So today I discovered a new bus stop that is more convenient for me. I had always wondered why there wasn't a bus stop at that location and not just because it would serve me so well, but because the nearest one was over 200m away and in bus language that means crazy.
While I'm on the subject of buses: Why do I always sit in the same seat and stand if my seat is occupied while other seats are vacant?
When I first used the bus system in Seoul I decided I would sit in any available seat, but I realized right away that there was a disadvantage to picking a seat in this manner, namely I could be seated in an isle seat, or worse, a seat with no window access (does that ad for cellular service need to be plastered over the entire window?). Here's the problem: upcoming bus stops are announced in Korean so relying on my sense of sound will not tell me when we the bus is approaching my desired destination. Relying on recognition of landmarks will not work either when the bus is standing room only and the windows are an entire galaxy away. (Buses are designed for standing: with very few seats in the front of the bus to allow for more 'standers'.) In addition, the bus driver will only stop at a bus stop if either a) someone is waiting at that but stop and indicating with body posture that he/she wants to get on the bus (yes, you could be standing at a bus stop and watch your bus drive right on by unless you show eagerness toward the approaching bus!) or b) a rider has indicated his/her intent to get off the bus by pressing the bell before his/her stop approaches. My point: the bus doesn't stop at every bus stop so I cannot use the 'count down method' when the number of stops between my initial stop and my desired destination is known. This leads me to my seat selection: second row, left seat – always. This seat is a single seat, located under a bell and next to a huge ad-less window, facing the curb - the only seat on the bus having these combined characteristics. Now I can look out the window and see the name of the bus stop (all are labeled in English as well as Korean) albeit just seconds prior to approaching and press the bell when I see my stop. I have to read fast and act fast or I could miss my stop, but the worst that could happen if I do would be that I would have to get off at the next opportunity, usually only a block away.
The fact that I not only think about all of this but also put it in writing makes me a certifiable squirrelly nut. Or utterly bored.
2 comments:
Mom - that has got to be the best comment that anyone has left me in the short history of my blog (next to dad's 'sermon' comment about taking rides). Thank you!
I remember taking buses while travelling in Japan with very limited language skills, and the picture you painted was spot on.
Sometimes I would ask a young person on the bus, with plenty of sign language and pointing at a map, to tell me when my stop was coming up. This usually worked well and the Japanese proved very polite and keen to help, even when they hadn't the foggiest what I wanted or where I wanted to go!
Come to think of it, travelling on buses in one's own country but in a strange city is quite a daunting prospect. You're never quite sure which route they take or if (especially in the UK) they'll turn up on time!
I could go on with technological ideas I've had for helping passengers, especially tourists and visitors, to get off at the right stop. However I think I've bored you enough already! ;)
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