207 London Bus

207 London Bus in West Ealing, originally uploaded by iconic Creative.

Having public transport is great, don't get me wrong. Although, there can be times when I wish I was back in my old Ford Escort wagon back home.

I usually take the 207 bus from the station down to my house. Some might say it's a bit lazy and I could walk home. On foot it would take me 10-15 minutes. After a long day sitting at a computer the last thing I want to do is walk.

Yesterday as I was coming out of the station I noticed that there a huge amount of people waiting for the bus. Huge meaning a crowd of well over 100 people. My heart sank. A crowd like would mean fighting my way and fighting my way off the bus.

Fortunately, a double decker pulled and nearly half of the people got on. It was only minutes later that my bus, the 207, which is a nice long bendy bus pulls. I have the great luck of having it pull up right in front of me and I am able to get on straight away. I even manage to get a seat!

It can be nice to have a seat, but there are sometimes when the bus is so crowded that it's really hard to get off. Getting off on a super crowded bus entails, saying sorry about a 100 times as you push your way off. There might be one or two friendly people who aware that you might like to get off and try to move out of the way. More often than not, it's a battle of wills and strength.

The 207 slowly pulled away from the curb and started down the road. Very slowly. It seemed like this bus was barely going 2 miles per hour. There were many groans and what the fucks being uttered.

Then for some strange reason, the driver decided not to stop at a few of the stops. I don't know if that was because he didn't want anyone else pushing their way on or what. I tell you what, it made some of the passengers who wanted to get off very angry.

After some more swearing and shouting between the driver and the passengers, the bus stopped and I decided to get off and just walk the last few blocks. I thought it was a good strategy. Move with the heard. There were a good number of people getting off and I stood a chance. I was also tired of having some one's bum pressed into my arm.

It wasn't fun getting off, but at least there were a bunch of us. It can be awful if you're the only one wanting to get off.

Long story short. I made it home. Next time I might walk, we'll just have to see!