One Role of Transit in Modern Society

Winter has knocked me off the bike for regular commuting, but I am still riding somewhat for errands and recreation. Maybe I'll commute next week, as I have been saying for the last month or so...

A small benefit of taking the bus is more time for reading, which is more important now that I've got an active book club to participate in.

I am convinced that if American is a melting pot, then the bus is cauldron where the serious work gets done. Downtown office women, students, immigrants, slackers, down-and-outers and up-and-comers all sway together in (mostly) silent communion, brought together by happenstance and the need to somewhere else.

The bus is a real-world cultural "butterfly effect" experiment that is conducted every morning and evening. Invisibly and imperceptibly passengers influence each other, as we move together, many parts as one unit, lurching along towards our now shared destiny.