On the Bus: Daily Folk

The word "commuters" conjures up images of big city folk 

who come to work each morning, brief case in hand, 

crisp white shirt and tie with their business suits,

 or women wearing neatly polished pumps 

with a conservative dress.

In this town, they'll drive an SUV to one of the local 

 parking garages, where the vehicle will stand

all day, costing their owners fuel, fees, upkeep,

insurance, monthly payments, blah-blah-blah --

while the owner spends eight to twelve hours working

to earn all that money to have this "convenience."

The people who take the buses here are generally

politely referred to as the "working poor."

As shown in the above picture, they are a carpenter

and a healthcare worker, accompanied by a number of

wait staff and cooks, hotel workers, and maintenance staff

for offices in the area. Now, the business world

can do without the presence of an attorney

or file clerk for a day or so, but if the maintenance staff,

the hotel maids, the janitors, and the healthcare

workers could not get to their jobs, the workday 

would come to a complete standstill.

Yet we still have a public transportation

system that is woefully inadequate

to meet the needs of a place

that likes to promote itself as a 

"world class city."