Walking instead of riding

Early in the month, Pierce Transit had a fire that impacted their fueling. I fully understand cutbacks being made. With the reduced schedule, however, I’m not convinced that riding the bus is worth it. Of course, my specific situation is part of the reason.

The segment of my commute involving Pierce Transit is somewhere around 25 minutes on foot. I don’t mind getting some walking in. I can barely justify riding the bus when they are on schedule.

With fewer buses running, I’m not sure when to expect the next bus. The two times that I have taken the bus home in the last two weeks, I probably saved less than 5 minutes each trip by going by bus instead of walking. I know that I would have saved time each trip that I walked instead of taking the bus. I just don’t feel confident that the bus will consistently beat me. If there is any chance at all that walking will be faster, why not save the two dollars and travel by foot?

It turns out that my walk is even better than I originally expected. While I can rely on my current bus in the morning, I’m going to walk home each day until the buses return to normal (unless I see the bus coming). Even when the buses are back on track, I will probably start evaluating walking conditions as I approach my stop. If there is a nice drizzle, I’m walking.