Bus Veteran Rolls With the Punches : Transportation: Riding is ‘better than Zen,’ says Van Arsdale France, 82, a booster of mass transit. But it doesn’t hurt to keep your whisky handy.

To ride the bus, you need the speed of a cat, the philosophy of a Zen monk and a small bottle of whisky.

You need the mind set of Van Arsdale France, an author and retired Disney executive who sold his Ford--he can’t remember the model--eight years ago for $800 and has depended on the bus ever since.

France, 82, is not, nor has ever been, an employee of the Orange County Transportation Authority. But he may be the agency’s best spokesman, having self-published a pamphlet extolling the virtues of riding the bus. He has sold several dozen copies to friends.

On a recent bus ride from his home in Santa Ana to his old haunts in Anaheim, France talked about a pending proposal that would use transportation money to help pay off the county’s bankruptcy debts.

“It’s totally unfair to take money taxpayers voted for,” he said, referring to the Measure M sales tax money earmarked for transportation projects, “and put it down the same rat hole they’ve been putting it in.”

Under some plans proposed by state and county officials, the county would take more than $1 billion from OCTA. The result, say OCTA officials, could be a drastic reduction in bus service, which serves many of the county’s poorest residents.

Although riding the bus may not be the sexiest or most humorous proposition, France said, it is one of the county’s most valuable assets and can take riders with the right attitude almost anywhere they want to go.

“Riding a bus is better than Zen,” he says. “You become adjusted to other people and circumstances. What the hell? It’s all in your attitude.”

On a standing-room-only bus, France is the first to jump at a seat that opens up. “See, you gotta be fast,” he explains. And tucked away in his brown vinyl shoulder bag is a miniature bottle of J&B; Scotch (used only once, he explains, to spike his coffee at the end of a particularly long day).

France gave up his Ford after his vision began failing and he misjudged a U-turn. But he has more than made peace with his new form of transportation; he has come to respect and admire it.

Perched on his bus seat high above the din of traffic, France ticks off the reasons why more people should ride the bus:

* It reduces pollution and congestion.

* It saves thousands of dollars in car repair, insurance and gas costs.

* It has given him a perfect driving record.

France is one of 50,000 county residents who use the bus each day. Some are too frail to drive. Others cannot afford a car or are disabled.

On Thursday, France hopped on the bus at 10 a.m. and returned home at 3:30 p.m. That day, France stopped at an automated teller machine in Costa Mesa, visited the Disneyland bookstore, where his book on the Magic Kingdom was sold out, and took in the sights of downtown Santa Ana.

France will spend about two hours riding the bus, more than double the travel time by car. He says the worst part about the bus is the wait, sometimes more than 15 minutes.

A fellow rider will rave that the newspaper killed Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia, whose obituary is on the front page. A girl will try to sneak on without paying, only to be caught by the bus driver.

Many of the passengers will be women with young children. Also, a number of people in their 30s and 40s are riding the bus; probably workers at the hotels around Disneyland, France says. There will be a sprinkling of senior citizens and teen-agers. Two people in wheelchairs will use the bus and its electric lift.

No one will hassle France, who says his worst experience was once falling asleep and ending up in Newport Beach.

“I look at it as an adventure,” France says.

Although lack of a car has prevented France from taking vacations to cities such as San Francisco and San Diego, he has adjusted to life in his hometown without a car.

On one street near his house is the dentist’s office, on another is the doctor’s office. When he needs to, he rides in a car with friends or his fiancee, Stel Webb. Sometimes, he takes a taxi.

But often, France says he will refuse rides.

“I look forward to getting on the bus and the anonymity of the bus,” he says. “There is a certain solitude. You sit on the bus, you get out your reading material, and you leave the driving to someone else.”

France says the money saved by riding the bus has helped him avoid the poorhouse. He never planned for his retirement, and before that, never managed his money well. (Before Disney World opened in the 1970s, France sold his stock options because he thought the Florida venture would fail. It’s something he doesn’t like to talk about.)

But he does like to compare the differences between a bus system and light rail.

France says buses are better because it’s easier to plan routes than build train stations. But he says bus systems are easier targets for cuts by politicians because buses are not as glamorous as a shiny new subway.

Does France ever miss driving down Pacific Coast Highway with jazz blaring?

“It’s not as fun as it used to be,” he says, “because it’s so busy.”

France keeps his driver’s license current. In case he is driving with someone and has to take the wheel, he will be prepared, at least in theory. But what does he think would happen in practice?

“I hope driving is like riding a bicycle,” he says.