For those of you who ride the Valley Transportation Authority bus line number 23, you may have noticed that on top of the annoying electronic announcements, the bus can be agonizingly overcrowded at certain times of the day, specifically around commute hours and when schools get out.

Sometimes the bus is so heavy with passengers it barely tops 10 miles per hour while trekking the overpass that avoids the Caltrain tracks off West San Carlos Street and Bird Avenue. And it is a drag having to stand for the entire two hour and 10 minute duration of the bumpy bus ride from De Anza College to the Alum Rock Transit Center, or vice versa. Or, how about the classic moment where the only two spots on the bike rack are full and you have to miss the next two busses because the driver will not let you bring your bike on the bus.

For the downtrodden and unfortunate, I sympathize. In the first two years of going to De Anza, riding the 23 to and from school made up nearly 30 percent of my 12-hour day of classes and work. Thankfully, my father is allowing me to use his car most of the week, no longer making this vicious hell a reality.  

For those of you with bicycles, God help you. Somehow, Santa Cruz Metro Transit has found a way to fit three bicycles on the front of the bus and another two inside the bus within designated bike areas. If the two front bicycle brackets are full on a VTA bus, then try to smooth talk the coach operator into letting you park your bike near the back exit. Promise to not be a fire hazard and insist that you are a student and have to get to school. If all else fails, race the bus on your bike. With the right motivation, it is possible to keep up with the bus until one of the spots on the bike rack opens up. Also, it is a great way to burn calories and give the driver a piece of your mind over the next mile or two. 

If finding a seat is an issue, then I suggest getting on in less crowded areas, if possible. Places where a majority of passengers get off are downtown on 2nd Street and Santa Clara Avenue, as well as Valley Fair Mall.

Personally, I suggest that the VTA take some of the “accordion” type busses that the line 22 uses and put them on the 23 route during the busier times of day. Not only would this save the VTA gas on the longer trip from San Jose to Palo Alto, it would double the capacity of the 23 line.