Last week, though, I had to go a bit farther afield. It was an unusually busy day for deliveries, and we only had one driver instead of our normal two, and things were getting backed up. It finally got to the point where we decided that if we didn't resort to drastic measures, we'd fall helplessly behind and never be able to catch up. Looking at the addresses on the orders, I decided that three of them were close enough together that I could walk them ... if I took a bus to the first of the addresses.
So that's what I did. I lucked out in that a bus was pulling up to the stop outside the shop just as I exited the store, so it only took me ten minutes or so to get there. The next stop was a seven-minute walk away, and the third another six minutes away. And from there, it was another quick bus trip back to the shop, though I did have to wait a bit for a bus. All in all, it took me about 45 minutes.
It would have been faster in a car, of course, but as is often the case, the route was considerably more straightforward on foot than it would have been behind the wheel. Because of the one-way streets downtown, the driving distance between the first and second addresses was twice as long as the walking distance. Also, I didn't have to deal with parking, which is always a plus. And it was kind of nice to get out of the store for a while.
Still, it's not something I want to to do again any time soon. I felt a little bad having to leave the store; two people is enough to keep the store running, but it wouldn't have been fun if a rush of customers had come in. Plus, it's just a really inefficient way to make deliveries.
