Maybe because I was too excited. Maybe because I was too busy. Maybe because, as Sam said, the title “President-elect” made it feel like there still was a possibility that he wouldn’t actually replace Bush. Whatever the reason why I didn’t write about Obama and my experiences within until now, I don’t know, but I think it’s finally time.

The first point in time I can remember that I got really interested in politics was about nine years ago, when my best friend Sam and I decided to do some phone banking for Gore in 2000. Phone banking was interesting being 14 and obviously not being able to vote. I also raised money to go with my class on a trip to the Inauguration in early 2001. Needless to say, everybody on the trip was pretty disappointed with the outcome and we left the actual swearing-in ceremony early. Four years later, I went door-to-door with a few organizations and did a bit of work here and there and was able to vote myself, but we all know how 2004 turned out.

So, essentially for the entirety of my political interest, Bush has been president. And that’s why it’s been so unbelievably difficult to comprehend what’s just happened. But, I can say that I was there, and Sam was there with me to witness it.

Continue reading I Was There »

I wrote a review for the ultra-cheap bus company, Bolt Bus for my Boston/Emerson blog, the 1880. I thought I’d post it here. I took the Bolt Bus from Boston to New York City and here is a diary as to what went down.

The Bolt Bus in South Station in all its glory

Boston -> New York

2:30 PM
In South Station. Only one person in line. A little bit of me is afraid that I will have the same driver from last time.

3:00 PM
Well, I just boarded the one-and-only Bolt Bus (I’m using their wi-fi as I write this!). I mentioned it in a previous post, and now I’m on my way to New York City.

The line was short until about 10 minutes before, when a bunch more people joined in the line. I paid $1.00 for my ticket, and I think it’s already been worth it. The bus is brand new (it has that new… bus smell) and the driver, Daniel, is fresh and excited to drive (complete with a playful welcome). I was able to join the (read: free) Wi-Fi right away, and the first thing I did was take a speed test. 317 kbps down, 133kbps up. Better than I was expecting.

4:40 PM
All’s well on the bus. The wireless has been very consistent save for one connection drop for about two minutes. It’s been great to browse craigslist and IM and what not. Sent a couple photos (including the one in this post) over the wireless without worry. Passing through Hartford– traffic seems decent and I’m assuming I’ll get into NYC at the scheduled time (7PM).

I’ve noticed the power plugs, on the back of the aisle seat, are a little awkwardly placed. Luckily there’s nobody sitting next to me, so I can let the power cable dangle as much as I want. Whatever the awkwardness, it’s worth it to have some juice.

7:32 PM
We arrived 32 minutes late due to traffic (not due to BoltBus, of course). As we got into the city, our driver Daniel was honking like a maniac at a bunch of different intersections. Not sure how much I liked that (again… one dollar.). Our drop-off point was outside as I expected, right by Penn Station. As we pulled in, some guy in the seats said “let’s have a round of applause for the driver for the best dollar we’ve ever spent,” and everybody clapped. I felt awkward joining in… I guess this is what separates bus travel from all others. Besides, he’s getting paid a flat hourly rate– he has nothing to do with the dollar fare.

New York -> Boston, 3 days later

The dismal “bus stop” from within the bus

9:10AM
“We treat everyone as first class citizens,” says our driver, Kenny. The bus is about 10 minutes late, and I can see how they save a lot of their overhead– their stop in NYC is on the side of the road. And that’s pretty shitty when it’s rainy and wet outside (i.e. NOW). While I was waiting I met with an older couple who had also already taken the bus and asked what I paid for my ticket. $7 I told her. She paid $10. Right before we get on the bus as it arrives, she lets me know about MegaBus and their $1 service (nevermind their creepy-looking mascot). There are not many people on the early Monday bus– there are a few empty rows. Kenny is just as excited as the last driver. He’s explained that they picked the best drivers from both Peter Pan and Greyhound. “We know that Greyhound has a bad reputation. There’s no yelling,” he says, “unless you’re disrupting others on the bus!” He laughs. Yeah, I’ve had a bad experience on the bus before. The wi-fi works right away (as I write this), and we’re off.

1:40PM
We’ve arrived back in South Station. We’re 40 minutes late, but that’s because of the crappy weather and the quick stop (that I was thankful for) 3/4 of the way through.

Conclusion
All in all, I feel like the experience I’ve had with Bolt Bus has been a positive one. They have brand new buses, excited drivers, free wifi & outlets, and very competitive pricing. However, it should be noted that having an actual spot in Port Authority in New York City instead of outside on a street corner would be nice, but this I’m sure would increase the ticket price.

What also sucks is that if you go to their website to buy tickets, you can find that almost every weekend (Fri-Mon) ticket through August is at least $7, and usually $10. Looks like it’s going to be hard to pick up that elusive $1 after all; it would be nice if they didn’t sell their tickets so far in advance so that people could actually have a chance of getting them. I wouldn’t be surprised if one person just went through and grabbed every Fri-Mon $1 ticket through August. After all, it would only cost them 24 dollars.

Would I ride on it again? Sure. Is it better than the train? It’s not as on-time or comfortable, but they do have onboard wi-fi, and that’s a BIG plus. Will they eventually lose exciting and friendly service and get worn down just like the other bus lines? Probably, but $1 is inexpensive enough to double check down the road.

Peter Pan: The People Professionals

To whom it may concern,

While normally I take the Amtrak train between Boston and New York, I decided this last weekend that I’d take the Greyhound bus. I purchased my ticket online and proceeded to the gate. My bus out to New York last Friday was 2 hours late, but the traffic was bad, so this wasn’t my biggest gripe.

However, my 1:00PM ride back on Sunday to Boston on the Peter Pan bus line was an absolutely terrible experience.

When we arrived at our only stop along the ride in Framingham, MA at 4:35 PM, about 20 minutes away from Boston, the people who had gotten their tickets to Framingham walked off of the bus. I was surprised and delighted to see that we were about 25 minutes ahead of schedule and that we would arrive in Boston ahead of time– something I was looking forward to after my previous trip. However, after the bus driver stood outside for 5 minutes to smoke a cigarette, he came back inside the bus and made an announcement:

“Usually,” he said, “on Sundays, I leave right after I drop off the passengers. You’d be about thirty minutes early. However, on the way here, I was told on my radio, ‘are you alright?’ I said, ‘yeah I’m fine,’ and they had told me that someone on this bus had called in and said that I was swerving all over the road and falling asleep.’”

I personally noticed this a bit along the way.

“And, since someone said this, and aggravated me, I’m going to aggravate you. We aren’t going to leave until 5 o’clock [25 minutes from then]. And no, you can’t go out and smoke.”

The driver kept us captive on the bus. Some people voiced their opinions, some even apologizing for whomever called the company that he was swerving. One person said, “I don’t know why you’re punishing all of us for something one person said,” and he replied, “one apple spoils all of the rest.” A woman asked if he could continue “because of the baby.” He said, “What baby?” The woman replied, “my baby,” picked up her child and showed it to him. “No way,” he said, and stood there, staring at us.

The bus driver continued to stand at the front of the bus, glaring at us, the passengers.

Finally, about ten minutes into the wait, one gentleman stood up and said he wanted to get off of the bus and asked the driver if he could get his bags. “No, you can’t,” he said.

He then asked again politely for the driver to get his bags. He still wouldn’t let him. The driver asked if he was going to Framingham, and the gentleman replied that he wasn’t, and he said that he couldn’t let him off of the bus, making up some excuse as to why. He argued for another five minutes to no avail. He was letting no passengers off of the bus.

This kind of behavior by an attendant is absolutely unacceptable. Peter Pan’s slogan is “The People Professionals,” but clearly this is not the case.

While I understand that a bus usually has to wait for the specific time to leave, he explicitly stated that he didn’t need to. But, most disturbingly, he would not let any passenger off of the bus. The mother with her child were forced to stay on the bus until they left, the gentleman wanting to leave wasn’t allowed to, and he stated in the beginning that nobody could leave to smoke at all.

When we left the Framingham station, I was seriously worried about the situation. He didn’t refer to anything he had said and left without saying a word.

No matter what situation happens, the customer should be considered important, whether that means not telling the driver that someone had called, or properly training these drivers to not react in this way to words of complaint. Even if he wasn’t swerving, this type of behavior is absolutely, no doubt, unacceptable for a professional company.

My experience was absolutely disturbing and I plan on never taking the Greyhound or Peter Pan bus in the future, opting to spend more money on the Amtrak lines because of this awful occurrence.

Sincerely,

Brian Moore
brian [at] brianmooremedia.com

Last Friday, my dad, my little brother, and I headed off to Boston where I go to school at Emerson College. We took the Lake Express Ferry at 6:00 AM, across Lake Michigan and through Canada to get to Boston (here are the detailed directions).

I decided before the trip to attach my iSight camera to the dashboard of the car we drove, and I started taking a picture every 5 seconds starting at the Lake Express Ferry Terminal in Muskegon, MI. It falls a couple times due to it being mounted duct-taped to the car, but I left it in because, well, I frankly believe it gives it character. Here’s the outcome:

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Clint is a professional moped rider & fixer-upper

My buddy Clint got in contact with me the other day, asking me to ride mopeds with me on Friday. It didn’t take me long to respond, “of course! sounds like fun.”

Clint’s got this awesome apartment in downtown Milwaukee which he’s affectionately dubbed “The Fortress.” An old shoe company, The Fortress is a lofted building with lots of room, old wood plank floors, and an excellent old elevator, complete with aging lights and buttons. However, we didn’t touch the elevator yet– that was for things that couldn’t get up or down stairs– we walked up. Needless to say, my newly-toned calves were more than ready for the task.

Entering his apartment revealed a few colorful old hair dryer chairs, a fridge in the middle of the room, a bunch of cool technology projects, a lighting kit, and his prize possession: a total of four mopeds– one for each color of the rainbow. A red Sachs, an orange Honda Express, a green older bike for which I didn’t get the model name, and a blue Tomos; all vintage scooters from the 1970s. See, what Clint does is buy these beautiful mopeds at cheap prices as they’re beaten up and usually not working. He then takes the time and effort to repair them into working condition, spending anywhere between $5 and $600 in total (initial purchase & reworking) for each bike.

After an in-depth discussion on technology and hacking the Milwaukee Transit TV System, it was time to head out. Our destination? South-side Milwaukee. Clint and I took “the most legit” ‘peds: the red Sachs and the orange Honda Express, respectively. Using the ancient elevator, we headed out and I experienced what Clint explained earlier as “riding a barstool at 25 miles per hour.”

Continue reading XTreme Mopeding AKA Why You Should Wear A Helmet »