On Riding the Bus to Work

We all know commuting solo by car is a bad habit. As a Middletown resident who works in Hartford, I am trying to break it. But if you are a car owner, committing to actually using Connecticut’s public transportation requires a unique combination of personal characteristics: crazy frugality, tenacity, eccentricity, and a little self-righteousness. Gas is not quite expensive enough YET for most of us to look at the bus as a realistic option and the quality of the system we have does not provide an incentive to do so either.

Unfortunately, we are indoctrinated to be anti-bus very early: even the intelligent and reasonably socially conscious Middletown High student living in my house considers it social death to ride the school bus.

At present, our transportation planners have elected to deal with commuter preferences by offering a two-tiered system. The first tier is the DATTCO-run Middletown-Saybrook Express, with relatively upscale clientele, plush seats and its own dedicated bus stop/commuter lot on Silver Street, right off Route 9, exit 12. (Note that unless you live in or around CVH, you need a car to get to this bus.) The fare for a 20 minute express ride to Main and Gold in Hartford is $2.95. There are three departures in the morning between 6:50 and 7:50.

The second tier is the Connecticut Transit “U” line, which offers aging and slightly seedy buses with plastic seats and handicapped accessibility for $1.25. These buses stop in downtown Middletown at unmarked kiosks and wherever the bus driver feels safe stopping, which you have to figure out yourself because Middletown does not allow bus signage or any amenities that would in any way encourage a non-indigent person to consider these buses as a transportation option. The Connecticut Transit “U” bus leaves hourly to meander through Cromwell, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield in a route that takes about 40 minutes from downtown Middletown to downtown Hartford. The “U” happens to be the option I prefer, much as I prefer public schools over private. (I did warn you about the self-righteousness.)

I wonder what is the justification for this two-tiered system and if it negatively affects the quality of service as a whole. It will be interesting to observe the discussions about this as our policy makers try to cope with increased ridership and demands for better and more flexible service.