PT Reflections

I love vacations. Getting away from the routine and visiting new places always gives me a thrill.  But, as much as I love visiting friends and seeing cool stuff, I love availing myself of public transportation.  While we were in San Francisco, Steve and I made our way around the City thanks to MUNI busses and cable cars.  Our $21, 3-day pass got us everywhere we wanted to go for less than the cost of one night’s parking fee. 

Of course, “PT” is not as beloved out here in the Midwest, the home of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors.  Buses and trains take the place of cars, you know.  For me, that’s the point.  I’ve never been a fan of driving.  It’s something I have to do. It’s something I’d rather someone else did.  I can get a lot of knitting done, or just enjoy the view, when I don’t have to pay attention to the road.

Public transportation holds another advantage for me.  It puts me in touch with a city’s people.  The cable cars are a fun treat for a tourist, but they are everyday transportation to a lot of people in the Bay area.  C. S. Lewis used a bus to transport people between heaven and hell in his book The Great Divorce.  On the busses, I saw people of all ages, all colors, all economic strata.  It’s a lot like what I think heaven will be.  (Honestly, I think hell will be like walking up to Nob Hill…never mind that beautiful Grace Cathedral’s at the end of the road! But, I digress…)

I invite you to drive your car to a suburban Park and Ride someday soon.  Don’t take an express bus – it’s full of people just like you. Instead, take a local and travel along with the people who make up this metropolitan area.  Let it be a reminder to you of the diversity of people with whom God has peppered this planet.  Let it help you remember that not all of us share in the advantages of suburban living and that, for many, the bus is their way to work or to the grocery store or to the doctor’s office. 

I wonder.  Perhaps if we had better public transportation, we might have a little better understanding of each other.  Busses and trains certainly cut across a bunch of barriers.  Then, again, are we willing to let those barriers disappear?