You've Never Seen A Commuter Bus Like This Before

As a New Yorker, I know full well that a morning can be ruined by an overcrowded or unpleasant subway commute — being squished between sweaty strangers and a dirty cabin door is not exactly how I want to start my day. Well, a company called Leap has taken morning commutes to the next level by producing a line of San Francisco luxury buses. Yes, you read that correctly. Luxury. Buses.

It hard to imagine the words "luxury" and "bus" in the same sentence, but these buses are more like hipster coffee shops on wheels that also happened to take you to work (or wherever else you need to go). And the spacious Leap buses actually do sell coffee — and cold-pressed juices and snacks — that are all organic, of course. The bus is also equipped with WiFi and USB outlets, and you can pay for your ride, which is $4 to $6, via Bluetooth. If you want to get even more techy, you could even download the Leap app and snoop on the profiles that your fellow riders have posted. Though probably the best part about the Leap app is that you can see how far away the next bus is, and how many seats are available.

There are currently only a few stops on the bus routes, which run from the affluent Marina neighborhood to downtown San Francisco; however, the Leap website is currently asking for locals to suggest where the service's next routes and stops should be, so it looks like an expansion might be in the works.

While some might scoff at the idea of a luxury transit system like Leap, early reviews have actually been quite favorable. Wired wrote a piece entitled “What Mass Transit Can Learn From Elitist Buses Like Leap”; the San Francisco Business Times' article was called “BART leader: How S.F.'s fancy private buses could be a win for everyone”; and a review from the Golden Gate Express read “Recent luxury bus lines beneficial for future of transportation.” So even though Leap may seem obnoxious, if it’s actually good for San Francisco’s traffic congestion, who cares? Let the wealthy hipsters ride in peace.

All this talk of fancy-schmancy transportation got me thinking. How would the rest of our commutes look like with an upgrade? Let's imagine...

1. A Luxury Subway System

In the vein of Leap's vehicles, all subways cars would only accommodate up to 20 passengers, ensuring that everyone has enough space. The seats would be cushioned, and most importantly, cleaned frequently. There would be magazine and newspaper racks in each car, enabling commuters to read the latest issue of the Wall Street journal or Bust during their ride, and there would be an attendant going up and down the cars handing out fresh pastries. Train platforms would actually be swanky lobbies, and there would be no unpleasant odors or performers blasting music.

2. A Luxury Bike Commute

For this luxury bike commute, you wouldn’t have to break a sweat. You would be riding on a tandem bike, but those staffing the service would be doing all the pedaling. Your ride would come with complimentary sunglasses if its sunny out, and someone would hold and umbrella over your head if it starts to rain.

3. Our Own Personal Luxury Bus Commute

Sure, Leap sounds great, but if it were up to me, I would add a few things. A designated napping area (or entire bus!) would be perfect for those who don’t rise and shine, and a printer would help those who are rushing to class or work for forgot to prepare a few things.

4. A Luxury Car Commute

I think that this one is just called a taking a limo.

Image: Leap, Giphy (4)