We Missed the Bus!
Since the idea of Conversations on a Bus came into being, one of the most important aspects has been not just our subjects’ stories, but the story of our experience as well. This means sharing our successes, and our mistakes.
Well, there’s no better time than the present.
Today was planned out perfectly. We packed for our trip to California to shoot a wedding, edited a dozen photos, and we even photographed a children’s birthday party. We returned home, packed up our photography gear and consent forms, put batteries in the voice recorder and started pep talking each other. We then logged on to the Metro site to pick a bus, organized and excited, and to our horror realized that we completely missed the buses! How, in all of our careful planning, did we miss the bus on the first day???
Who would have thought the buses stop running before 7 p.m. on a Sunday night?!?
It’s a good thing we have a whole month to get this right.
So in our luggage we’ve included maps to all 31 bus routes, an overall map, a calendar and a good sense of humor.
Now would be an excellent time for advice from you, our readers.
If you ride the bus, what’s the number one thing we should know?
If you have had an experience like this, what was it?
- Heather Hooton
Honestly, this sounds like a very interesting project, however, I think the best advice I can give you as someone who rides the bus regularly, is to pick those you talk to carefully. Many people will be annoyed by your presence and it won’t be because of anything you’ve done. Just remember that for most people on the bus, they are there because they have to be. It is their main form of transportation. They have been working all day and are exhausted or they are hungry or stressed. Just imagine if someone hopped in your car with you and started asking questions when you just had a bad day. Don’t be offended or discouraged. The unwillingness to talk is often a dialogue in itself.
Crisanda, your comment is very wise and something that we have been pondering for quite a while. It will be important to keep this in the back of our heads throughout the project because we could very easily become discouraged. It’s always one thing to say that you can handle rejection but another to do it. But your point that “the unwillingness to talk is often a dialogue in itself” really speaks well to this project. Even if someone doesn’t want to answer our questions, their story – their thread in this weaving of community – is still important.
Hmmm. My best pieces of advice. Weekend trips are completely different. They are a different beast. The number 2 is my favorite bus. It is sometimes more difficult to go northeast, southwest, southeast and northwest. It is easier (for me) to go north and south or east and west. I also find that the bus route is more predictable in the mornings – less time for the delays. So my planning is always based on three options – extra early, right on time and late. I haven’t been on a bus that is truly on time. The drivers are super nice and if you are connecting to a transfer and might be late – ask them to call the bus ahead to wait. Good luck !
Jara, thank you so much! It’s good to know that we not only have to plan every trip, but also plan every trip three times just in case. haha And we had no idea that the bus drivers would call each other to make sure you don’t miss a transfer! That’s an incredibly pleasant surprise. We really appreciate the feedback and advice!
I know you. Your advice is also spot-on.
This post, specifically ‘Who would have thought the buses stop running before 7p.m. on a Sunday night?!?,’ reveals the potential for this project to be as exploitative as it expository. That rhetorical question is motivated by the misfortune of the team, without consideration for those citizens denied Sunday evening mobility.
The authors had never stepped on a bus before this point, that’s fine. But don’t propagate your position as ‘the other’. Immerse yourself with the subject, because you are the subject. You and countless Omahans found yourself unable to ride the bus at a reasonable time and day. That is unacceptable.
Mass transportation should be an unquestioned element of urban life in Omaha. Highlighting those who directly utilize it is great. However, I fear this whole project is predicated on the idea that there are unique narratives to tease out, as if the life of a bus rider is somehow more compelling (presumably tragically) than those of other modal users.
I would like to clarify that I don’t believe the thought never crossed the authors’ mind that no Sunday night service is horrible for Metro riders. Quite the contrary. Obviously, hearts are in the right place. It just wasn’t explicitly stated as such.
Overall, this is a truly great project and a undeniable sign of Omaha’s progress as a compassionate metropolis.
Hi David! We really appreciate your thoughts. We absolutely intend not to exploit but to immerse ourselves, like you said. We have no agenda with this project but to hear people’s stories from all walks of life and share them. It’s also very much about sharing our experience openly and honestly. We agree with the comment Susan Thomas left and think it might be an interesting read for you as well. We hope you continue to follow the project and thanks for the feedback!
I love that! Perfect start to learning how to ride the bus. I couldn’t drive for a while last year and had never ridden the bus in Denver. What a learning experience – and turned out to be fun.
Ann, it was definitely a fun and funny way to start the project. And we love Denver! Maybe we’ll have to have a Conversations on a Bus: Denver Edition next year.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Today we learned some details about two studies that Metro has underway. They will include statistical analysis of Metro’s ridership and ways to improve the transit service in Omaha. If you are interested in Metro’s efforts, visit their website at http://www.ometro.com and look for the link to the Central Omaha Alternatives Analysis or visit omahaalternativesanalysis.org to find out more about the first of Metro’s two projects.
The Conversations on a Bus project will provide a subjective, human perspective on the wide range of transit users in the area. This project is about all of us – my daughter who rides Metro home from high school along Dodge, those who ride the bus daily to their jobs, and those of us who haven’t figured out how to efficiently take the bus to where we need to go.