Learning to ride the bus..

I’ve lived in DC for nearly two years and I love the Metro. But I didn’t discover the wonderful world of bus transfers until I started shuttling to American everyday in high temperatures. I decided that I could save 10 minutes by taking a bus to and from the Metro, for a small fee. Of course, that small fee of $1.25 adds up quickly.

So I decided to use a transfer. I punch the transfer button on the machine in the train station, flash the transfer card it gives me when I board the bus and take a seat. It’s a lovely system and it’s totally fair. Why should I have to pay for a trip that’s less than a mile long?

Yesterday, I hopped on the bus with my transfer and the driver took it from me. That’s weird, I thought. Then I realized I was on the wrong bus. When I go to get off, I hear a lady ask for a transfer. So I asked for one too. I mean, why should I pay full price for this mistake?

“Why didn’t you give me 35 cents?” the bus driver asked. I was confused. “I had a transfer,” I said. (Hello? Free ride.) He replied, “You still owe 35 cents.”

Wow. I was deflated. I patted around my bag and pockets looking for change and couldn’t find any. It never dawned on me to use my SmarTrip card. So I just apologized, lowered my head and got off the bus.

This explains why a female bus driver was mumbling about people who don’t have valid transfers when I got on her bus the other day. I just knew she was talking about scam artists, not valid free riders like me. I’ve been hitching free rides for two weeks!

Later I caught the correct bus. I got on, flashed my transfer and tapped my SmarTrip card on the reader, only to get strange looks.

According to the Metro Website, I didn’t need money or paper transfers! You only need paper transfers if you pay cash for your bus or train ride. Transfers are built in when you use http://www.wmata.com/riding/smartrip.cfm" target="_blank">SmarTrip cards. The card knows you just got off of a train and how much transfers cost for each bus.

I tell this story to say, riding the bus is a hard trick to learn. It requires research and vigilance.


By Sabrina Parker