Category Archives: people

Still more on bus chicks in training

My friend Monique, although hardly a minor, is a BCiT in her own right. In March, she moved from transit-unfriendly Houston to Boston to accept a year-long contract position that advanced her career and satisfied her taste for adventure. Since it’s not a permanent job, and since she owns a home in Houston, she’s subletting a cool apartment in South Boston and getting around by bus, train, foot, and, very occasionally, Zipcar. (Boston, as some of you might know, is the home of Zipcar.)

Transit-based living agrees with Monique. She loves her walkable neighborhood and the freedom and financial benefits of getting around without a car. (She does, however, admit that she might not be as enthusiastic had she made the move in January.)

Unlike most transit types, who swear by faster, more reliable trains, Monique actually prefers the street-level option. (Would that we Seattleites had the choice!) Says Moni, “I prefer the bus to the subway because it allows me to learn and see the city and connect how all the neighborhoods relate to each other.” Apparently so. She is already amazing Boston natives with her impressive knowledge of the city.

Even with all the looking around, Monique still finds time to read on her rides. She’s finished several books that have been on her “list” for years, including one of my all-time favorites, White Teeth. (Wonder if any Boston librarians are keeping track?)

Those of you who read my Real Change column might remember Monique from her advice for avoiding unwanted bus macks. Her advice hasn’t served her well so far, as she’s been the recipient of more than her share, including several of the far more rare bus driver macks. One driver, who finishes his shift at around the same time she leaves her office, has taken such a fancy to her that he provides door-to-door service, dropping her off in front of her building on his way back to base.

Two months as a bus chick and she’s chartering buses? The woman could teach me a thing or two.

A Boston bus chick
Moni on MBTA

April Golden Transfer

Golden TransferThis month’s Golden Transfer goes to my good friend Char (yes, the same Char who hipped me to the life-size pictures at Greenfest and to the height-adjustable heels) and her husband John, an Eastside couple committed to reducing their car use.

In 2006, Char and John moved from two vehicles to one. They didn’t need cars to commute, and they usually spent their weekends together, so it made sense to share. Even when the car was available, Char would ride the bus “just because”–to head downtown or even to visit friends. (She’s visited me on the bus more than once.)

Earlier this month, Char and John decided to take their car-lite lifestyle to the next level. They turned in the vehicle they were leasing and committed to living without a car for eight weeks. At the end of the trial period, they will decide whether to remain car-free indefinitely or purchase a used car with cash. (Guess which outcome I’m hoping for?)

Picture
Char and John, heading downtown on the 545

Car-free life on the Eastside has its challenges (to make errands easier, they’re considering using a grocery delivery service and buying a bike), but, like car-free life anywhere, it also has many benefits. Char gives these reasons for dumping her two tons of extra baggage:

For me it’s a combination of motivators:
1. Minimize my carbon footprint
2. Decrease demand for fossil fuels
3. Save more money and simplify my lifestyle
4. Increase my overall physical fitness level
5. Enjoy the social benefits of riding public transportation

I couldn’t have said it better.

Thank you, Char and John, for your efforts. Even if you decide to return to car ownership, you will do so with a clearer understanding of your choice, and (I hope) a few lasting behavior changes. In the meantime, I’ll see you on the bus!

Another bus-based union

Three years ago, on his way home from work on the 308, Troy Kleweno saw Christie Hsieh. Six months later, he talked to her for the first time. And now, folks, Troy and Christie are engaged.

Tuesday afternoon, Troy devised a story to bring the two back to downtown Seattle. With a little pre-planning from Metro, the stage was set. When the 308 reached Lake City Way, Troy made his way up to the front of the bus, and using the bus intercom system, asked Christie for her hand.

(Source: Transportation Today)

I keep trying to tell y’all!

You can watch a video of the proposal, if you’re into that sort of thing. I can’t front: I am.

Bus luh (Source: King County)
“Bus luh”

Congratulations, Troy and Christie!

More birthdays (or, “They say it skips a generation.”)

Today is the birthday of my grandma, Bernice Saulter. Grandma Saulter was a bus chick before bus chicks were in style. (OK, so we’re not in style yet, but our day is coming.) When she joined her husband in Seattle after he found work here in the late ’30s, she took the bus out of necessity; they didn’t own a car. Years later, when my father was an adult and tried to teach her to drive, she ran off the road, developed a fear of cars, and vowed never to try again. She rode the bus and walked everywhere she needed to go until she died.

A bus memory:

When I turned six and needed to have my annual portrait taken, Grandma took me to Sears on the bus. We had both recently celebrated a birthday, and I chose this precious time alone with her to show that I remembered her new age.

“Grandma, are you 69?” I asked as I followed her up the steps of the 55, eagerly anticipating the only possible response: Why, yes I am, you smart girl!

But Grandma slipped her bus ticket into the fare box and took her seat behind the driver without a word. I climbed in next to her and tried again, this time tugging her sleeve to get her attention.

“Grandma, are you 69?”

Grandma put away her glasses, adjusted her wig, and fiddled with the handkerchief that she always kept in the pocket of her cardigan sweater, but she didn’t answer my question. My other grandmother, my mother‘s mother, who lived an airplane ride away and visited only occasionally, was hard of hearing, and so were the grandmothers of several of my friends. Grandma Bernice had apparently developed a similar affliction. Luckily, I knew just what to do.

I leaned close to her ear, and in my clearest voice, shouted, “GRANDMA, ARE YOU 69?”

At last, there was a response. This woman I adored, who smelled like Rose Milk and Mentholatum, who taught me to make cookies and cornbread and was never too busy to search for salamanders, turned to me and twisted her sweet face into an angry grimace.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” she nearly spat, then turned away again, staring out the bus’s front window as if I weren’t there.

She continued to ignore me for the remainder of the ride.

Later, my father explained that, while six-year-olds are eager to share their age with anyone who will listen, 69-year-olds are not always so eager. It was best, he said, not to ask Grandma about her age in public. I never asked her about her age again, in public or otherwise. Fortunately, she forgave my transgression, and we happily continued our bus partnership well into my teen years.

Happy birthday to another original bus chick.

August Golden Transfer

Golden TransferThis month’s Golden Transfer goes to Pierre Sunborg, a retired engineer who has made an actual hobby of riding the bus.

Pierre was interviewed on The Beat last Friday (good lookin’ out, Sarah). If you have time, listen to it–if for no other reason than to find proof that I’m not the only one who thinks riding the bus is fun.

A former world traveler, Pierre found himself Seattle-bound several years ago when his parents began to require full-time care. His wife encouraged him to try riding the 74, a route she had been instrumental in defining during her days as president of the Uptown (neighborhood) Alliance (and incidentally, the route Busfather drives on Wednesdays). The 74 just happens to be a route that requires passengers to have an NOAA pass to travel beyond a specific point on Sand Point Way, and, not surprisingly, the ride piqued Pierre’s interest in Metro.

These days, Pierre is in the middle of an ambitious project: riding every route in Metro’s system, from end-to-end, in order. Right now, he’s in the 100s. One of the things Pierre has learned from his Metro adventures is that you don’t have to go far from home to travel. Some routes he likes:

The 75, for the nice, long ride. It goes from the UW north along Lake Washington almost to the Snohomish County line, then east across the city to Ballard.

The 33, for the scenery. In the fall, he likes the ride to Discovery Park.

The 2, also for the scenery. It goes from Queen Anne all the way to the lovely beach at Madrona Park. (Because I know you all love Busfather as much as I do: The 2 is one of his former routes.)

The 60, for the variety of people. According to Pierre, the folks who ride come from all over the world. (I find that this is true of many buses, but now, I’ll have to check out the 60 and sample its flavor.)

So thanks, Pierre, for the inspiration and information (I’m going to ride the 75 and 60 ASAP). I’m still down to try the Night Owl routes if you are.

June Golden Transfer

Golden TransferThis month’s Golden Transfer goes to Geme “Pat” Calman, Metro’s Operator of the Year for 2006. Unfortunately, I missed the party this year, but here’s what I know about Pat:

He’s from San Francisco, and back in the day, he worked as a grip man on the cable cars. He’s been driving for Metro since 1980. Since 2000, he’s worked as a “report operator”:

Report operators are on constant stand-by waiting to fill any unexpected hole in the bus driving schedule caused by another driver’s illness or unexpected absence. That means Calman reports for work every day at Metro’s Bellevue Base not knowing what his assignment will be, or what route he will be driving.

“A report operator like Pat has to be an expert on every route at the base,” said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. “They tend to be our most experienced drivers, and they serve as a great resource for the newer drivers. Pat has repeatedly demonstrated his value as a mentor, and his willingness to help out whenever called upon is a tribute to his professionalism.”

I’ve heard that report operator positions are fairly coveted and only available to drivers with a lot of seniority. Is that because, if no one is sick or on vacation, Pat gets to chill at the base all day? I’m kidding. (I guess.)

Pat has a degree in psychology, which might explain why he’s managed so well as a bus driver.

“Pat is always customer oriented,” said Transit Operations Manager Jim O’Rourke. “His contributions to our organization extend far beyond driving a bus. He’s worked on a variety of committees and projects, including taking a leadership role in workplace health and safety issues.”

Calman also has commendations from bus riders, including one family of four who said he went out of his way to help them when they were stranded at the wrong transit center.

Pat Calman, 2007 Operator of the Year (photo courtesy of KC Metro)

 

I don’t think I’ve ever ridden with Pat, but I’d like to soon–first, because I always love riding with great drivers, and second, because I can’t come up with a nickname for him until we’ve met. No disrespect to his distinguished career, but there’s only one Busfather.

May Golden Transfer

Golden Transfer This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Howard Zinn–yes that Howard Zinn. I have no idea if the man rides public transportation (though he certainly strikes me as a bus nerd), but he sure knows how to write a comprehensive history. On this morning’s 48 ride, I was reading the most famous of his 20 books, A People’s History of the United States (Yes, I know I started it back in November, but life events required me to take a break, OK?) and was so completely engrossed by the chapter on the labor movements of the late 19th century that I darn near missed my stop. (I jumped up just as the driver was starting to close the doors.)

PictureThis in itself isn’t especially remarkable, except that I have an amazingly sensitive stop sense (I always know when my stop is coming, even if I’m not looking out the window–even if I’m sleeping), and I’m supremely anal about packing my things several blocks before it’s time for me to get off. In addition, I tend not to find nonfiction to be particularly engrossing. I think of it like vegetables–good for me, but not nearly as pleasurable as the dessert of my favorite fiction writers. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve missed my stop since childhood, and all of those incidents involved a novel. The fact that a history book had me in a the kind of trance usually reserved for Toni Morrison is worth noting–and rewarding.

So thank you, Dr. Zinn, for doing your part to keep bus chicks everywhere entertained–and educated–on their rides.