Public transportation has impacted my life in two big ways. I started working in a part time retail job my senior year of high school - however, I did not at that point nor do I now have a car. Instead of solely relying on parents and friends for rides to work, however, public transportation has offered a huge convenience factor of allowing me to get to work at a very low cost and fairly quickly.
In addition, riding public transportation has made me more comfortable in navigating my way around my city, and made me feel more confident in navigating my way around a new city or public transportation system. Although I may be incredibly reliant on my smart phone while completing this task, learning the ins and outs of different bus routes, and lingo, and learning to figure out at the last minute which bus I'll use to get home has helped me learn to go with the flow and take things as they come.
I too share the original posters gratitude for public transportation. Though I never relied upon it to get to places, as I had the privilege of my family owning two cars, it did give me the independence to explore my city. There is nothing like taking a train line all the way to its end to illustrate the divisions of my city. The further South we go, the more people of color are on the bus, the less blonde girls in LuLulemon. The smell changes again and again, as we pass through rich neighborhoods, poor ones, and working ones. SocioEconomic and racial division is a permanent ghost riding the train, one that cannot be ignored.
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Katharine S.
12/8/2014 03:24:26 pm
Riding public transportation has definitely made me more independent and comfortable in facing the city I live in. I had to take the bus, train, and sometimes city carpool, to get to my high school and while at first this seemed daunting, after a few weeks of mastering the system I felt empowered. I was no longer scared of my city but ready to embrace it and the various cultures, people and neighborhoods it contained. The bus I rode passed through both the wealthiest and poorest parts of the city and opened my eyes to sights I may never have seen had I been able to drive.
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Author: The Storytellers
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