Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Living Without a Car, How Do We Travel?

How do I manage to travel, even though we don't have a car, and public transportation can be rather complicated?



Sometimes it can be very easy, but days like yesterday can be rather complicated. I had to get to my cousin in Hod Hasharon, which in theory shouldn't be all that complicated --our 461 to Ariel and then there are usually many buses from there to the Yarkon Junction.

But the Transportation Ministry has decided that people don't travel on Israeli Independence Day by bus. Most of the buses to Ariel had been canceled, so I took the first one, which came to Shiloh about 10am. For a few stops I was the only passenger on the bus! Then some more came on.

As we arrived in Ariel, I checked on the bus app (efo bus) for buses to Yarkon Junction. They all said "day+" meaning tomorrow. That wasn't very helpful. I didn't want to tremp-- hitchhike.

Suddenly it indicated that an 86 to Petach Tikva would be at Ariel Mall stop in about six minutes. I was a few minutes from there, but if the driver was planning on letting us off at the official last stop, I'd miss the bus.

At times chutzpah is necessary, so I asked the driver to let me off a few hundred meters early, and he agreed, so I easily caught the connecting bus. The next bus was about an hour or more later. Neighbors would be passing by about a half an hour afterwards, so they could have picked me up. I only found out that they'd be traveling in the direction I needed after I had left on the 461.

At Tzomet Yarkon I was picked up by my cousin. The return trip was a bit more complicated... If you want to hear, please let me know.

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