the wheels on the bus

i have been riding the bus to work for the past month since alex has needed the car to drive out to a community hospital in framingham. i have read a lot of books this month. the ride to work is not bad--usually about 40 minutes, since i have to change buses. the ride home usually takes an hour since, by then, traffic down mass ave is much worse.

for the past few mornings, though, the second bus, the 70 or 70A, has been very packed. the situation is exacerbated by the fact that, apparently, people in the boston area don't know how to ride public transit. i'm not talking about getting on at the front and getting off at the back of the bus. even in new york, people get off at the front because sometimes it's easier. i'm talking about getting on the bus or train and moving toward the back, away from the door. people just don't do that here. they seem to prefer to crowd around the front door of the bus or the central doors of the train, even when there is a lot of room further in or on the vehicle.

this morning, the bus driver actually had to get out of the bus, open the back door, and yell at everyone to move down into the bus so that other people could get on. it was kind of awesome.