Metro Buses: The Up and Down

 Metro buses are good for transportation and their affordable price makes it better for the people. However, sometimes there’s also a bad side to taking the Metro bus. I’ve been using the Metro buses for years to go from place to place. In that time, I’ve saved a lot of money, but also been disturbed by its environment.

The Upside: Metro buses have many different fares and they are all a decent price. They accept cash, coins, and tap cards used for Metro rides. A one way ride costs around $1.75, and a 1-day pass costs $3.50. There’s also a 7-day pass costing $12.50, which may seem like a drastic jump, but is actually a good way to save your money rather than taking a Lyft costing way more. Another good thing about Metro buses is how well they run. You rarely see them break down. Metro has two different types of buses, with one type double that of the regular size bus. Depending on the bus, the capacity ranges from 40 to 80 people, which makes it easy for a passenger to find a seat. Speaking of the seats, they are pretty comfy and have a nice texture. The seating is mostly two seats side by side, but at the very back there are 5 seats. I usually take the seat that’s closer to the back exit because it’s a quick exit rather than dealing with a crowd. There’s also a feature where you can put down the window to have a nice breeze. Another useful feature is that there’s a button by the seats that you can push and the bus will stop at its destination. These are not all the features that the Metro bus offers, but these are what I find useful.

The Downside: Metro buses have rules that are usually enforced, but one isn’t taken seriously. The rules are no eating/drinking, no smoking, and no music. The no eating/drinking rule should be more strict. When I sit somewhere in the back, I will often see trash scattered.

This leads to my next problem which is the type of people who are on the bus. Most of the time buses will be filled with casual people headed to work or school, but homeless people and drug addicts riding the Metro bus is a huge problem. They often are loud and start fights, which makes the ride really uncomfortable. Not only that, they tend to make the bus smell. This can be solved by having a security guard in Metro buses to make it a safer environment. They should really focus on the responding to the ugly of Metro rides rather than hiding the truth.