Spent the weekend in the bathroom, spackling and painting and preparing to grout. My body did not want to sleep and then didn't want to wake up, so I took a later bus today and what a bonus that turned out to be!Today's image tells much of the story. The top photo is the stop where I pick up the 81N. Well-used, a dirty patina covers the ground beneath the bench. An abundance of cigarette butts and small pieces of paper litter the area around the shelter. A cart from Trader Joe's seems a permanent fixture. Not sure what good the cart does staying at the shelter - guess TJ employees don't do cart searches beyond the bounds of their own parking lot. Regardless, I periodically look at the ground and wish someone would come by and steam clean the area, give it a chance to start anew. I figured neither Valley Metro nor the city of Tempe cared much about the conditions at the bus stops, and today I was proved wrong.
While waiting for the bus, the craft seen in the bottom picture pulled up next to the shelter. A man hopped out with a bag and a pokey litter picker-upper stick. He did a quick recon of the area, stabbing and securing the larger bits of paper. He put the bag and stick back and grabbed a hose out of the truck and did a quick run over the shelter floor with a pressure wash. He stuffed the hose back into the truck, jumped in and left. It was more of a drive-by cleaning - I would have preferred a lengthier hit on the shelter floor and some water on the bench, too. However, I can't complain as I didn't think anything was ever done. The bus came, we eventually caught up to the cleaning truck and I took a quick photo from the bus as we drove past.
As observed, this operation is courtesy of Tempe - my tax dollars are at work! I have been riding the bus very regularly for almost two years now, and this is the very first time I have ever seen the little stop cleaner. Wonder how long before I see them again?
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