Buses and Birthdays

First of all, I must mention that today is my mother's 50th birthday. 

Happy birthday mom!

Wish I could be there. 

Riding the bus in this city is always an adventure. The biggest problem is that everybody rides the bus. Even though each bus comes by every five minutes, they are still all jam-packed. If they are too full, they will just pass by a stop. If you attempt to catch a bus during a busy part of the day, odds are you will get passed by at least five buses before being allowed onto one. And even then, you will need to be willing to get really friendly with the people around you…

On most of the buses here there is no designated slot in which to place your money. Instead, there is a bus employee who walks around the bus and collects money from each rider. This way, you can get change and a receipt. Also, depending on where you are going, it might cost more for the ride. If you catch a bus in town, and you are only going to ride for a few stops, then it costs 1.50 RMB. However, if you plan on riding all the way into Chengdu, then it is 2.50 RMB. But, if you happen to get a bus with air conditioning, then it is 0.50RMB more. The money taker is there to make sure you pay the correct amount.

I do not envy the job of the money taker. She has to watch both the front and the back door for any new passengers, and then make her way towards them. This can be very difficult when the bus is really full. I have been shoved plenty of times by impatient bus employees trying to move from one end to the other.

As I was thinking about this, I realized how easy it would be to sneak onto a bus without paying. Since most of the time the bus is really crowded, the money taker generally only walks towards people with an outstretched hand that has money in it. The bus system here really counts on people being honest. Now, I know that not everybody is honest, since I have seen a few people get away with not paying anything, but for the most part, people do pay.

I say it would be very easy to get on a bus without paying, but what I mean is that it would be very easy for a Chinese person to get away with not paying. Since I stick out so much, it would be almost guaranteed that someone would notice if the incredibly tall white girl I didn’t pay. Not that I would ever actually try to get away with not paying…

This is a photo of the bus driver and the woman who takes riders' money. However, this was a slow day, so she stayed up front to collect money. 

There doesn't seem to be any dress code, and I have yet to see one who smiles. Most of them just glare and yell at people.