Have You Ever Picked Someone Up on a Bus Trip?

One of the hallmarks of being youngish on the East Coast is, every so often, taking a 3+ hour bus ride to visit a neighboring city. In fact, the bus routes between DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston are often full of cute guys and girls who, faced with the bleak prospect of sitting in traffic with nothing but their iPhones to entertain them, will start cruising their fellow bus riders.

While it hasn’t happened to me, a surprising amount of my friends can boast of being hit on (or successfully hitting on someone) while stuck somewhere in the outskirts of Delaware.

When you’re on a bus, you’re usually removed from your friends (which makes it easier to talk to other people), and there are so many built-in conversation starters. (“Do you know what time it is?” “Do you know where we are?” “Is this bus stopping in Cherry Hill?” ”Does it bother you if I put my arm around you? Yes? Ok.”)

If someone turns out to be less than friendly, who cares? You’ll never see them again. Chatting someone up is totally worth the risk. (Just know the “I don’t want to be bothered” signals, like if they repeatedly put in their headphones, “nap,” etc.)

What’s more, a long bus ride can totally take the shape of a first date. You meet, you small talk, you pick up some food at a rest stop, you maybe bring some beers onto the bus, you get to know each other better, and at the end of the night you make plans to see each other again.

It’s kind of like being at a very intimate, mobile mixer, no?

What do you guys think of meeting someone on the bus?