My dumb, distracted commuting
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done? Whatever it is, I promise I just did something even more ridiculous.
I thought long and hard about whether to tell anyone what a stupid move I pulled, but it’s way too funny to keep to myself.
Let me start by explaining that I commute to work in downtown Pittsburgh.
On weekends I drive in, but on weekdays I take advantage of mass transit. I drive just across the county line then hop on a bus that whisks me along the busway past all of the other suckers sitting on the Parkway West.
It’s relaxing and cheaper than paying for parking downtown.
Regular buses go by numbers, and the express commuter “flyer” buses have special letters like “G” or “X” in front of the numbers.
The other evening, it was extremely windy, raining and chilly, and I had a million things on my mind involving work and errands and who knows what else.
The sky was dark, leaves were swirling and rain started coming down, so I was pleased that my “G” bus pulled up one or two minutes early.
I hopped on, sat down and started checking emails on my phone. As we were creeping up Green Tree hill, I started to wonder why my normally speedy young driver wasn’t getting into the far right exit lane. I looked at the driver thinking he must be new.
After several more minutes of inching up the hill, I let out a sigh of exasperation and happened to turn my head to the left.
I stared at the big red letters on the sign that read “G3 Moon Flyer.” It was like one of those scenes in a movie where the person actually rubs their eyes and does a double take.
My bus is the “G31 Bridgeville Flyer.” I was on the wrong bus.
If I hadn’t been so shocked and mad at myself, I would have burst out laughing.
How did I get on the wrong bus? I saw the “G” and the “3” and jumped on in a hurry.
I panicked wondering if this was the last run. How would I get to my car? Would I be stranded alone in Moon Township?
As the driver pulled into the park-and-ride lot, I sheepishly looked at him and admitted my mistake.
He started laughing and said, “It happens all the time! You wouldn’t believe how many people get on the wrong bus.”
I burst out laughing as he told me to stay on and ride back downtown on his final run.
I eventually made it onto the correct bus and back to my car, and the ordeal only cost me one hour of my life. I thanked the nice driver named Pat who chatted with his wayward passenger on my return trip.
You’ve heard about distracted driving and even distracted walking while using a smartphone. I’m guilty of distracted commuting.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.