American entitlement. Guilty as charged.

People were ticked. and I mean just PISSED. I just got off the UTA express bus running from UVU in Orem to Sandy Trax, and you would have thought we just came from the veritable hell of the New Orleans Superdome after Katrina. The bus was crowded - as in standing room only - back to front crowded. Students had to take off their backpacks to allow more room to stand and were breathing sweet nothings in each others ears. True - I would think there would be some kind of a code against that many riders on a bus, but based on reactions I am pretty sure some people felt that their human rights were being violated. People were yelling at how UTA was turning a blind eye because it was Orem and not "Salt Lake." Man-boys majoring in economics were tittering about how bus officials were unfairly spending taxpayer dollars and middle-aged yuppies were bemoaning the risk of picking up "that flu-bug going around" with people in such close proximity to each other. And one guy some how got a hold of the intercom and asked passengers to "unite" and call or write UTA to let them know that "we won't stand for this!" Bear in mind this ride was only as packed for about 11 minutes until the bus arrived in American Fork where it emptied almost by half......

Cue flashback sequence......................

It took me back to about two years ago when I was in Fiji on a bus. The bus was about 48 years-old, for one, with broken glass on some of the windows. In the back there were a bunch of chickens in cages and wood planks replaced cushions on some of the seats. If the fowls didn't contribute enough to the stench on board, the mind-boggling B.O. from passengers in closed-quarters with no AC topped it right off. By the end of that bus ride not only was it packed but strangers were literally sitting on each others laps to make more standing room in the aisles...... And no one said a word. It was business as usual for them.

.................Back to present

Nonetheless, I am all about due process and conflict resolution. After my own seat partner got off the bus on our route's only stop between Orem and Sandy, I adjusted my personal overhead air-vent along with my absent neighbors, leaned against the shaded glass on the spotless window, opened my laptop, and while using the convenient on-board wireless the UTA express offers, I sent the transit authority an email suggesting an extra bus run to alleviate crowding. God bless America.