The wheels on the bus go meow meow meow

Luckily, I didn't set up a formal appointment with the bus because I am now watching it drive away. The deceptively named bus stop, TTU University Center West, led me to think that the route picked up at the bottom floor of the UC. Precisely at four o'clock, however, I am left watching the bus come to a halt in front of Clement, which is several hundred feet away. I think to myself, in the usual fashion, "It'll come back. It has to."

Ten minutes later, I'm still standing on the same 3x3 concrete sidewalk square behind the UC. "Yeah. that's not gonna happen."

Bummed because I actually did the research this time, I walk over to Clement Hall and notice the CATS bus stop sign. With the printed schedule in hand, I wait patiently for the next bus to come through- only twenty minutes to go.

As the bus pulls up, I realize that these are brand-new buses: not some discount buy-one-get-one-half-off jalopies. The brakes don't squeal when stopping, nor does the door squeak when opening. By the spotless interior, shiny wheels and new car smell, I could definitely tell that I wasn't on an inner-city Chicago bus.

There was no fear of catching a disease when I grabbed the handrail and climbed the steps to the vastly vacant interior. There was no dirt. There was no grime. There was no stench.

The smooth blue vinyl seats gave off the only smell in the entire cabin. My backpack and I were the two sole occupants of the bus, leaving 24 more of those blue vinyl seats empty. My backpack and I were on a journey to an unknown destination.

"Where ya headed?" Irma Meade, the bus driver, questions.

"Wherever the bus route goes," I replied. "I don't really know yet, just figured I would try out the new system."

I grab a seat behind the driver and take a free route guides as the bus leaves Clement Hall, continuing south on Peachtree Avenue. The Green route looks most appealing because it's the one that goes the furthest. It has the most options.

"Anywhere on campus is a flagdown area." Meade says. "Just pull the yellow rope anytime you want while we're on campus, and I'll pull over."

As it turns out, any time the bus is in a 20 mph zone or lower, passengers can be let on or off the bus.

We pick up our first passenger at the town square: he's a Tech student as well.

"I might as well use it, it's free," the student says. "They're kinda cool too."

We make our first official drop-off when the student asks the driver to stop just before the Wal-Mart area.

Meade says "We can't go anywhere on Wal-Mart property, because of insurance reasons, so this is as close as I can get you."

According to Meade, the Upper Cumberland Human Resources Agency is waiting on lawyers' clearance to make the Wal-Mart shopping center parking lot an official stop. For now, the bus pulls over alongside East Veterans Drive, which runs beside the shopping center.

"I hate to do it, but [UCHRA and CATS] gotta start somewhere I guess."

It's the same situation alongside the Carmike Highland 12 theatre. The actual bus stop is several hundred feet away from the movie theatre building, by Jefferson Avenue. To get to the stop, patrons of the bus have to walk down the side of the road, where there is no shoulder: this could become a problem in the future.

"I enjoy the bus so far. I wouldn't mind a few more passengers," Meade says, "but then again it is the first official day[of the route]."

It was my time to pull the slim yellow cord, anxious as to the noise it's going to make. A funny escape hatch-type buzzer initiates when the trigger is pulled. We stop at the Jackson Plaza Shopping Center in front of Rack Room Shoes.

According to Meade, the last bus that picks up from the Jackson Plaza stop is around seven at night.

After perusing the magazine racks at Books-A-Million, then pricing some tools at Sears, I head back to the stop in front of the shoe store. At 6:17 the bus rolls to a stop, motor gently purring.

I climb on board and remark "Right on time."

"Good to see you again," Meade replies, "Back to Tech?"

"Sounds good to me."

According to Meade, drivers of the CATS are instructed to be on time, but if anything else, to be late. "It's always better for them [the passengers] to be waiting on us for two or three minutes, rather than getting left behind."

After the Jackson Plaza Shopping Center, we head back to Tech on Willow Avenue, making one small detour through the Seventh Street Development. Meade notes that the residential developments along the routes are also flag down areas.

As we pull up to the stop in front of Clement Hall, I notice two people. Clad with backpacks, they are patiently awaiting Cookeville's newest form of public transportation. Meade and I part ways and two more passengers, a guy and girl holding hands, climb on.

Hopefully the couple enjoyed the smooth ride, comfy blue seats and unmistakable new car smell as much as I did.