Up until this point I had only rode the bus for school and once with the city.
A benefit of the city bus is that not only are Del Mar students able to ride the bus with their student I.D. but kids K-12 can also ride free with an active student I.D.
In my mind I pictured that it would be easy to approach random people on the bus, but I was surely mistaken. Upon entering the bus, the smell of strawberry Pop Tarts filled the air, all of which seemed to be coming from the bus driver, which made me hungry in that moment.
After the first stop I felt glued to my seat, struggling to stand up and find the courage to say hello to anyone. Finally, after a few deep breaths and checking my heartrate, I was able to move seats and that’s were my first conversation came from.
The man who I approached was named was Ricardo and he told me he had rode the bus for many years because of how affordable it is for him and his family friends.
“The benefits of riding the bus in my eyes, is they are always reliable unlike some family members, and they are always available,” Ricardo said.
Another reason he chooses to ride the city bus is because he doesn’t have the funds to buy a nice car. He also told me that some routes over the years have been extremely bumpy and he has seen many occasions of people getting whiplash from the intensity of the Corpus roads. However, he feels like he would never change taking the bus because it’s worth the 75 cents.
Ricardo then left me with a quote of the day which was, “Life is like a bus because at times it can be bumpy and unforgiving, but you have to keep hitting it head on.”
The last person I was able to talk with before the ride stopped at the mall was a local Corpus Christi woman who told me she had been taking the bus for over 10 years.
“They have insanely great drivers, who are actively here for you” she said. She also told me another great benefit of the bus is she doesn’t have to drive herself anywhere.
