Commuting by Bus to Save Time and Energy

I thought I have to drive to work since I live in Northwestern suburban in the Great Denver area. There is no way out. It turns out I was wrong. There is a way to commute by Bus, learned from someone in a Thanksgiving Dinner. There is a bus running between Golden, Co and Boulder, CO: designed fro commuters. Twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon each way!

I’ve tried a few times since March, and I am loving it. Even I only ride the bus for 1 to 3 times a week, I now only need to buy a tank of gas every other month. As far as time concerned,  it takes me 5-10 minutes longer than driving  to get to work. Different from city bus, commuter bus routes do not have many stops. Hence, it is time efficient. More important, I do not have to drive gingerly on a snowy day on the hilly CO 93 along the front ridge of rocky mountains. On a snowy morning, I saw three car wrecks  along my 15-minute drive.

 The savings goes much beyond just gasoline.

• It reduces wears and tears on my car. My car is now 10 years old, only having 40k on it. I prepare to drive it until at least 100K miles, like a former colleague who has a car of 23 years old and still drive it.
• It takes worries about driving in snow away from my mind.
• On the bus, I can close my eyes and meditate for 1o minutes or so  before getting to office and start my day, I can also take out a book and read a while on the bus. This in itself is enough to make up for the 10 extra minutes in commuting.
• The bus is not crowded at all; and only over a few rides, I recognize a few familiar faces. Last Friday （good Friday), I was the only passenger and got to chat with the bus driver a bit. 

Yes, riding bus can get us in touch with other human beings if you live alone like me. That  in itself can be healthy. I heard that for healthy growth, a baby needs human touch. Seeing /hearing other human beings, I find, is not disposable for an adult to maintain mental health.

The only annoying part is that it is hard to get into the Park N ride spot on the left side of a highway with a speed limit of 55 mph, and I have to drive if there is activity at workplace in after hours, which happens quite often. 

Perhaps when the weather is warmer, I can ride my e-bike to the bus stop booth if I have the gut to ride a bike on a country road with speed limit of 55 mph.