” Waving For Nothing – Commute Is Life”

Rail Shuttle 2022

After how many months that we haven’t ride in a train starting from winter storm as of this year, we cannot deny the fact that we all missed it. The people from the affected area missed it. No trains will pass yet because of the maintenance of the train (front portion), railways or the bridges. It was so challenging specially to those who were like me working in downtown, commute is really real.

So that’s it. Starting of the snow storm last February until now, there’s no train available. There is a bus but it’s so hard to ride on it unlike before there were more drivers. But it’s okay because I heard a news that  trains will be available maybe next month, correct me if I am wrong.  Riding in a bus is so challenging, you know why? There are drivers who are still unvaccinated. And now that there is a new variant, but it is not official yet. According to my research, the “Deltacron” is a media portmanteau. Scientists have not yet named the said variant. Neither the World Health organization nor the CDC has named it a variant of concern. And then until now there are still hardheaded passengers, they didn’t wear mask. I don’t know why? Shout out to those people. I just want you to know that if you want to ride in a bus without wearing a mask, the driver won’t let you in. It is mandatory to wear mask and we need it for our protection so you must participate.

I will also share to you guys my experience as an afternoon commuter. I am from Dormont. For those who did not know, only one train will pass up to downtown from Dormont and Beechview, unlike if you are in a willow station area, two trains will pass going to downtown Silver Line and Blue Line. I am working in downtown area and it’s not difficult for me to go to work in a morning because my Darling can drive me to my workplace.

 Here is my unforgettable experience. When I went to the train station in a station square to wait for a rail shuttle since it is the only bus that will go back and forth to BEECHVIEW and DORMONT. Upon arrival in the station square, I saw the rail shuttle in the other side do the U-turn in order to go. The other side that I have said is, there is also a stop over there. Together with the other passengers, we waved our hands hoping that the driver will stop because we knew that the driver noticed us. But sad to say, the driver didn’t stop. He just ignore us. So, the other passengers got mad, and they keep on murmuring. We felt disappointed because the bus was not on time. They don’t have a fix time intervention. We don’t know if it is 10 minutes to 15 minutes or 25 minutes. Unlike before, it was easy to ride in a bus because there were more buses and more drivers. But now, it takes too long to wait especially during weekend or sometimes from Friday up to Sunday. Do not expect that the buses will arrive at 25 minutes, and you are lucky if it will arrive on time. Based on my experience since I am working during weekend also, I need to wait 30 minutes up to 40 minutes. Good luck to you if the bus will stop even the driver saw you especially if the bus is approaching in the stop over. So that was my experience and it’s just the same until now.

But hey! There’s a good news. I felt very okay and happy to have a free ride. Many of us asked where they got that budget for the driver’s salary. Some are hoping that it will be all free. And there were some who were worried especially to those who have a monthly pass, weekly pass  and yearly. So, the Port Authority gave an advice that they must not buy a monthly pass or yearly pass until there’s no official announcement. I guess it will be simultaneous with the Red Line going to Beechview and Dormont. I have observed that there are more roads which are closed. Bridges were also repaired. Maybe it is the time to be in a normal situation and that Covid virus will vanish.