I
& CULTURE
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STORY AND PHOTO BY ALLIE PERKINS @ ARTSANDALLIE
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
M any college students use TriMet
as a travelling system to get to their
destinations. Often they use it for school,
work or even to go to a friend’s house.
I have both good and bad experiences
while using TriMet.
I was waiting at the bus stop, drinking
my Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks,
when I noticed a man approaching me. I
had thought nothing of it. I don’t usually
see a lot happen at the Clackamas Town
Center, and I was doing my morning
routine of waiting for the bus so I could
ride it to Clackamas Community College.
The man had walked closer, now standing
directly on my left.
“ Give me your Starbucks;” the man
said. I was almost in shock; a full-grown
man looming over a 19 year old college
student for her Starbucks? I w asn’ t
sure if he was on drugs, or just really
thirsty - but either way, it had made me
uncomfortable.
“ Sorry but n o ,” I replied. It was 80
degrees out and the man was clearly able
to afford his own damn Starbucks. He
didn’t seem to like my answer, and then
decided that the best logical approach
was to hover over m e and jepeatedly
scream, “ Give me your Starbucks! ”
I know; ! tried to be diligent in keeping
my Frappe, but he was intimidating. J
hastily gave him the rest of the cold
drink, before running to the other side
of the bus station. TriMet bus drivers
were just across the street and they
had seen the whole thing, but decided
to do nothing about it. A-kind, older
gentleman confronted the guy who stole
my Starbucks, and gave him $5 bucks to
leave the rest of the awaiting bus riders
alone?
r
I haven’ t had all bad experiences
though. I have had bus drivers who knew
me by name, telling stories of how their
day was, how the bus drivers daughter
was going in to first grade, some who
have even helped me through breakups.
For the most part, riding TriMet has been
a pleasant experience while trying to get
to my destination.
Joe Locher who is a fellow student at
Clackamas Com m unity College said,
“ Good experiences would be times where
I get to talk to some of the other riders
and share experiences or have small talks
or about random talents we may have.
Most people are really friendly or at least
keep to themselves,” Locher explained.
“ On the other hand, there are some
less than decent people that I’ve seen
riding the bus. I’ve -seen people who
are tweaked out and screaming at no
one. I’ve seen fights, I’ve seen drunk
people thrown off the train for the police
to take. But these people are few and
far inbetween.” Locher acknowledges
the pros and cons of riding TriMet. “ I
would say it’s absolutely worth riding
the TriMet system. It’s a widespread
service that is real cheap and running
constantly so even if you miss one of
your rides, another one will be coming
shortly after.”
Deke N. Blue, an anonymous bus
driver, made a blog about his not
-so -g re a t experiences while driving
for TriMet on the Website https://,
fromthedriverside.blogspot.com and
had recently published a book called
“JUST DRIVE - Life m the Bus Lane” and
is.selling it on Amazon.
BY ERIC CARLSON
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Tell us your experiences when
you
.
1
on TriMet @ theclackamasprint.com
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