The bus. Light rail. Both involve filing into long metal capsules, often brushing up against a stranger in the seat next to you, and … relaxing for 20 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour.
If you’ve got the option – and most of us, at least in theory, do have public transportation as an alternative to driving – give it a shot, at least once. There’s a chance that once will turn into a lifetime.
First, though, think logistics. Public transportation usually doesn’t begin at your driveway and end at the front door of your workplace.
Start at the Regional Transportation District home page, rtd-denver
. From there, click on “Trip Planner,” and after you plug in your coordinates – where you’re starting from, where you want to go and at what times – the system will deliver a bunch of options for you.
“The best route might not be the closest one,” says Scott Reed, an RTD spokesman. “It may be much more convenient if you go a mile or two out of your way to get to a park-n-Ride or a route that may seem initially less direct, but might offer better or more frequent service.”
If you commute every day by bus or train, buy a monthly pass, because it’s the most cost-effective way to travel. The savings are even greater if you buy a year’s worth of passes at one time because you get one month free. If you split it up – some days you drive, other days you hop on the bus – buy 10-packs of tickets instead of fishing around for exact change. If your employer takes part in the EcoPass program, take advantage of it. You will save money.
No matter how you pay for it, you’ll receive much more than just a trip. Haven’t read a book in a while? Start taking the bus or light rail, and you’ll plow through them. Overwhelmed with e-mails and can’t find time to deal? Do it on the bus. Sleep, listen to music (but do it quietly) or just zone out. When you’re not white- knuckling, you can do it all.
But do remember you’re not alone in your car, where you can talk to yourself, sing as loud as you want, eat, blast your music, and more.
“Be considerate. At this time of day, when people are on a bus or light rail, it’s their time to wind down, and they don’t want hollering on their phones or blasting an iPod,” says Daria Serna, an RTD spokesperson. “Those are unwritten rules. We have no policy to enforce it.”
Another unwritten rule: Step away from the doors when a light-rail car or a 16th Street Mall shuttle bus stops, so passengers can get in and out quickly.
