Bellingham, WA – My name is Lucy Braginski. I am a student at Western Washington University in Bellingham. I’ve lived in Washington my whole life, and have been driving since I was 16. I also took the bus to school sometimes in high school. Transportation is definitely something that I think I take for granted, because it was so accessible to me growing up.
Now that I am in college, I don’t have a car, so I rely very heavily on the public transportation system in Bellingham. The transportation is very reliable and accessible for students. There are lots of apps that track routes and times. Because Bellingham is pretty small, I can get where I need to go with the bus.
The bus is a really important staple for our community. I usually walk to the grocery store near school, but sometimes I take the bus when it is raining or when I have heavy groceries. Bellingham’s hills can make even short walks hard, so it’s nice to have another option. I also take the bus downtown, and once you’re downtown, you can pretty much walk everywhere.
The buses near campus usually come every 5 to 10 minutes. The buses run less frequently in the evenings, and less frequently the further you get from campus and downtown.
We need better access to the local urgent care clinics and the emergency room. There were a couple incidents last year where I had to go to the urgent care clinic on the other side of the highway, and it was a whole ordeal to get there. There was another time where I needed to go with a friend, and it was late at night, so we took an Uber. Medical care should be more accessible.
The Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act would allow WTA to improve the bus service area, which benefits both students and locals. Outside of the university neighborhood of Bellingham, there is a lower income population. There are people who can’t afford to drive and rely on transit to get around.
The buses helped me transition to being an independent adult. Freedom of movement gives me autonomy. Going to college is the first time a lot of people have this kind of independence and freedom, so it’s wonderful that there are bus drivers that can help.
The bus encourages community in ways we often overlook. WTA recently posted their bus driver of the year on Instagram, and the comments were full of riders saying how kind he was, and how just a simple “hi” from him could brighten their day. Moments like that show how public infrastructure, like transit, brings people together. That gives me hope.
I am studying religion and one day, I want to be a Rabbi. Community is one of my core values. Personally, I’m trying to be more extroverted to build a stronger community, so I’ve started chatting with people at bus stops. Something as ordinary as the bus can remind us that we share the world and that we are all humans, which isn’t possible if we stay isolated from people who don’t seem like us on the surface.