This is my case for the bus, particularly the Manhattan bus. When I first lived in Manhattan, my apartment on Avenue C was a 15+ minute walk to any train. Two crosstown busses stopped right outside my window. Riding the bus became integral to my city life. I like to talk about busses, clearly, and when I bring them up to fellow New York dwellers many of them say they’ve never taken the bus or wouldn’t want to. I’m baffled!
There are (resourcefully) 336 bus routes in New York City. Being that there are 24 subway routes, the bus can get you closer to where you need to go. Busses are accessible. No stairs. City view. Many run express. Apple Maps even tells you where the bus is on its scheduled route, so you know if its going to be there to accept your $2.75.
There’s a time and place for any means of transit. But for errands, leisure, and where trains fail, the bus is an excellent option for the practically-minded. Last fall I was on my way to a gig. No cabs in sight and no Ubers available. Three instruments slung over my body and a pedalboard at my side. After 5 minutes on the curb the crosstown M21 pulled up like the angel it is. It took me to work quicker than any car could, barreling down Houston Street, sneaking past traffic in its dedicated lane.
Busses are not fail-proof and the reader who’s been stranded in freezing rain waiting for a bus couldn’t agree more. Everywhere, but especially in Brooklyn, I’ve waited for busses that never came. However, if you learn when they are reliable, there’s rarely a surprise involved (unlike the trains). One winter night I was leaving The Carlyle after having a cocktail by myself. I liked to write there before the pandemic. I walked a block West to 5th Avenue to find a prompt, 10pm M1 bus. I remained the sole passenger from 76th Street downtown to 8th Street.
In the late morning every Manhattan bus has at least one old, rich lady with a Louis Vuitton bag in a fur coat and Chanel flats. There’s usually the odd, middle aged man with a tattered tote bag, the 12-year-old kid who’s not allowed to take the train by themselves, couples on dates, and there is me, proudly loyal to the Manhattan bus, dedicating blogs to it and referencing it in songs (Tethered to the Stars).