Here's something rather specific that's been bugging the piss out of me lately. See, there's these billboards. I'm not sure if they're specific to where I live, or if there in a whole bunch of places. Whatever, the point is that they're for Metro buses. Now, that alone is kind of dumb. People take the bus because they have to, not because they have a choice. And I mean, if there's more than one bus company running in your town, you're going to pick which one to take based on where it goes, not which one is "better".*
ANYWAY, the advertisements seem to imply that by taking the bus, you avoid getting into traffic. Well, at first, that makes some sort of sense, doesn't it? And then, when you think about it, you realize that it's sort of retarded. If you're riding the bus, you're still taking the same roads as you are when you're in a car. It's not like you get to go on some magic, special road just for buses. Granted, sometimes there's a bus lane, but this isn't always the case. More importantly, with the frequency that buses stop, it takes way, way longer to get anywhere on the bus. Not to mention that it probably isn't going to be a direct route to where you want to go. I have on several occasions ridden the bus ten miles to go somewhere that was about five miles away.
I'm not saying the bus is a bad idea. It's a perfectly legitimate way to get around. But advertising it as a way to save time seems a bit deceitful to me. That's pretty much the opposite of what happens.**
*Seriously though, it's a goddamn bus. How much better can one be over the other? They all smell like piss and rat carcasses anyway.
**I become worried when it takes me two hours to get home from somewhere on the bus when it takes twenty minutes in a car.
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