Finding out more about your local mobility choices---even before you need them---can keep you connected to your community and participating in the activities that are important to you. Planning for the day you “retire” from driving, just as you plan ahead for your financial and healthcare needs in retirement, just makes good sense.
Public Transit
Insight and encouragement from confirmed bus-rider and author Rachel Simon
I never could have guessed where a bus ride could take me, nor the incredible treasures I found as I experienced the joys of the journey.
My bus riding started a few years ago, when my sister Beth asked me to join her in riding city buses. Like me, Beth is in her forties, but unlike me, she has developmental disabilities. She also has a fascination for riding buses in the Pennsylvania city where she lives. I didn't understand her passion for
the buses, and was, I must admit, somewhat judgmental of her enthusiasm for the public transit industry. But I was also tired of feeling emotionally distant from her, so when she asked me to ride with her for the better part of a year, I reluctantly agreed. The remarkable, life-changing adventure that followed was the genesis of my memoir, RIDING THE BUS WITH MY SISTER, which became a best-seller, and a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie starring Rosie O'Donnell as Beth and Andie McDowell as me.
Before I rode with Beth, I saw buses only from my car as they passed by, and I gave them little thought. But on the bus with Beth, I discovered an incredible world. I was surprised by the compassion, warmth, and generosity of most of the drivers I met. After all, bus driving, unlike truck driving, is a people-oriented profession. The most dedicated bus drivers are outgoing, caring people who can put an individual unfamiliar with riding a bus or a person with disabilities at ease. As one bus driver said to me, "If you don't care about people and want to listen to them and give them their dignity, you might as well drive a truck. But to drive a bus--now that's a position of honor."
I was also surprised to learn that most drivers are colorful characters with interests that can range from history to poetry to cooking, and that they are also great philosophers, ready to dispense wisdom when asked.
On the buses you can always meet a friend. To me, buses are what America is all about: an opportunity for a diverse group of people to go on a journey together. On a bus, you can turn to the person next to you--who might be a different age, ethnicity, religion, or level of ability, and, by chatting, for even one minute, you can learn far more about the world than you ever could sitting in your car. I've discovered that I can get on a bus with any kind of question at all in my head, and by the time I get off, I know the answer.
Bus riding is not all about getting to your destination, it's also about the journey. When you approach riding the bus this way, you find new joys in looking out the window, seeing the small details, seeing the radiance in everyone--from the baby in the stroller to the bus driver behind the wheel. I learned to stop thinking that only the car could show me all I needed to see. I learned to open my eyes, and my heart, and found that I could appreciate the world anew.
A friend of mine once said, "The day I learned to ride the buses was the day my life began."If you’re an elder driver considering other ways of getting around because driving your car is no longer an option, you may find my friend’s statement a little hard to believe, but I encourage you to open yourself up to exploring how public transit can serve your mobilitiy needs. As an experienced bus rider I can assure you that “Getting Around” by bus is an alternative full of subtle pleasures. Journey through the pages of this website for practical information on public transit, and welcome aboard.
It's a joy to share the ride with you.
