Three Bits of Gratitude: 010513

Downtown Raleighwood, Rainy Morning
January 2013


Three Bits o' Gratitude

1. A Change in Bus Routes
The first of the two buses I take to werk changed routes several months ago. The change moved the closest stop from a 25 minute walk to a 10 minute walk. It's now at the end of the block where we live. This means I have a nice walk at the start and the end of my days. There are often many days in the week when we don't drive our car at all.

2. The Overall Bus Routes
I walk to the end of our street and catch a bus that takes me to downtown Raleighwood to the main bus terminal. There I catch an express bus that takes me to the UNC campus. From there it's another 15 minute walk to my office.

It takes me almost twice as long if I was driving to and from werk on a good day to take public transportation. However, after spending so many years driving and being stuck in incredibly aggravating stop and go traffic (or worse, standstill traffic), it is a wonderful thing to be able to read, write, edit, and/or take a nap while someone else does the driving. (Bonus: Bonn says I'm a much nicer person when I get home since I've been taking the bus.)

3. UNC Pays For It All
The University my werk place is affiliated with encourages people to give up their $35+ per month parking place in lieu of a pre-paid bus pass. They encourage it to the point of paying the full amount of the bus pass. This means not only am I not paying for a parking place at werk, I'm not paying anything to get to and from werk. That's certainly something rare today.