Some people may not realize this, but there are a lot of benefits to riding the bus—especially if you either don’t want to pay for your own car, or if you’re trying to avoid the ‘hassle’ of navigating busy downtown traffic during business hours.
We all have to get from place to place. And the bus system is an accessible system that anyone can use. It’s truly public transportation at its best—and despite what some people might think, it actually continues to get better as technology improves.
Buses tend to get a bad rap. But to be honest, as far as public transit is concerned, they’re really not a bad option!
(They’re also warm in the winter and dry when it rains, which you certainly can’t complain about!)
And in this blog post, we’re going to discuss the 5 best and most significant benefits of choosing to ride the bus in the big city.
Let’s dive into it.
1. It’s Convenient
Riding the bus in a big city can be surprisingly convenient. This is especially true in large metropolitan cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
There are plenty of bus stops in these large cities—and the bus routes tend to run at close enough intervals that the convenience factor is relatively high.
Of course, it may not be quite as convenient as driving your own car in all situations—but sometimes, such as during rush hour and in thick traffic, it can actually be more convenient than trying to deal with the task of getting your own car from place to place through crowded, jam-packed streets.
2. It’s Cheaper
Even though inflation has meant that prices have been on the rise lately, it’s still true that riding the bus is generally one of the absolute cheapest ways to get from place to place.
Buying a bus pass (or even paying for individual rides) is still surprisingly inexpensive.
Of course, if you ride the bus every day, these costs add up.
But when you do a cost-benefit analysis over the long term, you’ll generally find that it still saves you money over paying the associated expenses and car payments on your own vehicle.
3. It’s Flexible
Another great thing about the bus is that you really only pay for it when you ride it.
If you don’t need to travel, you don’t need to pay for anything.
A car payment, on the other hand, is going to hit your bank account regardless of whether you’re driving or staying home.
In this sense, choosing to travel by bus is actually pretty flexible.
4. It’s Reliable
You can almost set your clock to the reliability of the bus system in big cities.
These drivers are adept at keeping to a rigid timeframe.
Therefore, you can pretty much always count on them to get you through the route and to your destination on a regular schedule.
This is great news for people who ride the bus to work or class.
5. It’s Safe
Some people are afraid to ride the bus because the movies often characterize the bus system as a place for ‘low lifes,’ criminals, and other unscrupulous types.
However, this is far from the truth. The fact of the matter is that many hard-working normal people ride the bus every single day to get from place to place.
It’s literally a public transport system—and as long as you pay attention to your surroundings and obey some simple common-sense safety principles—you’re highly likely to stay safe and have a good experience riding the bus.
Heck, you’re probably safer on the bus than you are walking down the street in your own neighborhood!
Note: With all of that being said, it is possible to get involved in a bus accident. And in such cases, you’ll probably want to pursue legal representation.
JT Legal Group explains it like this:
“If you have been recently injured in a bus accident, it’s important to know that you could be entitled to compensation! In fact, you could get more than you may be expecting in some cases.”
Conclusion
Hopefully, this post has helped to shed some light on some of the benefits of riding the bus in the big city.
It’s not always the best choice for everyone.
However, if you prefer public transportation and don’t really need to go anywhere too far outside of the range of the bus system, then riding the bus can be a surprisingly convenient and cost-effective way to travel.