Bus riding a challenge for some, welcome for others
Commuting to work and school involves a mix of bus rides and
walking for Hollister residents Tenica Garcia and Jesus
Estrada.
Bus riding a challenge for some, welcome for others
Commuting to work and school involves a mix of bus rides and walking for Hollister residents Tenica Garcia and Jesus Estrada.
There are three keys to successful bus riding, Garcia said.
When the bus arrives, run to the door
Push people out of the way to get to the front of the line
Save a seat for your friend.
Like Estrada and Garcia, more than 150,000 people rode San Benito County Express last year. The bus is used by students, commuters and shoppers. While some people use the bus as their back up plan, others have no alternative.
Garcia and Estrada ride the bus together from Hollister to Gavilan College in Gilroy every Monday and Wednesday.
Garcia, who gets on the bus first in the morning, always saves a seat for Estrada.
“You have to,” Garcia said. “If I don’t save a seat for him, he wouldn’t have a seat.”
Garcia has been riding the bus for six years. Although her own car would be great, Garcia and her girlfriend share one car.
“That’s all we can afford,” Garcia said. “She takes it to work, and our schedules conflict.”
Riding the bus between Gavilan and Hollister can be exhausting, Garcia said.
“It’s a half an hour ride, if you go the speed limit, stretched out to an hour and fifteen minutes,” Garcia said.
The worst season for bus riding is summertime, Garcia said.
“It’s just like sweaty people dangling their sweaty pits above you,” Garcia said.
Estrada has only been riding the bus for a few months.
