I just wrote my first letter to the editor. I sent it to the Mercury about an article in this week's edition, "87 Days on the Bus". Go read it then read my response. I haven't written much in quite some time, so please excuse the shitty style.

Only 87 days on the bus? I’ve been riding the bus in
Las Vegas since I moved here from California in July
2000 and I’ve got some comments about Mr. Biggs’
article.

Taking the bus everyday, you get a better feel for
traffic and the city itself, I think. You notice the
movement of police and emergency vehicles as you’re
waiting for your transfer. When your bus is late due
to an accident you usually find out why. You see
those old guys in yellow vests soliciting for
donations to some “charity” when you’re in a car, but
do you see their bags stashed behind some bushes on
the corner? (What a great scam.) The only positive
thing Mr. Biggs has to note isn’t positive at all!
You aren’t always the best looking person on the bus.
Not all of the “transportation dependant” are
toothless and smelly. I’m 29 and have been riding the
bus my entire life. I have all my teeth, have to dress
business casual for work, and I have a degree in
Literature. While riding the bus was easier when I
was going to UCSC, Vegas’ system is better than most
other places I’ve lived. Here, some lines are 24
hours, and all of them run on Sunday. Try finding
that in California (outside of the Bay Area, of
course.) Waiting for the bus is worth it not to have
to worry about maintenance, insurance, registration,
gas, trying not to get into accidents, etc. Plus you
don’t pollute as much riding the bus. This “act of
submission” is no larger an act than crawling into
that cage Mr. Biggs misses so much. How much do you
plunk down in insurance every month? How much is your
car payment? Gas? Maintenance? It will only be when
people no longer consider the bus the “ride of last
resort” that cities like Las Vegas and the other huge
western sprawls will start to become real
cosmopolitan, international places where everyone can
live and work instead of redneck podunks like Barstow
where one needs a car in order to do anything. Who
knows, you might even get to meet you neighbors and
cut down on smog!

The bus isn’t all peaches and cream, of course. There
will always be pungent bums and loud, uncared for
children; that’s a microcosm of any city, anywhere.
Getting to Trader Joe’s and the Regal Sunset Station
Theater takes me over 2 hours sometimes. I’m late to
work from time to time. If I need to buy a large
amount of groceries it’s a bit of a drag (but now I
just have them delivered, anyway. Gotta love the
Internet.) In the time I’ve been riding the bus here,
I’ve seen two dead pedestrians (run over while jay
walking across Flamingo between Maryland and Spencer,
I assume) and one guy that got shot by LVPD on
Flamingo and the Strip. Well, you'd probably have
seen them if you were driving so I don't think that
counts. Once, a woman started yelling at me, “What
are you some kinda faggot?” and, noticing that I had a
bag of chips began demanding “Give some of your chips,
faggot!” I moved to the front of the bus and hoped
she’d exit before I did. She didn’t but I still
managed to slip away. Here I thought fag bashing was
passé. But that could have happened in San Jose (just
look at what happened to Gwen Araujo) or any other
metropolis, on or off the bus, so blame human nature
and not our bus system.

To sum up, your cages own you as much as you own them.
Your commute time might be shorter but what you trade
it for isn’t worth it to me. I’m glad someone turned
to the bus in a time of need, but don’t think that
that is all the bus is good for.
Only 87 days on the bus? I’ve been riding the bus in
Las Vegas since I moved here from California in July
2000 and I’ve got some comments about Mr. Biggs’
article.

Taking the bus everyday, you get a better feel for
traffic and the city itself, I think. You notice the
movement of police and emergency vehicles as you’re
waiting for your transfer. When your bus is late due
to an accident you usually find out why. You see
those old guys in yellow vests soliciting for
donations to some “charity” when you’re in a car, but
do you see their bags stashed behind some bushes on
the corner? (What a great scam.) The only positive
thing Mr. Biggs has to note isn’t positive at all!
You aren’t always the best looking person on the bus.
Not all of the “transportation dependant” are
toothless and smelly. I’m 29 and have been riding the
bus my entire life. I have all my teeth, have to dress
business casual for work, and I have a degree in
Literature. While riding the bus was easier when I
was going to UCSC, Vegas’ system is better than most
other places I’ve lived. Here, some lines are 24
hours, and all of them run on Sunday. Try finding
that in California (outside of the Bay Area, of
course.) Waiting for the bus is worth it not to have
to worry about maintenance, insurance, registration,
gas, trying not to get into accidents, etc. Plus you
don’t pollute as much riding the bus. This “act of
submission” is no larger an act than crawling into
that cage Mr. Biggs misses so much. How much do you
plunk down in insurance every month? How much is your
car payment? Gas? Maintenance? It will only be when
people no longer consider the bus the “ride of last
resort” that cities like Las Vegas and the other huge
western sprawls will start to become real
cosmopolitan, international places where everyone can
live and work instead of redneck podunks like Barstow
where one needs a car in order to do anything. Who
knows, you might even get to meet you neighbors and
cut down on smog!

The bus isn’t all peaches and cream, of course. There
will always be pungent bums and loud, uncared for
children; that’s a microcosm of any city, anywhere.
Getting to Trader Joe’s and the Regal Sunset Station
Theater takes me over 2 hours sometimes. I’m late to
work from time to time. If I need to buy a large
amount of groceries it’s a bit of a drag (but now I
just have them delivered, anyway. Gotta love the
Internet.) In the time I’ve been riding the bus here,
I’ve seen two dead pedestrians (run over while jay
walking across Flamingo between Maryland and Spencer,
I assume) and one guy that got shot by LVPD on
Flamingo and the Strip. Well, you'd probably have
seen them if you were driving so I don't think that
counts. Once, a woman started yelling at me, “What
are you some kinda faggot?” and, noticing that I had a
bag of chips began demanding “Give some of your chips,
faggot!” I moved to the front of the bus and hoped
she’d exit before I did. She didn’t but I still
managed to slip away. Here I thought fag bashing was
passé. But that could have happened in San Jose (just
look at what happened to Gwen Araujo) or any other
metropolis, on or off the bus, so blame human nature
and not our bus system.

To sum up, your cages own you as much as you own them.
Your commute time might be shorter but what you trade
it for isn’t worth it to me. I’m glad someone turned
to the bus in a time of need, but don’t think that
that is all the bus is good for.