Five Tips For Bus Travel In Antigua

Although the amount of registered vehicles in Antigua is in the tens of thousands, a lot of people still depend on public transportation to travel around Antigua. Below are five tips to keep in mind on you next journey by bus:

source

1. Always allow extra time for travel. Depending on your final destination, give yourself at least 30 minutes of travel time. This will include walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, traveling by bus and walking to your final destination. Nothing is worse than arriving late because you underestimated the time it will take to get there.
2. Upon enter a bus, greet the passengers and the bus driver with a "Good morning" "Good afternoon" or "Good evening" This is out of common decency and respect for your fellow passengers. It also shows that you still possess the manners you mama taught you.
3. Keep your music to yourself. Although the speaker quality on the latest cellular phones have gotten better, it doesn't mean you have to share your music with your fellow passengers. The only person who has the right to blast their music in a bus is the bus driver and sometimes his selections are questionable. Your personal choice of music is just that - personal - so use ear buds.
4. Use ear buds instead of headphones. Although big, chunky headphones are fashionable right now, it's better to travel with ear buds. Ear buds are lighter and take up less space and it is easier to have only one in your ear as opposed to the chunky headphones. You should always be aware of your surroundings as you never know when something will happen and you would have to act quickly. This would be near impossible if you can't hear.
5. When in doubt give the bus driver a little more than the bus fare. For short trips you can give him $3 and for longer ones $4 (during the day) when you are not absolutely sure of the bus fare. It's better to have them give you back change than have the whole bus waiting for you to pull out extra change.

For many people living in Antigua, traveling by bus is a necessity. It is their only way of getting to and from work and/or school. It also gives individuals a sense of freedom and independence as they don't have to depend on family and friends to drive them around.

Introduction of Bus Stop Antigua

First of all, welcome to Bus Stop Antigua and thank you for visiting the blog. What is Bus Stop Antigua? you ask. It is your one stop for all information related to traveling around Antigua via bus. It was borne from the realization that I knew nothing about the local public transportation with the exception of traveling from where I lived to town, St. John's and back.

Over a one year period, my car had been repossessed twice, was out of commission at least once or was needed by a family member. I had to rely on public transportation and it was in these situations that I realized I didn't know the following

• The bus numbers to take to get to where I live from St. John's
• The cost of the fare to travel from where I live to St. John's
• The cost of the fare to travel at night
• At what time it was considered night

 It was late 2012, when I was talking with family members that I realized that I was not the only person who knew very little about traveling around Antigua by bus. It was also in that moment that the idea for Bus Stop Antigua came to be.

Who is Bus Stop Antigua for? It's for you,

• the local who may drives or have been driven who now finds themselves without a vehicle;
• the new resident who is still trying to make their way around Antigua;
• the visitor who is either looking for a cheaper way to travel around Antigua or wants to have an adventure and really see life through the eyes of the locals;
• the local who only knows their bus home but wants to visit a different village.

 The website is simple to use, just select the village or residential area from the drop down menu on the homepage or the top right hand corner of all the pages. You will be directed to the appropriate bus route or a page that will give you options of  bus routes. Bus Stop Antigua is a work in progress so expect to find new features as we grow.

What should you expect from this blog? Expect interesting information such as the following:

• Pictures taken around Antigua;
• Monthly looks at books written by Antiguan writers;
• Information on what's going on in Antigua;
• Fun stuff produced by Antiguans
• Updates on the Bus Stop Antigua site

So to keep up to date on all things Bus Stop Antigua, subscribe to the blog, like the Facebook page and follow on Twitter.