Yesterday, for reasons that are boring, I found myself needing to get from Daly City back to Montara, about a 15 mile trek. Since time wasn’t an issue, I decided to issue myself a challenge to get home using only public transportation, which in this area means the bus.

The experiment started by going to the SamTrans website on my mobile phone to find routes and timing. The information was there, but not in a terribly useful format, there was a link to an application for the local transit agencies called 511.org – which was mostly useful in finding a route from point A to home.

My only complaint about the app is that the map is not a normal map driven app, it’s a little goofy on the UI front; but none-the-less serviceable. The app directed me to SamTrans route 112 which necessitated a mile and half walk to the bus stop. Unfortunately, the bus only runs every hour and I had just missed the prior run.

Eventually, the bus arrived numbered #670, and I got on and payed my $2 to catch a ride. The bus body was a Gillig and was configured for 45 seats. When I got on, I was the lone rider. During the 45 minute ride the peak number of riders was 12 and the average number was 5. There were 22 stops that were made. Those are the bare facts of the first leg of the journey.

I sat in the back row, where at one point I was joined by a Jeff Spicoli wannabe and a Jay-like (from Kevin Smith movies) dude. They predictably transacted some sort of (I presume) illicit deal right in the open. I could certainly smell the pungent aroma of the wacky tobacco on both of them. Another couple appeared to be developmentally disabled. There was a smattering of senior citizens and of young people of perhaps high school or college age. And there were a few working people making their commute as well. It was an interesting ride.

When I got to Pacifica, the final link was the 294 route to Montara. Which was no longer running so I had a choice of walking, taxi, or calling for a ride. I chose the latter.

The learning I take from this is that if public transit was your only option, it would be nearly impossible to move around this part of the Bay Area with any confidence. It would introduce a new set of variables limiting movement on other people’s time schedule and coverage capabilities. That being said, even if it is difficult, it is possible.

As Alan Kay says “A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points.” Not only is this kind of experiment important from a perspective basis, but also for empathy’s sake. It’s a tough road if you don’t have your own wheels for whatever reason. My hat is off to those who do this regularly.