Every bus has a digital signboard inside that displays the next stop and there are voice announcements too. So in case you can’t read you can hear where you need to get off and vice versa. This system was really helpful for me in the first few days. They have a wire on both sides, which you pull when you need to get off. For example, I stay on N Orchard Street and in order for the bus to stop there I need to pull the wire one stop before, which is Larrabee Street. Then the digital board displays “Stop Requested” and the driver stops. If there is someone at the bus stop waiting to get on then the driver stops. If there is no one to get off or to get on the bus doesn’t stop at all.
It is also pretty friendly to handicapped people. There was this instance when my bus arrived and there was a person in a wheelchair also waiting at the bus stop. The bus stopped and everyone waiting at the stop made way for the wheelchair person to enter first. The most amazing thing happened next. The driver pressed a button, which lowered the level of the bus to equal the sidewalk. Then a walkway opened itself out connecting the bus to the sidewalk like a bridge. The wheelchair man easily zoomed in (it was an electric wheelchair) and he locked himself to special clips below chairs dedicated for handicapped or people with disabilities in the bus.
These are things that are not very difficult to implement in India. Its not that their buses are very high-tech ones. They have simple buses, which are not too beaten up but they have these kind of amenities that make life easier. A newcomer to this place can easily understand and get accustomed to new routes and maps because there are hardly any complications in them. And unlike Bangalore buses, where even people with x-ray vision might have squint really hard to see the bus number, these buses clearly state their number and the destination right in the front. Oh and since Chicago is a bike-friendly city, people carry their cycles around and these buses have racks in front, outside just below the windshield, to keep bikes.
But despite all these conveniences I don’t feel safe in this place. The feeling is creepy. Just now K/G discovered a site named Spot Crime where you can see all the crimes in your neighborhood. Ours is quite safe, so nothing to worry. I might sound racist but there are a lot of blacks in Chicago in general and many of them are in our area. The Chicago Police Department has also put up a GIS map on their site, which homes in on all the crimes in your location and it’s a bit scary. But even before I saw any of this I never got the same feeling of safety that I have got in all the South East Asian countries that I have been too. Especially China and Hong Kong and Singapore. I can walk freely without having to look back over my shoulder all the time even at 10 in the night. Here, it’s a lot like India – can’t go out after a certain time, can’t walk alone. Of course, there are a few areas like the posh downtown where my office is located, which are really safe. But what’s the point. I don’t live there. Sigh. And people fall over each other to come to this country. Yes the conveniences are great, the quality of life is better, the money is good. But what’s the point of living in fear? Unless you live in a really upscale locality, it doesn’t make a difference. Sorry to all those US fans, this place is really not my cup of coffee.
On to lighter stuff. We bought a packet of tortillas, which costs just about a dollar and they are just like rotis and more easily available. So K/G made a nice potato, capsicum and peas dish and we had it with the tortillas. It was just like having roti and sabzi. Cooking success after a long time!
We also went to the nearest Walmart yesterday. The nearest is still a bit far. It takes around 20 minutes by bus without traffic. It’s a huge store, with everything possible including clothes and stationery but no vegetables. So am guessing this is a smaller Walmart than the usual ones.
Ah, I finished a post without mentioning the weather at all!
