Public Transportation: The Good, the Bad, and the Smelly

One of the things I love about living in a big city is having the option to take public transportation here and there. Although we certainly don't have the best system compared to most large cities, it's not bad, and I'm just happy to have it.

We live about 3 blocks away from the Castro Station, which is the underground MUNI line. It's very convenient to take downtown, or to take it to transfer to a BART station. It's often a heck of a lot easier to take MUNI down to Union Square, than it is to drive, and especially to find and pay for parking. A one-way trip on MUNI is only $1.25 (although they are probably going to raise it to $1.50 soon) one-way, but the transfer is good for two hours.

Since we moved from the Mission, I haven't had a reason to take BART lately. I took it this past weekend, and honestly, I kind of forgot how very convenient, and actually relaxing it is. I went to Stockton on Saturday for my Grandpa's birthday. I took BART to Pleasanton (about 45 minutes) then met my parents at the station. They drove from Milpitas, picked me up at the Pleasanton BART station, and the 3 of us rode to Stockton together. At first, I was planning on driving, but then I remembered that it was the same afternoon as the cranes were going under the Bay Bridge, and they were going to stop traffic for a while. Really not worth driving - that would have added a lot of time to my trip. That's when I decided to take BART. Dick dropped me off at the station, then I listened to my iPod, and read a magazine all the way to Pleasanton. very nice.

I also took MUNI yesterday afternoon. I was in Union Square, and took the K Line to Castro St. Station right smack in the middle of rush hour. I forgot how much I don't like to take MUNI during rush hour. It's generally VERY crowded - standing room only once you get on at Powell Street. So yesterday, I crammed myself into the crowded car - trying to find a space where I could have something to hold on to.

So here's when I remembered an important detail about riding MUNI during rush hour: It turns out that I am the perfect "arm-pit height". What does that mean? It means that when I'm standing in a crowded MUNI train, surrounded by lots of tall men, my nose is right about at the height of most men's armpits. Yep. that's a lovely thought. That's what happens. See, all you tall guys out there - that's probably the last thing that you think about when you board a crowded train. But we short people notice these things. ugh. Something to be aware of.... ;)