The Tranquility of Bus Travel

Driving was once a welcome escape for me. A road trip was both exciting and restorative. While living in the U.S., it was not unusual for me to drive 4, 6 or even 10 hours to visit friends or family or take in new sites. The calm of being alone on a long haul, with only my music and my thoughts, was often a much-needed retreat from the pressures of school, work, family and responsibility. I drove for hours, taking in just about any type of scenery while sipping on something satisfying and making the occasional stop for something delicious. It felt like a get-out-of jail free card. The only disappointment was the end.

Times have changed, or I have changed. Surely the experience of driving has changed with the evolution of cars and devices, combined with the increasing rush-rush mentality in the social media world of instant gratification. Now I despise driving. Nothing about it appeals to me. The stagnation of sitting for hours, staying alert for carelessness and being stuck in place like a stiff rock in endless city gridlock, is far from thrilling and brutal on my back and legs.  It does not help that we, as human beings, become entirely different people when we sit in the driver’s seat. It’s as if the moment people get behind the wheel, they become possessed by some other worldly demon. Driving is truly a combat sport (at least in Israel), where the average driver loses all sense of respect, patience, responsibility, care and a sense of common courtesy as soon as he puts his foot on the pedal.  From my pure observation of over 27 years of driving in Israel, I’m certain that the vast majority of road accidents result from hyper levels of impatience, neglect, and ego. The urge to rush ahead, jump past others, cut-off, speed, honk horns, tailgate, text while driving, compulsively switch lanes, blow red lights, drive on the shoulder and do just about anything but stay in place and cruise along, is widespread. Road rage is a constant worry, reminding me to just bite my tongue and give people the space to growl like frustrated unfed lions. Little do they realize that they, too, are fed-up with road travel as much as I am.

It’s no wonder that, according to Or Yarok (our traffic watchdog), there have been about 405 road deaths in Israel this year, more than the 361 deaths in 2023 and the first time since 2008 that the number of road deaths exceeded 400. There is a dearth of traffic police on the road, further encouraging drivers to do as they please. For some context, in 2022, 33 people died from terrorist attacks in Israel according to data of the Shin Bet.  I’m not trying to equate the heinousness of terrorism with bad driving behavior. But the deadly consequences to victims and their families bear little difference. If the government and public would give traffic safety the same level of attention and urgency as terrorism, there is no question that behavioral patterns would change.  I’m afraid that our government and society have adopted a cruel level of apathy about the catastrophe of car travel, conveying a feeling that it is what it is, we are who we are, and there is nothing we can do about it.  But I’m not here to delve into the science of traffic control, admittedly not my expertise. I’m hedging my bets on public bus travel as a way to improve my odds (soon to be supplemented by the light rail).

Much to my surprise, after having taken a bus in Israel only 2 or 3 times in the past 27 years, I discovered buses are the remedy to my commuting woes. For 20-30 minutes, I can disconnect from the hustle and bustle of automobile travel, mellow out to music, focus on an enriching podcast, read a book or just be with my thoughts.  There is a soft comfort of being surrounded by other people, who further cushion the outside noise of commuting from the inner quiet of the bus (the occasional clanging and bumping notwithstanding). Surprisingly, most bus travelers keep to themselves, do what I’m doing and keep quiet. I don’t feel rushed or distracted. People watching can turn into an entertaining past-time (and the source of more writing material).  It’s also refreshing to let someone else do the driving.  To its credit, Israel has an insane number of overlapping bus lines, taking away the worry about catching a particular bus, and a growing network of bus lanes, often making it faster than car travel during rush hour.

Oddly, I now look forward to walking out the door in the morning more than before. To be sure, bus travel is not perfect. A very small number of bus drivers are negligent and impatient (no different than the population at large), some buses are better than others (clang clang), the night schedule seems erratic, and some passengers are rude or unpleasant (in their own way), but that brings me back to people watching. Life isn’t perfect. But being out of my car has been far better for my mental health and more life-engaging.  I spend less time thinking about getting to where I’m going and more time in the moment. I’m reminded of the diverse humanity around us. Plus, less cars on the road means less traffic, greater productivity, less pollution and a happier people.  And at 6 shekels a local ride, bus travel is still a bargain!