The bus makes me bitchy

I'm spoiled - I've had a car since I was 16 (don't hate me too much, that first machine was a 1979 Dodge Omni, more bondo than body, that went 0-60 in 4.5 blocks) and I've almost always driven to work. Despite spending the past 10 years in a city if 1,000,000 people, and the 20-some ;) years before that in and around a city of 11 million I've never had to rely on public transit. Over the past decade I've taken a bus, train or subway less than 20 times.

Now however I work in a concrete jungle of office buildings where the wait list for a parking spot is over 2 years long. Conveniently there is ample bus service here, in fact, I could take a bus from the Tim Hortons just a block from my house right to the front door of my office building - though I don't since there are "picking up little people issues". Instead I drive to a park and ride not far from the kids' school/daycare and hop on the O-Train. Possibly the city's best-kept secret, the O-Train is much like Southern Ontario's Go-Train but on a much, much, much smaller scale - initially a pilot project for light rapid transit, it's planned to be extended but right now covers only 6 stations. Every 15 minutes a bright, clean 3 car train zips through mostly trees and over the river and is never more than half-full. If the train was my entire commute you wouldn't hear a peep from me. Alas, the O-Train goes only as far as Bayview station, along the transitway. At that station I have to hop a bus for a short 5 or 6 minute jog to the station near work (followed by a 5 or 6 minute walk to my office most days). It's that portion of my trip that sucks. There is no bus etiquette. I never get a seat (fine since it's only a 5 minute trip) but finding a place to hold onto is near impossible with the amount of people who think they need to hang on with both hands and forearms (and usually wearing a backpack the size of a SmartCar).

At least I can brag that I'm saving the environment right?