Dear Bus, Light Rail, Ferry Boat, Water Taxi, Street Car, Sounder Train & Monorail operators,
It’s Transit Appreciation Day and we wanted to share some of the reasons why we love and appreciate you, our transit operators.
Day in and day out, you greet us with a smile and take us to wherever we need to go. Whether we’re going to work, school, or the store, you get us there without worry. You wake up early for us and stay up late, reliably taking us to our destinations. Be it sunshine, standard Seattle rain, or in tough conditions like the recent snow, you get us places, no matter what. You navigate construction zones and detours for us, making it easier for us to get to our final destination without worrying about finding a new route.
You help us be multimodal. Be it by taking a bus to a ferry, a light rail to the airport, or providing a safe way for us to bring our bikes when we don’t feel like biking the entire way home. You help us reduce our car trips and ease congestion on our busy streets.
Like so many, you are some of our brave frontline workers, who continue to support us publicly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Even last spring when there was so much uncertainty and unknown about COVID-19, you showed up. When we need to go to a doctor for an appointment, or to a center for a vaccination, you’re here to support us. You have also maintained safe and sanitary conditions for us to ride in, working with CDC guidelines to help your riders maintain distance from each other. Your job is not easy. We know that, and we appreciate all of the hard work you have done during this unique time in history.
We also know you don’t do it alone. We appreciate the mechanics who keeps your vehicles running, the electricians who maintain the trolly wires, the cleaners who use extra care to sanitize high-touch surfaces, and all the people working behind the scenes to keep your vehicles moving and on schedule.
Our children love you, too. Our toddlers happily call out, “Look! Bus!” every single time you drive by. Not only that, they love pulling the string before their stop. And our tweens and teens feel empowered to navigate the city with their ORCA Youth Cards.
Whether we have a good day or a bad one, you give us time to decompress and reflect. You give us time to read, listen to music, watch videos, and communicate with our loved ones. Sometimes a trip is long, other times it’s short. No matter what, you’re always here for us and keeping our city moving. For everything you do, we cannot thank you enough. Many of us are working from home and miss our daily rides with you. We appreciate you and can’t wait to see you more often when we start returning to the office.
Sincerely,
Your admirers at SDOT