BUS STORY # 82 (What You Gonna Do When The Well Runs Dry?)

It was bound to happen sooner or later: A bus story just wouldn’t present itself in a timely manner, and I’d have nothing for the blog. Bus stories are a lot like rain: One week it rains cats and dogs; another week comes a drought. When it rains, I store up the stories; when it doesn’t, I draw from the reservoir. But this week, the reservoir is tapped out.

The truth is, most bus rides are as ordinary and uneventful as a car trip. The reason there are more stories is because there are a lot more people riding in the vehicle, and because many of those riders come from places other than our personal version of the universe.

I thought this dry spell would be a good time to call attention to the links which appear to the right of each bus story. Look! There are some now. These are previous posts. Now: scroll up and you’ll see “LINKS.” There are seven of them.

The first link is to the ABQ RIDE page on the official city of Albuquerque website. The second link (Big Albuquerque-like Things) is a local blog, and includes, among other things, all manner of public transportation in our fair city. The next three blogs (Bus Chick, Bus Tales.com, and Picking Up Strangers) are bus-related stories, but from other places. The Subway Chronicles does not involve buses, but does revolve around the primary mode of public transportation in New York City. The last link is to no specific blog, but rather to some story out there in the wide world that is about buses or some other closely related form of public transportation. These change weekly.

Now, trying to drum up interest in the city’s site is challenging. Don’t get me wrong: I like the site a lot and find it a valuable resource. But why might it interest you, dear reader, especially if you don’t take the bus or are from somewhere else? 

Well, until quite recently, the site unintentionally offered a bonus video featuring a Rapid Ride bus and an automobile whose driver was obviously showcasing his Albuquerque driving skills. When you click on the ABQ RIDE link and scroll down to ABQ RIDE Features, you come to a link titled “See why passengers love the service.” This link takes you to a nifty little Google video showing the director of ABQ RIDE, Greg Payne, talking to riders and pitching ABQ RIDE to the viewers. As the page is loading, your eye wanders to links to other videos. For many months, one of those links had the eye-catching title, “Rapid Ride CRASH!” Poor Greg just made it on the screen when, click, you switched to:

Rapid Ride CRASH!

When you think about it, better to be on that bus than in your car with that driver behind you, ¿que no?

Next week: Big Albuquerque-like Things (BAT).