The other day, I watched as the teenaged daughter of a friend tried to cajole a ride from her friends to get to the mall. The mall was only a couple miles down the road, and I suggested she take a bus. I was a little surprised by her response: “Yeah, and get mugged.” I asked what she meant. “Those things are gross, and the people who ride them are crazy.” I asked if she had ever ridden a bus other than a school bus, and she said that she had not. Long story short, her impression of buses is the same as many. It’s based on stereotypes and based on the class system that still seems to exist.

Taking the bus is not even a last resort for a lot of people. My friend’s daughter would have stayed home and not gone to the mall if somebody hadn’t volunteered to stop by and pick her up.