City last summer, I actually used this app to win a fight with my mom who thought we were on the wrong train (she didn’t trust me which was lowkey valid, but I won the argument so ha!). I especially love to use this app when I have a brain fart and get on the wrong bus — An unfortunately common occurrence for me. Whenever I get on the wrong bus, I use the transit app to figure out where I should get off and connect to a different bus to get going in the right direction.
- Nothing else, it is really that simple
-
Taking the bus can seem like a terrifying feat, but once you get over the first hurdle, you will never go back. Taking the bus in Boulder eliminates the need to pay for parking, find parking, worry about parking, and pay tickets from parking illegally (we’ve all been here). Because of this and the way Boulder implements bus routes, it is actually quicker to take the bus, especially if you are commuting to class on campus. Not only this, but the bus can also provide many opportunities to meet people. One time I was on the bus on my way to work a football game when someone’s mom approached me and tried to set me up with her son. Nothing ever happened from this encounter, but if not for the bus, I would have never had this very endearing interaction!
Even though society paints public transportation in a bad light, I would highly encourage you to consider trying it out for yourself. As of right now, I’m still trying to commit to my New Year’s resolution of using my car as little as humanly possible. I live in South Boulder, which is pretty far from campus, but my house is across the street and within comfortable walking distance from a grocery store, nail salon, and liquor store (which is all a girl could ask for). There are a few bus stops that linger around my neighborhood, each about a 5-10 minute walk from my house, and even in the 8-degree weather, I have been committed to walking to the stop, getting on the bus, and going to class. I choose to take the bus and walk to the store every day, and I love that I don’t have to rely on my car for almost anything. It is sexy to be independent. Go against cultural norms, and help save the environment by using public transit, and eliminating one more car from the roads.