I hopped on the 210 bus on a Sunday afternoon, at about 12:07. I knew there was a bus stop near my house, because I used to see all the derelict kids taking the bus over to whatever school it is that derelicts go to. The stop is at Dick Klenhard baseball field. Unfortunately, I was about 1 minute late, and before I walked to the field, I saw the bus coming. "Holy Crap!" I started waving like an idiot, thinking the bus would just pass me by while the driver laughed. Luckily, the bus stopped and I hopped on. I paid my $1.50, got a transfer, and we started moving.

The 210 bus runs counter-clockwise around town. It makes one loop every hour. You can see the route below - my stop is marked with a red star. The 211 follows the same basic route- clockwise. But it does not run on Sunday.

You can get all kinds of information about the Yolobus at http://yolobus.com

I sat at the very back of the bus, in a raised section. It was nice because I could look out and see everything happening. The bus was in pretty good shape- it was purchased in 2000.

• These buses run on Compressed Natural Gas.
• Each bus costs about $350,000.
• During peak times, there are 20 Yolobuses on the road at once.
• Yolobuses put on enough miles to drive from California to New York, and half way back - each day.

We got to the bus yard over by the tomato processing plant and stopped. The bus driver called in to the station and said "hey, I'm supposed to be on my break- I ain't drivin' this bus no more". She then got out of the bus and walked away. Luckily we only had to wait 3 minutes for a new driver.

The long-haired greasy guy in the Harley hat took this opportunity to jump off the bus, and start smoking a cigarette. He was out there sucking it in as fast as he could. When the new driver came out, he said "damn man, I gotta finish my cigarette!" The driver said he had to leave, so the guy took in the biggest breath of smoke I've ever seen, and walked on the bus. Then after about 30 seconds, he let the smoke out, and told his friend "that should hold me for a few minutes"

I don't want to tell this guy that smoking kills- it's better if we just keep it a secret.

Picked up an older guy over by the immigrant housing behind the tomato plant. He was wearing a leather jacket, and a baseball cap. We now had 6 people on the bus, and it looked like a party would break out soon.

I notice the advertising on the bus, it was from Yolo Energy Efficiency Project (YEEP). One of their big things is to get people to use compact fluorescent bulbs in their house, instead of incandescents. I've converted most of my house over to the compact fluorescents without any problems. The new ones are much better than the old ones. I bought mine at Costco.

So the only advertising on the bus, was from another county agency- whose main purpose is to give out lightbulbs for free.

Crossed East Street on Beamer. I looked around the bus, and noticed that there was only a little bit of graffiti. I got pictures of it- and for those of you who don't speak Gangbanger, I have translated them for you.

I don't have a job

So I stole this pen

Now I write my name on the bus

Old guy in the leather jacket gets off the bus on Court street, two blocks from the courthouse. This truck was right next to the bus stop, with a 'for sale' sign. The guy in the leather jacket stood and stared at it for a while, he was still there when the bus drove away. Maybe he bought the truck.

Putting inexpensive cars for sale at bus stops is a pretty good gimmick. They should do that over at the mall.

A couple starts running for the bus, waving their arms- doing the same thing I did. One guy on the bus yells to the driver "don't pick them up!" The driver is nice, and stops for them. They get on the bus, and seem to be about 50 years old. The woman has curly hair, and is dressed in a tight, low-cut dress. The guy has slicked back hair, sunglasses, and the top 3 buttons on his shirt are un-done. They sat next to each other and snuggled for a while. On a date?

You can see the couple in the front right of the bus.

A young guy- about 23 - gets on the bus at the Californian. When he was waiting for the bus, he wasn't wearing a hat. But after he got on the bus he put on a knit cap with flames.

I'm not sure if he was trying to impress us bus riders with the cap, or if he was embarrassed about wearing it on the street.

We finally reach Mecca for the Yolobus. Where it all happens. We get to the County Fair Mall.

4 People get off the bus at the mall. There were 3 people waiting on the benches for busses. Only one gets on our bus, a white lady wearing a purple jacket and pink shoes.

The driver gets off the bus, and goes to the food court in the mall.

This guy sat in front of me for the whole ride. At one point I tried to ask him a few questions, but he didn't respond at all. Shot down by another interviewee.

Bus driver closes the door and starts pulling away. Some guy who was sitting on the bench smoking jumps up and waves for the driver to let him on. Guy takes one last hit of his cigarette and gets on the bus. He exhales once he sits down in his seat.

At this point, we have 6 people on the bus. The driver is talking to the old lady in the front seat in Spanish.

While cruising down Gum street, I realize that I am now on the 'sunny side' of the bus, and none of my pictures are coming out. I switch sides of the bus, and take a test picture (at Gum and Matmor).

I thought the picture was just out of focus, until I looked at the window. No, my camera didn't have a problem, that was just a huge grease spot on the window. Bleech. So one of these people with greasy hair sat here, and leaned their head on the window. I looked around, and about a third of the windows I could see had the same greasy spot.

The couple who got on the bus dressed up and looking nice, never got off the bus. The only thing I could guess, is that they were going to Walmart- or Applebees. Either way, it was obviously a date.

In my daily life, I rarely encounter people who smoke- I just don't see it too often. But it amazed me at how many people I saw smoking on this bus trip- and they seemed to be smoking frantically.

Just to let you know- when I came out of that porta-potty in New Mexico, I wasn't wearing any socks.

THE BUS IS HELLA TIGHT! i go with my homegirls on it all the time now, cuz back then i used to always ask people for rides and now i just pay 75 cents to go to esparto to visite me friend.

Cheap cars for sale near bus stops, GREAT idea.

Helpful, informative and all about the details. This story epitomizes everything that is great about this site.

I'm inspired to give the Yolo bus a try myself now.

-M.e. me@thebigreason.com

Great job on the story except you missed all the photos of the trash that is left at all the bus stops for the owners of the properties to clean up. Maybe the city should require Yolo Bus to install some sort of trash containers for people to at least attempt to use.

I especially enjoyed the "Bob" reference. Next time I spend too much time at my inlaws, I know a good escape! Go buses! What a good use of money.

This is so weird and here's why--First you are a funny guy--ok now i'll tell you why its weird...

because I do similar stuff. I ride Yolobus a lot and sometimes while I'm waiting at a stop I'll take videos of a shabby older guy putting a dollar in a tree, walking away, then going right back 5 seconds later to reclaim it. Or a derelict old man squatting dangerously far into the bike lane/road to casually keep an eye out for the bus. Or a slurring drunk asking if he can buy the bottle of whiskey in my grocery bag and telling me how he had so much money (he proved it by taking out a thick wad of oily twenties). Another time this possible-escaped-mental-patient found a large metal ball bearring and repeatedly tried to bounce it off the sidewalk (by violently throwing it at the ground) it would not bounce higher than 1 foot or so and he kept mutterring to himself (telling me?) about this shortcoming.

Yes, This is a Wonderful Place to live n

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