All tales from Route 16
The rare celebrity seat
This story involves a local celebrity. I will omit his name and the name of the television show he hosts (it’s on PBS), but there’s a sort of trademark that this man has that’ll be a dead give away for any one who watches his show: he always wears a scarf, be it winter or […]
Quit crying munchkin!
I saw an event this morning on my way into work that brings to mind the tale somebody else shared about the person who fell in the isle of the bus, and the delay in others picking them up.
Overwhelmed by concern
About a week ago, I’m on the 16 riding toward the University. The bus is standing room only when suddenly the bus driver slams on the brakes, sending everyone standing hurtling forward. Most people manage to catch themselves, but one older gentleman, about six people in front of me, actually falls down and appears to […]
I Want My Metro Transit
“Twenty dollars,” the man scoffed with a thick accent, “in Columbia we slit your throat for twenty dollars.” It was a balmy Saturday night into Sunday morning, 1998, and the unfortunate gentleman had just fallen victim to a group of young bus hustlers.
No crutch to lean on
A few summers ago, during the afternoon rush hour, I was taking the 16 deep into St. Paul. It was very busy and we were a little past Snelling at a stoplight. When the bus driver pulled up to the light, it was green but by the time everyone was done getting on, […]
A lovely message from Osama
Whilst riding the glamorous number 16 as a freshmen at the U, I had an ‘interesting’ encounter with some fellows right around Wiley Hall. Keep in mind that this was on a Friday evening, around 6 o’clock. Several gentlemen began talking extremely loudly about “popping a cap in his” etc… Upon hearing […]
His teeth were biting my…
In the early nineties I was a student at the U of MN, living off campus and without a car. As a result I became a bus expert. I specialized in the teens – the 17, the 19, the 16 - and sometimes even graduated to the 21. I have a million stories, but […]
I’m a comedian!
I ride the bus every day to work and I have a lot of stories. I can’t believe what some people say or do when they’re on the bus. One of my favorites is a man who was sitting on the back bench talking very loudly to the people around him. He was […]
I’m listening honey
I was sitting in the front of the bus directly across from this older couple, easily in their 70’s. The man was wearing a worn out red baseball cap pretty low and it cast a shadow on his face. The woman was all dolled up with make up and in a talkative mood. I think […]
Interview jitters?
One day while waiting to board the 16 eastbound on Nicollet and 4th, I noticed the guy waiting next to me looked awfully nervous. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and appeared to be concentrating hard. Occasionally he would clip open a briefcase, shuffle the papers inside as if to […]
Do you know her?
A few years ago, I caught the 16 eastbound at 4th/Nicollet and sat about halfway back. At the 4th/Marquette stop a bunch more people got on, including a guy who sat about 2 rows behind me. As the bus pulled away, dude 2 rows back started yelling clearly, but calmly: “DO YOU KNOW THE BLASPHEMING […]
9/11 was an inside job
Last week, I rode next to this college guy, and I noticed before sitting down that he was wearing a t-shirt that said something about 9/11. Usually I ignore the silly things people have stated on their shirts, but on a whim I asked him about it. He showed me that it actually […]
Comb my hair
Riding home on the bus I sat in front of a guy and a girl, both young adults. After hearing them laugh for about 2 minutes straight I decided to put my headphones on. As I was nearing my stop I took off my headphones just in time to hear this gem of a conversation:
I didn’t pee my pants
For the last few weeks I’ve been really into a book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” Yesterday, on my ride home I was getting close to the end so I was especially absorbed. The half hour ride from downtown to the Midway was over in a minute and as we were pulling […]
Don’t be so shy
I have been riding the bus since I was 13. I’m 19 now, and the buses were weird then, and are still weird now. But seeing as it’s my main way of transportation, I try to keep my headphones on, and avoid eye contact as much as possible.
A good shove
Man with large gym bag gets on bus. Sets bag down on top step. Man will not pay and tries to talk his way onto bus. Driver picks up bag and throws it out the door and off bus. Driver then gives man a good shove and he flies off bus, […]
Braided rugs on her head
Does anyone know what the story was/is with the woman who would ride the bus with about a foot of what looked like braided rugs or something stacked on her head, tied down to her head with a scarf type thing? Probably around 1992 last time I saw her. Who am I to […]
You don’t see the humor in that?
On my ride home yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to a loud fellow talk the driver’s ear off. As the driver was raising the lift for someone in a wheelchair to get off, the loud fellow had this to say:
You don’t enjoy Christmas?
I was riding the #16 during the Christmas season a few years ago. If anyone knows anything about the 16, they know that there is an extremely diverse grouping of people. I was sitting towards the front of the bus and a Muslim lady was sitting in the seat in front of me. […]
Metro Transit vs. Campus Circulator
A young woman told the driver she needed to transfer to the 3, and asked what stop she should use. The bus driver was giving her some very convoluted directions–get off at a certain stop, walk a few blocks in a certain direction, etc. etc. She was clearly new in town and looked very uncertain.
A cheap ride
I was a poor college student who only had bus fare for a non-peak ride. Unfortunately, it was peak time. I got on the bus and dropped in the non-peak fare, avoiding eye contact with the driver, and began making my way to the back. The driver said “Hey, it’s peak, you owe more money,” […]
Can’t take a joke?
About thirty years ago a driver reported for work at Snelling Garage and was given the white cane that he had previously turned in to Lost and Found. When he went out to make relief that day he donned dark glasses and boarded the bus using the cane. After he sat in the […]
Private Pillow
My most embarressing moment in riding the bus for 20 years is the time some man got on the bus. His eyes looked a little buggy. He moved slow. He sat right down next to me on the first seat. I knew something was going to happen by the way he looked. And it […]
You’re a demon from hell
Some of the strangest people hop on the bus: we all know that. I was taking the 16 from the University to downtown Minneapolis around lunch hour, and as I got on I looked around. No one too strange, except this busy-looking woman, 50-ish, with a small duffel bag, who was sitting in […]
Hot-Ass Bus
A couple of years ago I had a job as an English as a Second Language teacher, for adults. Part of our curriculum was to teach the students how to ride the bus. Another teacher and I had about 15 students with us, all recently-arrived Hmong refugees from Thailand. It was hot […]
Bible deflection shield
On the University Ave bus, along Midway St Paul, the usual over-full passenger load for that route, a couple people standing in the aisle by the back door, I approached the one open aisle-seat back a few from the front. As my eyes did their rapid scan of seat cleanliness and sittability regarding the person […]
Enjoy your precious life
Some of the bus drivers can be really strange. This one older lady who drove the 16 alway gave a comment every time she let someone off the bus (examples–”have a warm peaceful relaxing evening” or “enjoy the rest of your precious life”. When we came to dr.martin luther king jr. blvd she announces “Dr. […]
Less talking, more listening
I don’t like talking on the bus. It’s my time to zone out, think, listen to music, whatever. But not to make chit chat. Now maybe as a driver (Leon, care to jump in?) it helps pass the time, but I’ve seen more than a few clingy talkative riders that just won’t leave the driver […]
Night Manager or Narcolepsy Patient?
There’s a guy that used to ride almost everyday for about two months. During that time I never once saw him awake. Some people who sleep on the bus manage to do so without calling much attention to themselves. They also seem to get kind of comfy, snuggled up against the window. This guy did […]
Under all these clothes
It is about -5F and I’m waiting with a half-dozen people to board the bus.
You need to know that I’m wearing:
- Black parka, over thick sweater, over suit jacket, over dress shirt, over undershirt.
- Fleece snowpants, over dress slacks, over long underwear.
- Earmuffs over whole-head stocking cap.
That was a different Berkeley back then
I sat by a kind of down-and-out guy and took out the Schubert Mass in A-flat to study (I use my bus time that way a lot on my way to choir practice.)
Anyway, he noticed what I was doing and asked where I sing. I told him St. Agnes, and he rambled a little about […]
The Weisman is not earthquake-proof
This happened when the Weisman Art Museum (at the U) first opened.
Going from St. Paul to Minneapolis we pass the Weisman. The guy in front of me turns around and asks, “Why is that building like that?”
Me: “Well, it’s the new art museum. I bet they thought maybe they should make the buidling itself […]
If you smell something funny…
I get on the bus early enough in the route that I can usually snag an open two seats. Well on this particular day there was only a couple aisle seats open. I quickly surveyed my options and chose what I thought would be the best person to sit next to. I immediately regretted the […]
How to beat the system
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s witnessed people attempt to get onto the bus without paying. Just the other day there was a guy who walked past the driver as someone else was paying. Then someone who had already paid handed him a transfer and he turned around and walked off the bus. […]
