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With the advent of the global warming crowd, public transportation is being extolled as a panacea for a number of environmental and societal ills. It is doubtful that the people praising this system has ever ridden a bus or commuter train or even a ferry.

While our car was in the shop I was forced to ride the bus to get to classes at our community college. A child of about age 4 had a festering case of chicken pox. Those blisters are itchy and like any child he scratched at them, spraying germ infested fluids onto anyone unlucky enough to be in his immediate vicinity. I have an auto-immune disease which leaves me vulnerable to infections so that incident was quite unnerving.

Then there are the hackers that sound like my cat bringing up a hairball. Of course no one covers their mouth and if they do they proceed to grab at the handrail or deposit their germs on the seat they are occupying. Most of these riders reek of cigarette smoke so they either have some chronic infection or even cancer.

And lets not forget the gang-bangers who seem to think every surface of the bus or train needs to bear their scribbled moniker. They usually hop on when someone goes out the back door, therefore by-passing the fare box. Besides markers and acid used for glass etching they have also been known to hide guns and knives in their baggy britches.

Another denizen of the public transportation domain is the snoozer. These people are usually homeless and ride the bus and rail routes simply to get out of nasty weather or have a relatively safe place to sleep. These are similar to the old-fashioned hobo's in some ways. Neither have seen the inside of a shower and their clothes have never been through a wash cycle. The smell in that enclosed space can be nauseating.

My sister must take the bus everywhere as she does not drive. Since she has no health insurance doctor appointments often means a three hour ride and requires changing buses up to six times. Conditions are less than optimal if one is not feeling well.

As for eating on the bus or train, that is forbidden in the Los Angeles area. Recently a 12-year-old boy was arrested and hauled to a police station for eating a bag of chips. He got a ride home in the back of a patrol car and his parents were fined for his misdeed. A friend of mine who worked as a hotel maid in L.A. caught the final commuter train to Long Beach. It was 11 p.m. and the train was not crowded. She pulled out a candy bar and was promptly sited by an under-cover transit cop. She had to appear in court and was fined. There have also been incidents of mothers of infants that were being bottle or breast fed being removed from the bus or train for eating on the vehicle.

Learn more about this author, Shirley Gooding.
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