Missed bus and overcrowded trip: a turbulent experience in local public transport in Berlin

Missed bus and overcrowded trip: a turbulent experience in local public transport in Berlin

Berlin is a city that lives and pulsates. And that also applies to the local public transport of the capital. Every day, numerous people experience their very personal adventures on the buses and trains of Berlin. I too, Jan Schilde, was recently allowed to have such an experience that I would like to share with you.

It was a day on which dark clouds fell the sky and fell first raindrops. I just wanted to cover a short distance that I could theoretically have walked on. But the idea of ​​running along the wet road made me rush to the bus stop.

Specifically, it was about bus line 248 of Kreuzberg, more precisely from the corner of Oranienstraße/Lindenstraße, to the Red Rathaus in Mitte. The BVG app promised me a short waiting time of only two minutes before the bus would arrive. More and more rain fell from the sky and I was looking for protection in the entrance to a house. Other people also decided in view of the bad weather to use the BVG.

In expectation of the bus, I fixed my view of my cell phone. The app indicated that the bus would come now. But then I saw that he continued without stopping. Did I miss him? That couldn't be, after all I was right in front of the stop. Unfortunately, the app had not reported that the bus hadn't even come.

The rain continued unchanged. According to the app, the next bus would arrive in nine minutes. At that time it was no longer worth running. After all, it would be all the more disappointed if the bus would drive past me if I had already arrived there.

Again I held my cell phone in my hand and looked at the app. She indicated that the bus would come now. But then again: none. Three minutes late. Five minutes late. And finally the bus came. However, he was hopelessly overcrowded. It was a small bus, no typical "large yellow" or "Schlenker". People tried to push in the middle of the bus. On the other hand, I tried it in front and was lucky. I was able to stand right next to the bus driver. But the trouble of overcrowding was noticeable. "The last two get out is too much," the bus driver complained. And I was the third last passenger.

Nevertheless, I didn't just want to accept the injustice. So I called through the bus kindly: "Please step through!" And actually it worked. People in the middle of the bus moved closer together. A man and a woman who stood behind me also fit in. Even if I was uncomfortable, I was happy about my little heroic deed.

At the next stops, fewer and fewer people were able to get on the bus. I almost had to laugh when the bus got stuck in the middle of the traffic jam on Leipziger Strasse. Rain or not, I would have ran better.

This story shows that local public transport in Berlin can sometimes have its pitfalls. Sometimes the app does not work properly, sometimes the bus is overcrowded. But despite all the obstacles, local transport in Berlin is and remains an important part of everyday life. It is an experience that many Berliners share every day, and which makes up the charm of this city.