Taking Kids on the Muni Rollercoaster
My son LOVES buses. Telling him we are going to take a bus ride is like telling him we are going on a rollercoaster. I guess in San Francisco they are somewhat similar.
Once I had a kid, I focused more on walking +car than car+bus. A lot of my errands became closer, local. My pharmacy, my grocery store,the bakery, the green grocer, the book store, are all in walking distance. I know where the potholes are, which side of the street is better for walking. I have watched a mural being painted, Jaime at La Victoria worries if they don’t see me on Monday morning.
But with a toddler or larger packages, I’ve been defaulting to the car. It just seems easier, faster. Of course, it also costs to park, and gas prices just keep going up. Not to mention, we only have one car.
Read the rest of Kate’s diary about making the effort to take the bus with her toddler.
What’s your experience with kids on the bus? Does having children mean eventually requiring a car? Comment or submit your own Muni diary and let us know.
L. is 2 and we ride BART or Muni most of the time. We do drive on occasion — when we need to get somewhere more quickly, when I’m not feeling well (public transit requires more physical strength and stamina, since it involves walking to/from and so on), etc. There’s very little you can’t get to in San Francisco on public transit, and sometimes (as with going to downtown SF) it’s LESS convenient to drive. Plus, public transit has interesting things to look at and interesting people to talk to. L. likes both but in general has a better time on public transit. Also, many toddlers go through a phase of being really into trains, and riding BART/LRV makes them pretty happy during that phase.