madonna-rhodes

Convenience, cost drives some car owners to choose transit

I have a car and I drive when I need to, but I take the bus whenever I can—like to and from my part-time job at a downtown restaurant. I’ve always been a big fan of shrinking my carbon footprint, and I also like that I can just kind of sit back and relax and not have to deal with the traffic or parking. Why should I pay to park when I can spent $17.50 for a 10-trip pass and be done with it?

I also work the overnight shift as a residential concierge at Riley Towers, so when I’m going to my second job I’ve usually been up all night. Some days I get on, shut my eyes and tune out. It’s just enough of a power nap to get me through the next few hours. And it’s always nice to let someone else drive.

When I was working downtown every day and living up north, I used to take the #34 into the city. It was really nice; I could do my crossword puzzle because I had so much time. Now my ride from Fall Creek Parkway is much shorter, but sometimes when I’m waiting for the bus home I’ll go into the new transit center to people watch, work my puzzle and get out of the heat. I enjoy that.

If I get the day off, I might ride the bus to Georgia Street for Food Truck Fridays, and I like to hop on the #10 to go see my daughter in Woodruff Place. She doesn’t understand why I don’t drive instead. I tell her the bus is right there. It’s so convenient, you can’t go wrong! (And I absolutely love the new service where you can text a number to find out when the bus is coming. I use it all the time.)