St. Louis Needs Better Public Transit — and Bi-State Should Not Give Up

Dear Bi-State Development, I am asking you, on behalf of this region, not to give up.

I certainly don't understand the intricacies of running a transit system. I only know the impact well-run (and broken) systems can have on an area.

Personally, I have used transit systems in seven cities in three different countries. I have talked to and read others who use it both occasionally and daily. While I am not a researcher, economist, civil engineer or anything else that normally counts as a qualification for understanding and improving transit, I do my best to apply logic to my anecdotal and spurious research-based knowledge.

The past few years have had to be rough from a PR viewpoint. The recent single-car train experiments and the route and frequency reductions have certainly created a bad vibe with both online and offline reviews and comments of the system. I could speculate along with others who don't know the whole story on the "why" of those and other choices. But again, I am going to ask for you to not give up. Just like you need us riders to pay the fares, we need you to stick around so we can.

I don't want to get another car for our family (not to mention, I can't afford another at today's prices). As such, I am faced with two choices — take a bus to work, or ride a bike. I love riding bikes. I have been for three decades and hope to for many more.

However, I would much rather be riding them for fun than necessity. Whether going fast on my road bike or enjoying a trail ride with my son, those are worlds better than commuting. But when I can get the 10 miles to work in 45 minutes by bike compared to using bus routes that will take almost half an hour longer, I am actually less tired biking 20 miles round trip than I would be from two and a half hours using the bus each day. If I were to lose the ability to bike, for my family's sake, I would have to find a different job much closer to home. I simply would not be able to justify the hour of commuting a day.

Unfortunately, this is not just about me. This is about the entire region. Even before inflation went out of control the past few years, many people simply could not afford to purchase, repair or otherwise use vehicles. Some have health issues that prevent them from driving. Still others do not want to contribute to pollution, traffic or other negative impacts of owning personal vehicles.

I am not simply asking you to not give up on me. I am asking for you to not give up on all of us.

My firm belief is a strong transit system leads to a strong region. When I lived in Washington, I was 15 miles south of Seattle. However, I was able to take a bus for 30 minutes to the downtown to a job that allowed me to support my family. If that transit system didn't exist, that would have severely impacted my ability to pay the rent without working multiple jobs and never seeing my family. Because of it, I had the ability to work where I wanted without worrying of how to get there.

That is what I would love to see happen here. If the routes and frequencies were increased instead of decreased, that would help everyone in this region.
 

First, workers would benefit from not worrying how they would get to work. They would also know they're not limited in where they could work. For many, including me, job searching is directly impacted by distance. I have had to turn down at least two jobs that I can recall for that reason.

Second, companies would benefit from having a broader pool of applicants. I am certain I am not the only one who could not accept a job because of distance. In fact, that's even a question on many job applications, a variation of "can you make the commute?" If that was not part of the equation because of a strong transit system, then companies would very likely have a broader candidate pool from which to choose the best worker.

Third, you, Bi-State Development, would benefit. If the transit system was robust and reliable, more people would use it. The more people using it, the more revenue you would see. The more revenue you see, the more robust and reliable you can make it.

This short list doesn't cover how visitors from out of region would benefit, or the environment, or even drivers (more transit use means less traffic on the roads!). I know that many times it seems the riders are against you. But really, we are just conflicted, because the negative changes, regardless of justification, impact how we get around the region.

I believe we are rooting for you. We want a symbiotic relationship. We don't want to give up on you. Please, don't give up on us.

The RFT welcomes concise essays on topics of local interest. Contact Sarah Fenske at [email protected] if you've got something to say.