Daniel Thompson and I participated in an immersion using the Transpo Bus Services in South Bend to see how a patient living near Notre Dame’s campus could get to the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center if he/she has an appointment there. We initially got on the bus at bus stop “5” (see below) near the Martin’s Supermarket behind Notre Dame’s campus.
Once we arrived to the University Park Mall, we had to transfer buses in order to proceed to the Hospital.
Including the time it took to wait for a transfer bus at the mall, it took Daniel and I a total of around 57 minutes to get from the Martin’s Supermarket to the Saint Joe Regional Medical Center.
The trip felt long and a bit tiresome, which is valuable information to know considering the condition of a traveling ill patient. The cost for us was free as Notre Dame students. If we were not students the cost would be $2.00 to get to the hospital. The buses were punctual;however, we did not perform a return trip from the hospital back to Martin’s. While the bus drivers were kind and the seating was fairly comfortable, Dan and I talked about how taking the bus, as an ill and/or elderly patient, could be physically and mentally challenging and, in some time-sensitive situations, unpractical.