Bus it or bust
Blog: Adventures, trials and wanderings of American-Israeli in the New York City of the Middle East
Alright, so the public transportation system not the easiest to maneuver. I've been moving around Israel quite a bit since arriving here two weeks ago. I started out in Raanana then journeyed over to Ramat Gan and now I'm somewhere in northern Tel Aviv. As a result, I have had to use quite a bit of public transit and have come to realize that the buses are not my friends, though the drivers might be ;)
My next adventure on the buses was substantially better getting to Azrieli was the easy part. However, getting back was another story all together. I was heading to Ramat Gan. This time I opted out of asking the driver at first and decided I would recognize the stop when I saw it. Bad idea (I'm sure you already sensed it). I make it to the main street I need, but then there are about three or four bus stops on that street, which work in conjunction with that main street. Now of course I don't know the cross street's name ( I only know the name of the street I need, which is parallel to the main street). So I do it, I ask the driver if he knows the stop to the street I need. After a lot of him grinning, he says, "No hamudah (equivalent to cutie or sweetie)." Now I have a new friend, only problem is neither of us know where I'm going. On a whim I get off at the next stop. The driver, my new friend, and I both decide that is the best idea and I can call my roommate. Irony of ironies the bus stop is called "Hatikvah," which means hope. I take this as a sign. I look around and just start walking - a block later I arrived at the street I needed. Miracle or luck.
So from Raanana I took the 501/502 bus to Azrieli. I ask the driver kindly if he can tell me where my stop is when it comes. He's like fine, fine and waves me off. I lose faith in him when a woman stands up and says "hey, you were supposed to tell me my stop, wasn't that it." I turn to the female soldier sitting next to me and ask her. She was nice and told me to get off two stops before I was supposed to. Fine, what's a little walking and asking directions ever hurt.
טיול מטוס קבוצה אוטובוס (צילום: ויז'ואל/פוטוס)
Fortunately, I have way more opportunities to get lost on buses. Today for instance, I got on a bus and asked for a stop and the bus driver told me a different bus was better. But not before a woman interjected and told the bus driver I was French. I guess my bizarre American accent comes off as French to some - go figure.
Dear Dan bus lines,
It would help if you a) either announced your bus stops or b) made the signs larger/clearer and more evident to bus riders passing by. Or even c) fixed your website so that it had all the stops listed for your routes. This would make bus travel a lot easier for just about everybody.
Best travels and happy trails,
Tamar
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