TRANSPORTATION
50
COMMUNITY BUS SERVICES OFFER RIDER
CONVENIENCE FOR MANY REASONS
BY ELLEN GILLETTE
As a child, I rode a few buses and trains, but my lengthiest
experience with mass transit was in India. During our year
there, we traveled from village to city by trains that were
packed with humanity inside and on top. We rode dieselbelching
buses and rickety rickshaws. It was great!
During my teens, I was wooed one summer by a Port St.
Lucie fellow who rode the bus to my house in Fort Pierce.
We’d ride downtown and cool off at the library or have ice
cream at Dipper Dan’s. Since then, however, I hadn’t been
on a local bus until recently.
What do you need to know, in a nutshell, about bus service
on the Treasure Coast? It’s dependable. The buses are clean
and cool. The bus drivers are helpful and friendly, as are the
riders. Bus transfers might seem intimidating, but there are
always folks who will help. The RouteShout app is, as one
rider told me, “a lifesaver.” And, in St. Lucie and Indian River
counties, it’s free, the exception being Martin County.
The downside? Additional time must be allowed. Buses
don’t spend a lot of time at each stop, but it adds up. Some
routes are busier than others, especially during peak times.
You may have to stand. You may, as many people did during
one leg of my own journey, offer a seat to a middleaged
woman.
County Commissioner Kathy Townsend and Port St. Lucie
Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan ride Treasure Coast
Connector regularly, taking personal videos and posting
them online to promote community transit and (I would
think) to maintain a closer connection to their constituents.
0t would Ie a great idea for other officials to follow their
lead But an`one would Ienefit from taRing a ride, e_Weriencing
a tremendous community service available to all,
meeting people you might never encounter otherwise, and
saving the planet a little in the process.
I’ve suggested community transit to folks who are, for
one reason or another, without personal transportation,
only to have them turn up their noses, as if there’s a stigma
attached. If anything, taking the transit communicates a
willingness to invest whatever time and effort is necessary
to get to school or employment. It shows innovative thinking,
commitment and responsibility. It says, “My job (my
class, this appointment, this errand) is important.”
9iders, driers, and transit officials, 0 salute `ou
/www.fortpiercetours.com