Another
drippy forecast derailed my plan to check out possible great streets in the Napa Valley. And with final holiday preparations underway,
I can’t reschedule the trip until after Christmas. (Had I known that planning a series of field
trips would have brought needed rain to the North Bay, I would have done so a
year ago.)
However, the
unexpected gap in my schedule gives me an opportunity to touch upon the sense
of community that can form among transit riders, a subject of unexpected
topicality.
I sit on the
Transit Advisory Committee for the City of Petaluma. That committee recently adopted a policy asking
all committee members to ride a selected bus route at least once a month.
The
intention is for the members to observe the performance of the route under
different operating conditions, which will improve their skills at reviewing
overall transit operations. (Some
committee members ride Petaluma Transit far more frequently, using it to help
conduct their daily lives, which provides even better insights.)
As a result
of the new policy, I recently spent a couple of morning hours riding the 1T
route, which conveys students to and from a pair of local schools. It was a pleasure to observe the bus driver
as he managed his route, holding to schedule and consistently checking that the
passengers were boarding their intended bus.
But even
more interesting was the sense of community evident among the bus riders. It was 7:30am on the way to morning classes,
so there was no exuberance in the greetings, but as new riders boarded the bus,
other riders would make eye contact or and give a slight wave to acknowledge
the first sight of daily acquaintances. As
a group, they didn’t seem likely to party together, but they knew each other,
were pleased to see each other in the morning, and would have been diminished
if one of them had ceased riding the bus.
Perhaps the
best moment came when the driver found no one waiting at a bus stop. As the driver re-entered the flow of traffic,
he spotted a tardy rider huffing his way toward the bus stop. The driver slipped onto a shoulder so the
rider could board. The delinquent rider gave
an embarrassed smile to the other riders and they acknowledged his chagrin.
From a later
conversation with the Transit Manager, I understand that extra stops aren’t an approved
practice and could garner a reprimand for the driver. I understand the reasons for the policy, but
still like living in a world where a bus driver will bend the rules to
accommodate a regular rider, especially one who is part of a bus community.
I mention
this story because of a similar, but much more dramatic, transit saga that
occurred on the opposing side of the globe in the past week.
As the
terrorist hostage situation developed in Sydney last week, public transit was filled
with people escaping from downtown. On
one train, a passenger, Rachel Jacobs, observed a Muslim woman, Mariam
Veiszadeh, removing her head scarf in apparent fear of the reactions of other
passengers to the terrorist situation downtown.
Jacobs, unwilling to let fear pervade her train, went to Veiszadeh’s
side, encouraged her to retain the scarf, and offered to accompany her on the
remainder of her trip.
From that
initial act, a Twitter hashtag #illridewithyou grew as other Sydney transit
users tweeted their transit travel plans and stated
their willingness to accompany transit riders who might be traveling in fear.
The scale in
Sydney was far greater and more serious than in Petaluma, but the underlying reality
is the same. A community is formed among
transit riders, a community that, most days, is only comprised of a wry smile
but, in more stressful situations, will be honored with a protective arm.
Transit is
essential to communities. It eases
congestion, reduces emissions, and provides an alternative for those who can’t
afford a car or choose to do without.
But transit is susceptible to disruption by those who would undermine our
cities and who see transit as an easy target.
The naturally forming communities among transit riders can help push
back those forces of disruption. And
that’s a very good thing.
My next post
will fall on Christmas Eve. In keeping
with the day, I’ll offer a couple of urbanist Christmas stories.
As always,
your questions or comments will be appreciated.
Please comment below or email me.
And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
No comments:
Post a Comment