It would not be a vast understatement to say that my fair city of Tulsa is slightly lacking the public transit department. We don’t have subways, light right, elevated train, nothing. Except our buses, that is the Tulsa Transit. I’ve seen them wandering around town, and have vaguely entertained notions of one day riding said buses. But honestly, I had no inclination nor notion of how to do so.
Which is weird, because riding the public transportation of OTHER cities (Chicago, NYC, etc) has always been a weirdly favorite part of visiting those other cities. I love the people watching, the puzzle of figuring out where to go, what route to take and the thrill of leaping onto the bus/train/subway car and wedging myself into the first available seat.
So, today, I decided that I would undertake that same thrilling adventure in my own city.
I had the perfect opportunity: my car needed to be taken to my mechanic and I would find my own way home.
Unfortunately, using Tulsa Transit isn’t THAT easy. I had to look up my route yesterday online, print out my maps, get my fare in order ($1.50/ride, if you are paying cash- ride passes are available) and try and get myself to the stop on time.
Therein lay the first obstacle. The lines are set up in such a way that I could have taken one bus, going in the wrong direction, all the way around its route, before it joined up with the line that I wanted. Or I could walk a mile or so and just get directly on the line I wanted. I opted to walk.
Problem was, 1 mile was actually 1.5 and I ran late. I missed the 8:32 by about 10 minutes. Grr. So I sat down to wait for the next one, which I knew to be about an HOUR away. You got it, an hour. Non of this 10-20 minutes business like in Chicago if you miss your bus, an HOUR. I had my iPhone with me so I was occupied, but still…little long to wait.
9:42 on the dot, however, here comes my bus. I gleefully paid my $1.50 (in quarters, stolen from my laundry fund) and hopped aboard.The route itself was somewhat familiar as I drive up and down 41st alot and that was the general route that the bus followed. It swigged and swagged through the Midtown bus depot (which I didn’t know existed), up by DHS and 12&12 (drug rehab), community college satellite campuses, and residential neighborhoods, dispatching and picking up riders at all points. Although there were never more than 8 or 10 riders at any given time, it was more than I expected. Age and racial diversity was good, which is rare in a city like Tulsa, where things still tend to be a bit segregated by neighborhood.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but thought that 3 or so hours (I didn’t walk through my door until 11am, as I was dropped at least 6 blocks from my apartment) was a little excessive to get from one side of town to the other. I sincerely hope that Tulsa Transit continues to expand, as more residents familiarize themselves with the mechanics of it and realize that it could (with careful planning) be a good alternate mode of transportation.
In the meantime, I’m thankful for the opportunity to ride the bus today and experience. I am, cliched as it may be, that I have a car and don’t HAVE to rely on a somewhat awkward public transportation system. And oddly, I’m thankful that the bus does make it a point to route past essential human needs services (like DHS) so that the people who most need to access those services, are able to, whether or not they own a car.