All tales from Route 4
She was a toucher!
The 4 was pretty crowded when I got on in downtown and I was forced to stand until we were well into uptown. When I finally got to sit, it was next to a rather attractive woman that lives down the street from me. This, of course, freaked me out and I was […]
Sign of Courtesy
This is a second-hand bus tale, but the source is trustworthy. My friend climbed aboard the 4 last year and as she was scanning the empty seats she noticed one where a bus schedule had been unfolded and draped over the back. There was something scribbled on it. When she walked closer she could read […]
I’m going to talk about money
I missed the express bus and needed to hop on the ’slow boat’ 4 heading north into downtown. Around 36th street a woman got on - probably in her 50th, looking a little ragged - and sat in the front row next to a professional looking man.
Hopefully minus the insane
Where to begin? I ride the 4 just about everyday to and from work. Generally during the week, the bus is filled with people on their way to their jobs downtown. However, on occasion, you get that random, chatty person who is legally insane.
Rub the wrong way
Last night on the bus I stood in my favorite spot and posted up for the four stops home. Some guy comes in and stands directly in front of me, crowding my space. The bus was relatively empty and I figure he was invading my territory because that was his favorite spot.
Can’t tune out the horn
Since the 35w collapse, riding any bus that goes over the Hennepin ave bridge before or after work you may have noticed a longer ride than normal. I feel for any bus driver that has to sit in all that traffic.
Take it to the hole
For some reason Metro Transit hasn’t realized that they need to add more #4 buses during rush hour. Due to that fact, the evening rush hour #4 bus is always packed, and I always end up standing toward the front of the bus. The other day I got on and, per the usual, was standing […]
Juggling the ‘cakes
Okay- so the other day I hopped on the 4 in the morning on my way in to work. I had a pair of cute tall black boots on that have a fairly high heel. I was bringing in some cupcakes to work that day- so I had the pan of ‘cakes in […]
No thumbs at all
About 10 years ago, I was riding the 4 southbound from downtown on a summer day at rush hour, the bus was about 3/4 full. At Franklin and Lyndale, a tall, slim African-American man in his late 40s or early 50s got on. He sat down in the sideways-facing seat directly behind the driver. There […]
Just a little guy
I’m on the 4 by the Walker. This guy got on back in downtown and I smelled him immediately. Everyone starts yelling in the back of the bus and I’m 6′4” 250 lbs. so I have a responsibility here. Turns out the drunk is trying to bat up some foreign tourist who speaks some Eastern […]
Tip goes the tank
Several years ago, I was seated on the 4 in a window seat. It was rush hour. People got on at every block. A pair of twenty something ladies took the seat behind me. Causally, one of the women said,
Freezie debate
As many of you may know, it’s against the rules to bring food on the bus. I usually don’t enforce this, unless someone tries to bring something extremely messy on. I pulled up to a stop in Richfield, and a kid, probably in highschool, was waiting with an already-opened freezie
4 male ponytails
The other morning, when I sat down at the back bench of the #4 bus, there were only 2 male ponytails on the entire bus, one up front (Ponytail #1), then one sitting near ME, who had thin, unkempt hair, kinda fuzzy and balding on top, then as you go down the length of the […]
Thanks Buckethead
A belated thank you to Buckethead…..My girlfriend (eventual wife) and I were living in NE Mpls in the late 70’s and had jobs in downtown Minneapolis. Being car-less, the MTC bus was our only transportation. Unlike other routes, we looked forward to riding the downtown-Nordeast route with our favorite driver, a large jolly […]
Flying nuns don’t pay
January, 2003 I was riding the 4E (now the 4K) to work at about 7:00AM. I sat down in the frontmost frontward facing seat. A guy was sitting in the side facing seat directly in front of me, declaring to the world that the media makes people less creative, and he looked to me for […]
Can’t reach the pedals
The 4 had it’s hazards on at my stop. As I walked on to the bus, the driver mumbled something at me but i had my ipod on. After a few minutes of sitting there and passengers talking in the background, I took off my ipod and noticed that the driver wasn’t leaving because […]
En-Route Ettiquette Takes a Breather
As some of my friends know from my text messages en-route, the personal hell I call mass transit is full of colorful folks on the Downtown-to-Uptown line. Today, I got in line for the #4 bus behind
one such young man. The minute I ascended the stairs, I was enveloped in - not a slight whiff […]
It’s the cops!
In the spring of ‘05 my friend Rebecca and I were taking the 4 southbound to meet some friends at the Bulldog. The route usually heads out of downtown Minneapolis on Hennepin and then Lyndale, in an exchange that proves to be a bit hairy in rush hour, but usually passes without incident.
You look like you need a woman
Hah, this is a good one that happened to me today. I was driving the 4, which I’ve historically had terrible luck on as far as scuffles and scofflaws go (and, of course, the door taco-ing incident).
Door Taco
I’m a driver, and was doing the 4 line on this particular day, which just so happened to be New Year’s Day. Happy to have survived driving on New Year’s Eve in a snowstorm with throngs of drunken motorists on the road, I thought that my New Year’s Day work would be a Sunday drive. […]
Peanut Butter Sandwich
This tale occured on 8 Jan 07.
For future identification, she was pretty average looking, Asian, short side of shoulder length black hair, and wore charcoal wool coat. I sat down next to her in the first forward facing seat. (Maybe this is karma telling me to leave those seats for the handicapped and elderly EVEN […]
