Public Transportation

We have 2 cars. One we have basically had since we were married. Our Honda Civic. The other, a 7 year old VW Jetta. Both small cars and as the boys get bigger, the cars feel smaller..... Not to mention the fact that the Civic has 240,000 miles and the VW has 140,000. I HATE car payments. I don't want to have to buy another car, but lately the VW has cost us a lot of money in maitenance work and the Civic will need major work again in about 60,000 miles. This has led me to change some things about our driving habits. First, I decided Jimmy should drive the Jetta to work instead of the Civic. It has less miles and since it's a diesel, I think the engine may last longer.

Now, for my part. I live in town, close to everything and most importantly close to public transportation. I have to admit, I have always been afraid riding the city bus. All the transfers, schedules, different bus lines, etc. But, on the days when it's really hot, or raining, riding a bike is not always convenient. Not to mention, riding a bike in certain places is just not safe. So....I finally bit the bullet and decided to drag the boys with me as I learned the bus system. I say "drag" them, but they were very excited to try it. Our first bus ride I purposely made sure it was a straight shot to the mall, with no transfers. It was raining that day, so 3 minutes before the bus was scheduled to arrive at the bus stop across the street from our house, we trudged over with our umbrella. The boys had fun watching for the bus and carefully clutched their 4 quarters for the bus fare. I have to admit, I was surprised to see the bus we needed actually show up at the right time. Our first bus ride was on 2N Red. We got on the bus, dropped our coins into the money slot and found seats on an almost empty bus. Matthew sat next to me and Joshua and Christopher found their own seats. Once the bus picked up more passengers, Christopher joined Joshua in his seat. Our first bus ride was great! I learned a lot just from observing people. I was happy that our first ride did not require any transfers. Just a straight shot to the mall. Since then, we have ridden the bus many more times and have made transfers with no problem. It is pretty cheap to ride the bus, $1 with free transfers. I plan to get a bus pass for myself and maybe the kids too. A pass for the entire year is only $60 per person.

Here are my observations of riding the bus:

1. It really saves on miles put on the car

2. The kids prefer the bus over the car and over riding their bikes all over town

3. The bus gives Joshua freedom to go places he would otherwise have to rely on me to drive him to.

4. The boys behave like angels on the bus, maybe afraid of making the bus driver mad or afraid of upsetting the other passengers....

5. I am teaching the boys how to use public transportation, a valuable lesson in my opinion

6. Because the boys don't fight on the bus, the errands I run with them start off much better than if we drive.

7. The boys now prefer the bus over the car even though it can take twice as long to get where we want to go.

So.....for now, we are a family that uses the bus system and rides our bikes instead of using the car. Admittedly, the idea of it being more environmentally friendly doesn't really factor into my decision to forgo the car.....it is really completely tied into saving money on car maitenance and trying to coax as many years as possible out of our cars. For now, the only time I drive the car is to take the boys twice a week to horseback riding lessons. The stable is out in the country and no bus service out there, plus it is not a safe place to ride the bikes, so I have to use the car. We are really lucky to live where we do and have access to great public transportation and a city that is easy to get around on bike. :)