Volume 29 · Number 1 · Fall 2011
Campus Views
Kimberly Law (Gregroy Urquiaga/UC Davis)
Rainy day ride
Riding the bus used to fill me with anxiety, especially the first few times I rode. I always worried that I might pull the stop-request cable too soon or too late, or miss my stop entirely and end up blocks away from my destination. Also, I felt uneasy when I found myself surrounded by strangers.
However, that all changed after I began riding Unitrans buses. At first I was nervous riding the bus in Davis because I was not familiar with the city layout. I would ask my friends, "Is it time to pull?" And the answer was usually, "Not yet, but almost." After the first few times on the bus, I began to get the hang of it. Now, every time I ride the bus and it gets nearer to my stop, I always wonder, "Which of us is going to pull first?" I also enjoy riding Unitrans because the other passengers are mostly UC Davis students. We may never see each other again, but knowing that we all attend school together makes us less like strangers.
Of Unitrans' three types of buses—the London double-deckers, the modern double-deckers and the regular single-deck buses—the London double-deckers are my favorite to ride. The red Routemasters were the first buses Unitrans used to transport UC Davis students in 1968. For me, they possess an old-world charm and remind me of Harry Potter.
One rainy day, I found myself waiting for a bus at the Memorial Union terminal. The air smelled like wet asphalt and freshly cut grass. The sky was gray and cloudy, yet some students seemed cheerful. I saw someone with flip-flops on instead of rain boots or sneakers, and it made me smile. I pulled my hood over my head to keep my face and ears warm; others huddled under their umbrellas or in the shelter of a nearby building. As the rain beat down, we were all shivering. All we cared about was getting out of the rain and going home.
As the bus arrived, I was happy to see that it was a London double-decker. The bus pulled to a stop, opened its doors and let out a steady stream of students, each opening their umbrellas as they headed to class. Once the bus was empty, we boarded. I headed for the second story to scout for a window seat. As the rain kept falling, I knew I was going to enjoy this bus ride all the more.
When the bus pulled out of the MU station, the flag holder came up the stairs, asking each student for their stop. One of the perks of riding a London double-decker is not having to pull the stop-request cord; the flag holder lets the driver know when to stop.
When I am on one of the London double-deckers, it's like being on an urban safari. I see the droplets of water the rain has left behind and watch them vibrate as the bus moves. The cars below me are like wild animals, biding their time, waiting for the light to go green to race after their prey—a parking spot. I also see students biking in the rain, and I ask myself, "Why would they do that?" The bikers are like wild animals too, but more laid back than their motor-running counterparts. When the light changes, they gracefully and quietly speed down their bike path.
When the double-decker passes under trees, I feel the need to duck as the branches and leaves scrape the top of the bus. I hear the sound of wood against metal and it makes me think that there is an animal on top of the bus. When the tree limbs sweep the sides of the bus like passing fingers, I want to shake hands with the branches.
When I reach my stop, I join a stream of other students stepping out the back door, each of us thanking the flag holder as we go. Back in the rain, I open my umbrella and break away from the stream, branching out to my destination.