Public Transit
Public transit has been a regular part of my life since middle school. For me it was a natural, more direct transition from the school bus. My district held the buses hostage during a proposition to raise more taxes, and the citizens of Affton called their bluff. So, instead of the big yellow limo taking me to school in 7th grade, I began purchasing ticket books each week in the cafeteria and waited for the bi-state like working class folk.
The regular driver on our route was not as excited about this as us kids. I cannot recall his name. He had long scraggly hair, teeth missing, and threw the doors open and closed at each stop by yanking on the shiny metal handle with one of his aged-green tattoo-covered arms. It seems there are more rigorous uniform requirements these days.
This training proved valuable when, in my teens, I needed a way to get to work while saving up for a truck. I took the 10 to the 90 to clear tables at Cunetto House of Pasta on The Hill, and remember the magic of figuring out a transfer for the first time. Now my route had moving parts, and missing a connection cost a lot of time. The transit capstone in St. Louis is our light rail system, Metrolink. It’s nearly always on time and cleaner than any train I’ve seen anywhere. I love the Metrolink so much that my entire adult life, by choice my work and home has always been located near a station, regardless of automobile ownership status.
The next step beyond my city is connecting to another. Today I flew to Baltimore for a good friend’s wedding, and experienced a profound sense of satisfaction that these public transportation skills were moving me across the country. The train took me from my neighborhood to the airport this morning, where I boarded a flying bus, got off and took Bmore’s Link to their Red Line, straight to the front door of the church. An old favorite is Metrolinking with my bike to the Amtrak station, and cycling and riding the L around Chicago.
Utilizing public transit is empowering. It is like knowing a magic, universal language that gets you where you need to go.
