Penza, 10 April 2015. PenzaNews. Alexei Kostin, deputy minister, head of the Business Development Department of the regional Ministry of Industry and a resident of Zarechny, shared some of his day-to-day experience of going to and from work by a shuttle bus (marshrootka) and a large bus, and compared the two kinds of public commute transportation.

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He described how he took the Zarechny bus on route No. 101 to go to work early on Friday, April 10.

“I have no words to describe it that wouldn’t be explicitly positive. It was fast, comfortable, clean and timely. The service is excellent, and I try to use it every day. In spite of the rush hour, you always get a chance to grab a seat, because usually the bus gets full by the city exit where people get a 10-ruble discount to the usual ticket price of 30 rubles. Actually, using a public bus instead of a personal car wins not only in cheapness, but also because I get an chance to walk through the pine forest by the Lesnaya recreation area, and meet a pack of resting elks, see squirrels find food, or even encounter a pack of ducks with ducklings. Moreover, a 20-minute walk breathing the cool morning forest air charges you up for the whole day,” Alexei Kostin wrote in his LiveJournal.

However, the deputy minister added, the shuttle bus ride he had taken the night before left him in an entirely opposite state of mind.

“As you remember, it was raining and snowing yesterday, and waiting for a bus in this sleet was rather unpleasant. I could get under a bus stop roof, of course, but there is always somebody who smokes nearby, and choosing between wet snow and cheap cigarette smoke is quite difficult. So I had to take a shuttle bus. I only have curses and bad wishes to the people who let this cart on public commute routes,” the state official stressed.

He added that his feet “simply did not fit between rows of seats in the shuttle bus, and standing there was impossible, because this ‘miniature bus’ is much smaller than I am tall.”

“This is indeed a ‘miniature bus’ designed for some pygmies or miniature Asians,” Alexei Kostin expressed his outrage.

The head of Business Development Department also said he took to listening to audiobooks during his hour-long city commute – especially English audiobooks, – and the larger buses have everything to enjoy this hobby.

“But, g-damn, the shuttle bus drivers are all die-hard music fans! Always music in the car! They are starting to enjoy the fabled Russian chanson less now, but I am still quite reluctant to listen to Metallica, or Grigory Leps together with Yelena Vaenga. And it’s just impossible to listen to audiobooks there: these annoying melodies plow into your mind even with high-end headphones, and even Agatha Christie’s captivating Destination Unknown loses the battle for my attention,” the deputy minister concluded.