A Rapidian Voyage

The Rapid. “Easy. Convenient. Cheap. Reliable. Safe. Clean. Relaxing. Fun. The smart way to get around Grand Rapids and the suburbs.” So says the ridetherapid.org, official website of Grand Rapid’s lone public transportation outlet.

A first-time rider starved of domestic public transportation experience, the entirety of my “Rapid” experience was hearsay-based and largely negative. If forced to compile a string of one-word fragmented descriptors, mine might read: “The Rapid. Erratic. Inefficient. Unneccessary.”

So I’ll admit, I prepared to board the Rapid with a backpack, a Flip Video camcorder and preconceived notions as baggage.

Then the bus came.



I never got that quote. To my left sat a businessman. In congenial but unpolished English he told me, “Sorry man. I think its cause I too nervous.” As consolation, he offered repeated smiles in my direction.

Plan B was the two teen girls in front of me. I didn’t need a word of rejection here; their hushed, but very audible, giggles and whispers said it all.

Humbled by two denials, I was relieved to see Calvin College stop approaching. As if a seasoned veteran, I tugged the cord, ready to exit the bus. I timed my departure to perfection. Leaving my seat, I reached the door just as the #24 hummed to a complete stop. I stood in front of the middle door – door of choice for seasoned veterans – and waited for it to open. It didn’t.

“Just push.” The driver’s voice came authoritatively but kindly – as if she knew it was my first time – from the front of the bus. Thoroughly embarrassed, but sheepishly proud at my successful arrival, I exited the bus to familiar soil.

Through the tinted windows, I saw the businessman grin at me once more.



9:27. A four minute commute, for 50 cents - with Calvin-subsidized Rapid card? What could be better? I crossed Burton wondering how I hadn’t done this before. Waiting at Calvin’s westbound bus stop was Alicia, a young mother with her child in a stroller.



Here were some new criticisms. Grouchy bus drivers that don’t spend enough time at the stops? And what does any of that have to do with Pakistan? Obviously, the Rapid isn’t immune to criticism. Curious for another perspective, I tracked down a Calvin student and regular Rapid-rider.

Video 5

Calvin junior Brian Haverdink reoriented my temporarily altered views on the Rapid. His experience sounds convenient and beneficial. The way it should be. Despite the aura of cynicism that plagues Grand Rapid’s public transportation system, things are actually looking up for the Rapid. With a host of new energy-efficient hybrid buses and a continually increasing ridership, a brighter future may be coming quicker than the cynics think.

On May 3, citizens of the greater Grand Rapids’ area voted to expand high speed bus mass transit service, a move that will raise taxes in six West Michigan cities but bolster the bus-riding experience. Still, the slim 136-vote margin of victory reveals a strong air of uncertainty surrounding the Rapid. For many, the issue remains a matter of personal taste and convenience. With preconceived notions and limited Rapid-riding experience now at my back, I now claim a whetted appetite to “the smart way to get around Grand Rapids and the suburbs.”