Getting There is More Than Half the Drag

September has brought longer morning commutes, which I expected to some degree. But my earlier approach of taking an earlier bus is no longer effective, mainly because the buses are being delayed by heavier traffic.

It doesn't matter if I'm ready to leave the house at 7:45, because the bus isn't showing up for another 20 minutes. The gains I was experiencing by leaving earlier are gone, negated by sitting through multiple traffic light cycles at Wellington Circle. The culprit seems to be route 93, because 28 south is backing up all the way to the circle.

Sure, I read on the bus, or do crossword puzzles; if the mind isn't occupied, the ride seems twice as long. But it's all such a huge waste of time. And then I still have to get on the Orange Line, go two stops to Sullivan, and get the 86 bus to Harvard Square. It's still taking an hour, or longer, to go three and a half miles.

This morning I happened to be ready a little earlier than I expected, so I looked at the bus countdown page and saw that the even-earlier bus, the one that in normal traffic conditions comes by my corner around 7:30, was only a minute or two away, so I grabbed my things and hurried out to the corner. I made the bus, but it still took an hour to get to work.

But getting there earlier does mean I can leave earlier, and interestingly, the trip home doesn't seem to be fraught with the same sort of stress. I still have to be concerned about making connections, but generally it goes much more smoothly in the afternoons.