The Bus Ride

“We’re going to make a quick stop at the next exit”, announced the bus driver to a bus full of passengers. The bus is making its way from Los Angeles to Chicago via Las Vegas and will make several stops on its way.

There are a number of passengers on the bus including a businessman, a family on vacation, a group of passengers on their way to Las Vegas, a woman who doesn’t like to fly, and a woman who came down with a cold and was advised not to fly.

The businessman was flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles and missed his connection to Chicago. He is traveling to Chicago to meet with a potential client. The cost for a new flight to Chicago is outside their company’s travel budget. He was considering renting a car, but due to the distance, the company’s travel agent suggests taking a bus. During the bus ride, he works on the sales presentation from his laptop computer. Once he reaches Chicago, he will join a few colleagues for the client meeting.

The family on vacation is part of a tour that is visiting different amusement parks in the Midwest. One of their children experienced a minor injury at one of the parks. Their child was treated at a local clinic, but they were separated from the rest of the tour. They boarded the bus at one of the stops, and they are planning to take the bus to Chicago. Once they arrive in Chicago, they will rejoin the tour.

A number of passengers are on their way to Las Vegas. Two of the passengers include a young couple that is planning to get married during their stay. Several others are planning to stay for a long weekend.

The woman who doesn’t like to fly has a fear of flying. She needs to go to Chicago to help one of her friends who is experiencing a family emergency. The four day bus ride from Los Angeles to Chicago was the best option.

The woman who came down with a cold has a sinus infection and was advised that the air pressure from traveling by air could make the flight uncomfortable for her ears. She is going to Chicago to attend a conference.

During the bus ride, the businessman makes a phone call. He says, “Hi, it’s me. Did you get the file? I sent it a few minutes ago.” There is a pause while he listens to the person on the other end. He then says, “Ok, call me back after you get a chance to review it.”

About an hour later, his phone rings and he answers it. He listens to the person on the other end and then says, “Give me a sec. I will open up the file.” He then says, “I have the file open.” He listens to the person on the other end for a couple of minutes, and then says, “I can make those changes.” Once again, he listens to person on the other end before saying, “Did he get a chance to look at the file?” He listens to the person on the other end and then says, “Sounds good. I will see you in Chicago.” After the phone call, he continues to work on the presentation.

The woman who doesn’t like to fly spends most of the trip listening to music from her phone or watching the movies that are displayed on the monitors on the seat ahead of her.

The children from the family on vacation spend most of the bus ride playing cards, watching movies from their tablets, and discussing the roller coaster rides they plan to ride once they reach Chicago.

During the bus ride, the bus makes several planned stops at a number of cities to pick up or drop off passengers. At the scheduled stops, depending on the city, the bus may briefly stop at an outside stop allowing only enough time for passengers to leave or board the bus. At other times, the bus may pull into a depot where they may wait to allow time for passengers to leave or board the bus. Most of the passengers wait inside the bus at the scheduled stops.

In addition to the scheduled stops, the bus also makes impromptu stops in between the scheduled stops to allow the passengers to get something to eat, use the restroom, or stretch their legs. Before the impromptu stops, the bus driver makes an announcement over the loudspeaker to give them a chance to prepare before departing the bus for a brief stop.

At the impromptu stops, some of the passengers remain on the bus. Depending on their situation, they may not feel a need to exit the bus. Some passengers wait for one of their traveling companions to return with food. At one of the stops, one of the passengers traveling to Las Vegas calls out to their friend, “Just bring me back a sandwich and something to drink.”

The businessman is often found making business calls during the impromptu stops before stopping to pick up something to eat before returning to the bus.

At one of the impromptu stops, as they are waiting in line to get something to eat, a few of the passengers give advice to the young woman who is planning to get married in Las Vegas about where they should stay and eat.

The family on vacation is often found taking pictures of the scenic views or posing before a historic sign at each impromptu stop.

The woman who doesn’t like to fly tends to get a cup of coffee at each impromptu stop before returning to the bus.

The woman with the cold sleeps for most of the bus ride, but gets up for each impromptu stop to stretch her legs. At each stop, she takes a look at the vacation brochures on display, and picks up a few.

The bus ride from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is relatively lively, but once they reach Las Vegas, a large group of passengers depart the bus. The bus is a lot emptier and quieter for a few stops until they pick up more passengers as they get closer to Chicago.

For the passengers that are riding the bus for several days to reach their final destination, the impromptu stops help break up the trip and regardless of their situation and time on the bus, all the passengers seem to live to hear the announcement, “We’re going to make a quick stop at the next exit”.