That's what they say, anyway…
This morning, I take my usual route. My usual route when I don't have my bike is the 344 to the 34 to Metrorail to the 224 to the 24. Yes… I take five vehicles. In total, the commute is usually 1 hr. 45 min. during which I read the copious readings for my international relations class.
Now, I get off the bus at Dadeland South Metrorail, and proceed up the stairs. There's a train waiting, but the doors are closed. There are enough people on the platform to fill the seats on the next train and plenty more to fill the aisles. Now, bear in mind that this station is not the first major station - Dadeland North, one stop up the line, is the major boarding station for most downtown-bound commuters. To provide more background, you need to know the stations names. Here they are, in order, south to north: Dadeland South, Dadeland North, South Miami, University (of Miami), Douglas Road, Coconut Grove, Viscaya, Brickell, and Government Center (Downtown). To catch the 224, I get off at Douglas Road.
So, we wait about 5 minutes at Dadeland South. An announcement is made that there is a problem with the switching system, so there is a delay. Shortly after this, the train that has been sitting on the platform opens its doors, and we board. The train is full. Doors close, and we proceed north to Dadeland North. More sardines pack in. Same thing at South Miami and University. Then the operator closes the doors at University. Only after the doors are closed does she announce that the next stop will be Brickell. Yes - suddenly, Miami-Dade Transit has introduced skip-stop express service on its Metrorail line - and they didn't inform their customers. So now I have to go all the way to Brickell, turn around and come back to Douglas, and hope that I don't miss the last bus that I would take in that time period.
I made it to work about five minutes later than I normally would.
I'm not upset with the driver of the train… she's following instructions. She could have informed us beforehand, but because they're not used to running this type of skip-stop service, the thought probably goes through their mind that most of the people are downtown-bound, which they are.
Anyhow…
The interesting thing throughout this entire ordeal? I got mad for about 5 seconds… then relaxed and just rode it out. Normally this would ruin my day. Today? Nope.
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