Lexiington, KY
I have lived all over this country and have enjoyed two careers, first serving for 24 years with the US Coast Guard, and then teaching high school in Prince William County, Virginia. I am happy to say that I was able to rely on public transportation, primarily rail, for most of my adult life.
Early in life, the Coast Guard sent me to NYU for a masters. At the same time my wife was attending Hunter College and we could count on the NY subway.
When my job moved us the Philadelphia region, it took one experience with the Schuylkill expressway to determine I would be taking the train. With transit you become comfortable with people from various walks of life. The commuter train from Norristown to Philly was filled with businessmen in suits and ties and changing to the subway, I sat with passengers in t-shirts and baseball caps.
Later living in the DC area, I would often drive to a convenient parking location, and then use mass transit for as much of my trip as possible. Sometimes I would cut through Ft. McNair and walk along the Potomac! Those short walks between transit stops gave me an easy way to enjoy nature and the world around me.
For me taking public transit has been a joy, giving me the ability to get to know the places I have lived, and being a passenger has given me valuable time to read and write. In fact, one of my daily ferry trips, often gave me a relaxed place to complete reports for my Coast Guard job.
Of course, good public transportation is often faster than driving, and I have smiled man times as my commuter train flew by cars on congested sections of I95 in Virginia, or the Schuylkill Expressway between Norristown and Philadelphia, PA.
Coast Guard service helps a person respect and appreciate the power and danger of water and weather variations. My respect for our environment is another reason I want to see deeper investments in public transportation, and why when I do drive, it’s in a hybrid car. To me it’s just common sense to get as many people as possible out of traffic, and onto shared, efficient vehicles. Doing that reduces air pollution and improves public health. What bothers me – is that we don’t make this an option for enough people.
These days I am living in Lexington, KY. I am happy to be near my adult son, but living here comes with the drawback of limited public transportation. I am more dependent on a car now than I was for most of my adult life. I can still drive, but many people in my age group, are literally stuck at home. Their eyesight, health or limited budgets have forced them to give up driving, and the lack of public transit in KY results in a loss of independence. Our freedom is tied up in the ability to get where we need to go. Without good public transportation options people have to rely on favors from friends, family and neighbors, or from charity services just to get to the doctor or grocery store. I want our elected representatives to think long and hard about that, and about how easy it would be to give millions of Americans more independence through clean, shared rides.
Elected people at every level of government can press for these kinds of changes. At the federal level Congressman Hank Johnson, from Atlanta, GA has put forward a practical proposal to increase transit service – everywhere – rural, suburban areas as well as small and large cities. Congress should make sure that this proposal becomes part of the next big transportation package Good reliable public transit service is at the heart of giving all Americans the ability to enjoy our freedoms, without a car.