From Deseret News archives:
Riding route 22: Passengers cross paths on the State Street bus
Just a few seats behind the driver sits 18-year-old David Felipe Gomez in a plaid shirt and jeans, a tiny ring piercing his lower lip. One seat away is Chris Hopkin, wearing a yellow tie and polished shoes, and he rests one leg on the seat as he scrolls through a handheld computer.
In the Salt Lake area, an average of 56,000 people ride the bus each weekday. Most follow an unspoken code: You don't sit next to someone if an empty seat is available, and you generally don't talk or make eye contact. Riders will stare out the window, close their eyes, flip through a book or look at their cell phone.
Anywhere from 12 to 50 people ride the Route 22 bus at 8 a.m. It leaves each morning from the 6400 South TRAX station in Murray and ends at the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub at 600 West and 200 South.
The bus brings people together who might otherwise never cross paths. Sometimes, schedules and lives will intertwine. Or people will get off the bus, to have their seats taken by others.
The driver
About five minutes before he's scheduled to leave at 8 a.m., Chuck Ackerson wanders outside the bus to talk with Tom Brotherson, a fellow driver who goes by "Tom Tom." Brotherson drives the 8:15 bus, just after Ackerson.
|
He took a job as a bus driver because he had a young family and needed to provide.
His mother and father are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His father was a technical sergeant during World War II. His mother was eligible for burial in Arlington because of his father's service.
Comments
- Gas prices remain near 2009 high 2:19 p.m.
- Man arrested in '03 kidnapping 2:18 p.m.
- Jackson's sister blames doctor 2:17 p.m.
- Jackson doctor avoids jail 2:17 p.m.
- Red Cross sells pieces of history 2:16 p.m.
- Plain says she prays for Levi 2:15 p.m.
- Uninsured more likely to die in E.R. 2:14 p.m.
- 'Idol' winner Allen remains humble 2:14 p.m.
- New Leona Lewis CD echos growth 2:13 p.m.
- 2 stranded hikers rescued 2:00 p.m.
- MWC expand? Get rid of deadweight
- Relieved Cougs prep for Falcons
- Wounded Utes limp home
- Jazz rookies had to grow up quickly
- Apostle's wife felt comfort in attack
- TCU stays 4th in AP; Y. 19th, U. 23rd
- Big games keep UHSAA coffers full
- Win in New Mexico good for Y?
- RSL surprised by Chicago's Fire
- Bennett at center of GOP storm
- TCU creams U.
233 - BYU happy to escape with victory
232 - Editorial: Mormons and gay rights
216 - Will state consider gay rights law?
156 - Can BYU root for (ick) Utah Utes?
131 - RSL heads to MLS title game
131 - Utes remain silent about BCS
120 - TCU stays 4th in AP; Y. 19th, U. 23rd
112 - Celtics crush Jazz
104 - 5A: Bingham rolls to title game
93
American Express says it's not going to be a closed-wallet holiday for...
How do you handle kids and contests? Our oldest daughter, 7, is of the...
Wow, I am curious if you actually believe what your saying or if your just a...
"The Fact is, they were Progressive, Against the Status Quo,...
"Jacob Baker" 1:39 p.m...........Wow, you must not have heard of too many...
Thank you anonymous for finally putting my thoughts into words. All of you...
This was the decent thing to do. Thank you for sparing Elizabeth and her...
I repeat where is your evidence? empty rhetoric is not going to cut it.
Is someone having a little too much "oregano" on the all-natural brownies?
The UTES get spanked by TCU, drop below BYU in the polls, and yet they're...
I enjoy the outdoors. I'm in my late 40s and in better shape than most men...
Utah goes to the Las Vegas bowl on off years, BYU goes there on good years.


You can be the first to comment on this story.