I take the bus to and from work every day. I like the bus and prefer it to being underground or packed into a damn train. The top deck of a London bus is quite a pleasant way to travel to your place of work.
I can see the bus stop from my flat, it’s about 300 yards up the road and buses come past pretty regularly which is handy. I leave every morning sometime between 7.50 and 8.10 am to catch the bus to work. Every morning, without fail, the bus shoots past before I get to the bus stop. Regardless of what time I leave, the bus goes trundling past before I can get to it. I then have to wait for the next damn bus to come along while I watch the back of the bus I’ve just missed disappear round the corner…! It is a question of luck and timing I guess ! Why doesn’t the bus hove into view when I actually get to the bus stop ? Why is it always 2 steps ahead of me and never 2 steps behind…?!!! It is one of the great mysteries of of the bus network…
I quite happily sit on the bus and mind my own business. I listen to the radio on my walkman and some mornings nod off for a while. It would never occur to me that my bus journey might in any way be hazardous. It’s a safe, enjoyable way to travel. However, if I lived in Israel it would be a daily hazard. Taking a bus to work, the shops or just getting about on public transport would be a dangerous risk. Suicide bombers actively target buses to spread terror and inflict maximum damage. Taking the bus in Israel would be a nervy, frightening experience. I couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be for ordinary Israelis to use the buses. They must be constantly edgy, eyeing up everyone who gets on looking for tell tale signs of a potential bomber – the loose clothing, arabic features, nervous looking passengers or an unnatural bulky demeanor which might conceal a semtex belt…. Jesus how do they do it…????
So yeah... 