A New View

I used to joke about people driving hybrids. Driving a gas guzzling Jeep Wrangler it never crossed my mind that my commute could ever be considered environmentally friendly, until I started riding the hybrid Spokane bus.

Taking the public transportation for the first time to SPR was like reliving the childhood experience of taking the bus for the first time to school, but this time my parents weren’t there, so instead, I stood with strangers waiting for the #28 Nevada to arrive. My adrenaline really started pumping when I had to deposit a $1.25. The driver quickly grew impatient after my wrinkled bill was rejected time after time by the fare meter. Without notice, he gunned through the intersection to make the changing light. I held on for my life and was able to finally grab a pass and make my way to a seat. I finally made it to the station with time to spare--even after making a transfer downtown.

While meeting people at the station during my first week, I learned that Verne, Brian Flick, and others also use alternative transportation to get to work. Verne rides his bike in any kind of weather and Brian walks two miles to work every day. “I could get a gym membership and rarely go, or I can walk to work and ensure that I always go,” Brian told me.

With class in the afternoon at Gonzaga, I had to make my way back to campus. With the light turning green, the arriving bus quickly stopped for all the soon-to-be passengers. The driver opened the door and waved people on as through he had just stolen it and was prepared to finish the job by following the plot of the movie “Speed.” I then came to find out that the fare meter was broken and the ride was free. It was a spectacle to see old ladies giving “high fives” to each other while other riders with contented faces were discussing how great the day had just become.

I realized that day that taking the bus allowed me to take my eyes off the road and start seeing the minute things that my surroundings have to offer. In the past, I only used a bike for exercise and left all my commuting to the Wrangler, but now, taking a stroll downtown, using my bike, or grabbing a ride on the bus has opened a new “hybrid” way of thinking for me.