Every day we travel to and from our destinations via the mass transportation system. Whether it is bus, train, or even boat, we often times take for granted the convenience of our modern-day travel. Here in DeKalb, students often take the Huskie Bus to and from class without actually stopping to think about life without a bus system.

According to the Huskie Bus Web site, www.huskieline.com, about two million passengers ride the bus line annually. The system is funded completely by student fees and fares. As you may have noticed, most of the routes are free for everyone. Perhaps we should take a moment to understand the true usefulness of the transportation system, and what life would be like without it.

First of all, think about going to and from classes. Sure, most of the classrooms are within a 20-minute walk if you live in the residence halls. However, what about the people who live farther away? How long would it take someone to walk to DuSable from Greek Row or other apartments? Obviously, walking would be highly inefficient. Also, carrying heavy books for several miles is not exactly the ideal way to kick off the day. Say you have a huge gap in between classes and need to go to your room — would you really want to spend an extra hour or more on walking back?

What about when the weather is horrible? As much as we would like to think we are invincible and can walk through rain, snow and sleet, it’s just not an easy thing to do. Do you want your books, notes and electronics to get wet? What about your clothes? Those new shoes look great, but how would they look after getting extremely wet?

One somewhat disturbing trend that I’ve noticed is the group of people that generally disregard individuals. These people push and shove their way through in order to be the first inside the bus. Whatever happened to being polite or helping each other? It must have all went out the door as modern society crept in. With our fast paced lifestyles, stopping to pay attention to others around us may seem obsolete.

In fact, it just might be. If you are the type of person with a planner that has more ink from your pen than ink from the print, you might never have time to slow down. If you miss your bus, it could mean a poor grade, a lost job, or any number of bad consequences. Then again, being rude or inconsiderate to others may come back to haunt you. What if that person ends up to be your manager someday? Chances are good that he will probably forget about you, but don’t count on it.

No matter whom you are or how busy you might be, try and take a moment to reflect on the meaning of the Huskie Bus line. If you have time, notice those around you and what it means to them. Try and be more courteous and you may find a few smiles now and then.