Express Means Express - finally
Mar. 12th, 2008 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wwcitizenLast Friday morning I was dragging my ass to work. I hadn't slept well (for reasons coming up in a future post), I didn't feel well, and I walked out the door at 8:30 AM!! I typically leave my building as early as 7:45, and not ever later than 8:15. The 8:30 bus rambled by me as the new passengers from my stop were settling into their seats.
All of a sudden, I realized that I was entering new territory: buses after 8:30 AM! I didn't know their frequency. I scuffed my heel and headed to the bus stop only to realize that the next bus was moments away from picking me up. I got on the bus at 8:40 and was faced with almost a completely empty bus. Sure! Everyone else got up on time, felt fine, showered, had breakfast, and was out the door on schedule this morning. How exciting for them. At that moment I considered and started writing an email to my colleagues about possibly being late. But, my little inner voice said, "Let's wait a bit and see if this bus really IS an express bus today!"
So, I waited.
Lo and behold, we flew down all the side streets and down River Road in Edgwater, W. NY, and Weehawken. I thought that I'd get off at the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, but decided against it, since it seemed we made such good time already. I thought, "Well, if the tunnel traffic is bad, then I'll write that email then."
We raced through the toll booths, sped on through the tunnel, and popped out the other side - all within record time: 10 minutes! I couldn't believe it!
We got into Port Authority and were poised to exit on the "runway". I call it the runway because the buses line up on the right side of the ramps, let people off, then move forward, let people off, move forward again, and let people off until all buses are empty to return to picking up passengers. It seemed as though this would be the slow spot. However, after the first round of passengers deboarded a 10-minute walk from the subway entrance, the bus driver stopped me from getting off. He closed the door, moved forward, and let me off directly at the entrance to one of the two escalators along the runway. That escalator emptied me into the Port Authority at the top of the next set of escalators down to ground level. All the escalators were empty to my surprise - even for the subway! I raced through Port Authority in less than 60 seconds and got down to the subway platform just as the 8th Avenue Express Train (the A Line) pulled into the station. That train dropped me off at Canal Street where I quick switched to the E train and was in the office at 9:25 - five minutes to spare.
That bus/subway ride was one of the few instances where express meant express - and finally on a day when I really needed it. The entire trip, bus stop to desk was 50 minutes. Still felt like shit, even though I was happy to be in the office on time.
All of a sudden, I realized that I was entering new territory: buses after 8:30 AM! I didn't know their frequency. I scuffed my heel and headed to the bus stop only to realize that the next bus was moments away from picking me up. I got on the bus at 8:40 and was faced with almost a completely empty bus. Sure! Everyone else got up on time, felt fine, showered, had breakfast, and was out the door on schedule this morning. How exciting for them. At that moment I considered and started writing an email to my colleagues about possibly being late. But, my little inner voice said, "Let's wait a bit and see if this bus really IS an express bus today!"
So, I waited.
Lo and behold, we flew down all the side streets and down River Road in Edgwater, W. NY, and Weehawken. I thought that I'd get off at the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, but decided against it, since it seemed we made such good time already. I thought, "Well, if the tunnel traffic is bad, then I'll write that email then."
We raced through the toll booths, sped on through the tunnel, and popped out the other side - all within record time: 10 minutes! I couldn't believe it!
We got into Port Authority and were poised to exit on the "runway". I call it the runway because the buses line up on the right side of the ramps, let people off, then move forward, let people off, move forward again, and let people off until all buses are empty to return to picking up passengers. It seemed as though this would be the slow spot. However, after the first round of passengers deboarded a 10-minute walk from the subway entrance, the bus driver stopped me from getting off. He closed the door, moved forward, and let me off directly at the entrance to one of the two escalators along the runway. That escalator emptied me into the Port Authority at the top of the next set of escalators down to ground level. All the escalators were empty to my surprise - even for the subway! I raced through Port Authority in less than 60 seconds and got down to the subway platform just as the 8th Avenue Express Train (the A Line) pulled into the station. That train dropped me off at Canal Street where I quick switched to the E train and was in the office at 9:25 - five minutes to spare.
That bus/subway ride was one of the few instances where express meant express - and finally on a day when I really needed it. The entire trip, bus stop to desk was 50 minutes. Still felt like shit, even though I was happy to be in the office on time.
