MetroRiderLA Tips To Ride Pt. 2

[tags] metro tips, metro, tips, helpful hints [/tags]

Credit So Cal Metro via Flikr

As I said earlier, there are so many things, usually minor, that can make all of our Metro trips better ones. Some more minute than others, but all useful almost every day, for me that is. Therefore, read on and add on.

- It’s not a rare occasion that two busses will show up at the same time and then nothing for a while. The 720 is guiltiest of this. Three busses will show up at the same time and then nothing for ten minutes. Now the 720 is its own insane animal but this still usually works for it as well. So when two busses arrive at the same time never get on the first. It’s almost undoubtedly more crowded than the second bus and with more people means more stops and more stops means more time. Now one could argue that if you board the second bus and it has considerably less people than it’ll just end up passing the first bus and filling up too. Though this is theoretically true, starting with ten is always better than staring with fifty.

- When your bus is coming your way make sure to hail it so it doesn’t go zooming past. And when there’s stry trucks or garbage trucks or dump trucks or whatever blocking the bus stop, stand towards the side that the busses would be coming from. Then give it a mega wave. Sometimes they’ll stop right there, though sometimes because of the idiotic placement of stry trucks the bus will have to pull passed or it will stick into the previous intersection. If such is the case get on your horse and follow because if it stops and waits too long, boi will def ride off. And on, sadly not so rare occasions, asshole stry trucks are just taking up the entire damn road in which case you have to risk life and limb to wave down the bus driver who many times, not all, is more than happy to scream on past. It’s a shit situation that I don’t even blame on the driver really for it’s the asshole locations guy and the asshole district or whomever (sorry I don’t know who) approved it. A topic for another time. Most importatnly, be careful for as we all know, drivers are maniacs (after all car crashes are the number 1 cause of death for people between 15 and 48).

- I briefly mentioned the 720 and this goes for the 720 as well as all artic busses. And that is, beware of the 2nd back door. The one furthest back. When it opens it folds in pretty drastically and if you’re standing against or near the back white wall part (the part that covers the legs of the people in the front row of the upper level) it can catch u and really lock u in till it closes again. It caught my bag once and I couldn’t get off at my stop. I pulled at it but I didn’t want to rip anything. It thankfully didn’t catch any body part but it seems like it could hurt quite a bit. A mega pinch like that of your dad on the back of your arm if u acted up in church. Beware is all.

- We’ve all been stuck near a crazy and the easiest thing to do is ignore. No matter how interesting his/her ramblings about a gas company conspiracy with china and how grass is green because of the illegally imported water from glaciers, u must ignore. For once they got u there’s no stopping. You’re no longer a bystander but a target and boi is that a burden to bear. If such a thing does happen and the crazy begins cursing your socks, pull the cord and get off the bus. The extra wait will be worth it.

- When the back door doesn’t open don’t be shy about it. Give a good yell “back door” or you’ll be driving off as you realize you have the bellow of a mouse. At times others will yell out for u but that’s usually only for woman holding kids. I’m not sure if that has to do with people wanting the annoying brat off or if they’re just trying to help, I guess it’s case by case. No matter, don’t be squeamish and you’ll never have to stand awkwardly in the doorway again, thinking, man I hope nobody heard that.

Pretty much, bring a book bag and the rest will fall into place. Now fellow MetroRiders please add as many hints and suggestions as you can think of, the more the merrier. For instance I would love to know what some might do to make sure they don’t forget their bike on the front of the bus. And to Fred and Wad, when u both return please add your secrets as well!