“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds, will continue in others.”
– Rosa Louise McCauley Parks: February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005
Category Archives: people
January Golden Transfer
This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Donna Moodie, mother, restaurant owner, nonprofit board member, and newly minted bus chick. When I met Donna a few years ago (at her amazing restaurant, marjorie), she told me she was making an effort to ride the bus more often. In the past year, we’ve started to hang out outside of the restaurant, and she’s been true to her word.
In July, our mutual (and fabulous) friend, Tony, organized a group outing to the Maya Lin exhibit at the Henry, and Donna arrived sans voiture. Last fall, I met her for dinner at Lalibela, an Ethiopian restaurant at MLK & Cherry. She made the trip on the 3, with her seven-year old son, Max (and one of Max’s friends), in tow.
In 2007, despite recently moving from the Market to Interbay, Donna has become even more serious about changing the way she gets around. Here’s why:
Basically, I decided to ride more often because I started to think about my role as a citizen using a car, using resources that are limited, and changing the way I think about my right to all those resources. I saw An Inconvenient Truth, and it really rang clear with me that simple, small steps would be better than none at all. Taking the bus to and from work, with the exception of one errand-running day; making sure I get up in time to get Max on the school bus, so that I don’t think about driving him … trying to enjoy my bus time: reading, knitting, listening to music, and working on playlists for the restaurant.
So far, Donna is enjoying her “car-lite” lifestyle, despite challenges like riding home late at night, after the restaurant closes. She certainly has great stories to tell about her adventures. My favorite is the one about the friendly 18 driver who politely but firmly kicked two guys off the bus for cursing. “This is your stop, gentlemen,” he told them, even though it wasn’t, and they weren’t.
What I find most remarkable about Donna’s lifestyle change is the way she has approached it with her child. Max likes the bus (what seven-year-old doesn’t?), but sometimes, he’d rather take the car. At those times, she reminds him of the reasons for her decision, and that driving less often is an investment in his future. And when they ride together, they read stories, something, Donna says, “we both adore doing.”
So thanks, Ms. Moodie, for making an effort to live your values, and (especially) for passing them on to your son.
Martin Luther King, Jr., on the Montgomery Bus Boycott
From Stride Toward Freedom:
During the rush hours the sidewalks were crowded with laborers and domestic workers, many of them well past middle age, trudging patiently to their jobs and home again, sometimes as much as twelve miles. They knew why they walked, and the knowledge was evident in the way they carried themselves. And as I watched them I knew that there is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their courage and dignity.
Respect to those who came before, including (and especially) Dr. King himself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to celebrate his birthday (and mine) by raising my voice in support of peace and justice.
Sweet Caroline
Caroline (aka Mom): August 27, 1945-January 3, 2007
Some past entries in honor of the most charismatic and beautiful woman I have ever known:
Sanctimonious? Maybe. Suffocated? Definitely.
I rode the 4 to see her for the last time.
It’s strangely comforting to know that, when your world is ending, you can count on the loud beep of the lift, and some guy getting on in front of you who’s “out of change.”
Posts will be spotty in the coming days.
December Golden Transfer
This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Evan Siroky, a recent UW graduate and self-described “transit freak.” Evan is car-free by choice, and though only a few months into his first professional job, he’s already in a far better financial position than most of his peers. In addition to saving lots of money by not owning a car, he’s also earning lots of money by working a second job, as (it doesn’t get better than this, folks) a rider information specialist for Metro. Says Evan,
Almost every weekend I religiously go to King Street Center to tell people how to get from one place to another using public transportation. I, too, am carless and enjoy this lifestyle. Not owning a car saves me money, it is safer, and it is always a fun way to start a conversation. I now know almost every bus route in King, Pierce, and Snohomish County. People at my frat even started calling me Mapquest!
I met Evan a few weeks ago–to talk transit, of course. Would that all rider information specialists were as knowledgeable and passionate about transit as he is! Because he’s car free, the man knows his bus routes, and he actually spends his spare time creating tools that help him do his job better. Some examples:
A map of all of the park & rides in King County
A map of all the transfer centers in King County
He created the maps using Windows Live Local‘s “collection” feature. (I’m using the same tool to create interactive maps of bus routes I like. I’ll post the first one soon.) They do take a bit of time to load, so be patient.
Thanks, Evan, for providing an example of the benefits of a bus-based life, and for doing your part to make it easier for others to ride.
A special guest star
With the help of a few cool, food- and drink-minded folks from TCC, Bus Nerd and I threw a party last night. Early in the evening, I learned that one of our guests was well acquainted with Metro’s Operator of the Year, John Fabre (known to most of you as Busfather). A short phone call (and short walk–turns out he lives right down the street) later, Busfather was standing in my living room. I even have proof:
Busfather with some of his fans
More coincidences:
1) Busfather drove the 2 when I rode it to school back in the day. (I knew he looked familiar!)
2) My friend Kelley, who also attended the party (and the same elementary school), is Busfather’s dentist.
Busfather’s presence definitely added flavor to our little gathering. And my brother had the nerve to leave early to go to a party for Devin the Dude…
Fifty-one years ago today…
A very brave woman started something big.
“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds, will continue in others.” – Rosa Parks
RIP, Original Bus Chick. Much respect.
November Golden Transfer
This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Sue Mariconda (aka “Susiepooh“), a New York City native who sold her car earlier this month (on 11/14, to be exact), and (wisely) signed up for the city’s One Less Car Challenge. Here’s what she had to say about her decision:
I didn’t even have a drivers license until I was 23 … didn’t even own a car until I was 30. Then I met a guy in NJ in the suburbs and needed a car. I became a car addict and drove places I certainly could’ve walked to or taken the bus to. Two years ago we moved out here and were living in Lynnwood, which is also a very car obsessed suburb … I got to work by bus (CT413) but still had to drive to the park & ride …
We moved to West Seattle right on the 120 route in March. I was very excited to not have to take my car out to go to work at all. Then it just sat there. I figured I was averaging 4,000 miles a year, and it was hardly worth holding on to it. When the apartment management decided to start charging $25 for the extra parking spot (monthly) … I finally decided to get rid of the car.
Our winner, enjoying one of the many good reasons for her decision
West Seattle is, apparently, a good training ground for bus chicks. Less than two weeks after taking the plunge, Sue has already graduated to advanced bus riding skills.
My husband has a car also, and I realized that most of the places I go to are either reachable by bus, or I’m carpooling with him somewhere. So I thought we’d be able to coordinate our schedules. But I’ve been very impressed with myself that even though he’s away on business and the car is in the garage, ready for me to use, I still took the bus today to the West Seattle Junction (120/128) to run some errands.
She’s even made a few discoveries that might prove useful to the rest of us.
I … got myself a nifty bus chick bag (Victorinox Flex Mini Backpack in red) that converts to a messenger bag if I so wish, is low profile, and holds my gazillion bus maps and supplies for while I’m on the run. Then I found these cool snowflake shaped reflectors online at pedsafe.com so I can stay safe while out at night walking to and from buses.
Welcome to the fold, Sue. We’re very happy to have you.
“He’ll get you there”: Bus Chick meets the Busfather
Today I got to attend Metro’s Operator of the Year ceremony. Since childhood, I’ve been seeing the pictures of winners in the ad slots inside buses, but I’ve never actually met an Operator of the Year, or (that I know of, anyway) had the privilege of riding on a bus that was driven by one.
To be selected as Operator of the Year is a huge honor. Winners are chosen by their peers (all of the operators of the month from the past year) and are celebrated (and roasted) at a fairly big ceremony, complete with blown-up photographs and specially printed napkins.
Operator of the Year John Fabre (aka the Busfather)
This year’s winner, John Fabre, is an OG Seattleite and has been driving buses in the city since 1970, back when Metro was still Seattle Transit. He currently drives route 99, also known as the Waterfront Streetcar, but he’s driven every type of vehicle that Metro operates–including (back when it was still under Metro’s jurisdiction) the Monorail.
The Busfather and the County Kingpin
John’s family (including his grown son*, who flew in from the East Coast) attended the ceremony, and so did the county exec, lots of Metro muckity mucks, and most of the previous operators of the year. Each of the different Metro departments gave John a gift (from Maintenance, a clean bus every day, from Facilities, a prime parking space with a special sign, etc.). He even got a ring, and (I kid you not) several people kissed it.
Bus Chick (that’s me!) and the Busfather
I got to meet John after the ceremony (didn’t kiss the ring, though). Today was also the first time I actually got to go inside a Metro base. (I can’t tell you what I saw, or the Busfather might send someone to rough me up.) Did I mention there were three kinds of cake? Except for the abundance of balloons (which I happen to have an irrational fear of), it was this bus chick’s fantasy party. I hope they put me on “the list” next year.
* This post was corrected on December 4th. I originally wrote that John had two sons.
Bus Chick meets her bus hero
Today, I had coffee with Anirudh Sahni. I first heard of Anirudh several years ago, back when his efforts to change the 545 route were getting a lot of attention. At that time, I worked at Microsoft and rode the 545 every day. Though the changes he was advocating wouldn’t have affected me, I thought they made sense, and I was impressed by his (please excuse the Microspeak) “drive for results.” Anirudh researched. Anirudh organized. Anirudh met with transit officials. Anirudh wrote letters to the editor. People like me responded to surveys and said stuff like, “I hope ‘they’ hurry up and make those changes.”
In the end, all that work changed the route only slightly, but it changed Anirudh fairly dramatically. What started as an attempt to make his commute to Microsoft more convenient became a full-fledged crusade, and the crusader became, as he puts it, “obsessed with transportation.”
Anirudh no longer rides 545; he no longer works at Microsoft. These days he spends a lot of his time working on transportation issues, and (lucky for me) he is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about public transit in this region. Two (of the many) things I learned from him today:
1) Fully 79% of Metro riders own cars.
2) During peak travel times, the average car rider takes up 25 times the amount of space on the road as the average bus rider.
People are choosing to ride, and they’re choosing to do so for good reason.
Anirudh with his “545 file”