Busing: Day Five

On Friday, after taking the bus to work, I decided to purchase a monthly bus pass to commit myself to the higher calling of busing. I walked the two blocks to the Campbell Court station and parted the haze of cigarette smoke from the half-dozen smokers lighting up just outside the south-facing double doors.

I went to the counter, and looked at the rates to make sure I had enough cash. Stepping up to the teller window, however, I found a note reading: Out to lunch. I checked my watch; it was 3pm, making me immediately envious of the bus station worker's lunch break.

I left and came back later, again set on a monthly pass. It was a Friday right before a weekend when I'd have a car, and I knew I already had a ride for that evening, so I asked: "Can I get a monthly pass starting Monday?" and she screwed her face. "They're month to month. You get one for the calendar month, not for a month from when you bought it."

So I decide to go for a week-long pass. "Well can I get a weekly pass for Monday?"

She again looked like I might have a second head I have always been unaware of. "Well the week starts Monday and goes through Saturday. We stopped selling them for this week."

"You're not selling them now?" I asked.

"Nobody would want to buy a week-long pass on a Friday," she said. "But we selling the one for next week."

"That starts on Monday?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll take one of them," I tell her. She tells me the price: $14.

I pay it, though the math is immediately suspect. If I ride to work to and from home each day, it's $3/day for 5 days, equally $15. If I lock myself into a week-long pass, I save one dollar.

I guess I do get to ride on Saturday, in case I want to be gung-ho and come to work on my day off.