Sidenote: an Interview on Public Transport with Pete Buttigieg
"Transportation symbolically connects us."
I came across this while scrolling Instagram last night, and it felt very pertinent to this little project of mine.
I have aways been very enthused about public transport. As I’d mentioned previously, one of my favorite things about living in Prague - or any of my travels in Europe - had been all the walking and riding trams and metros. When I’d gone back to school at UW, I took the bus and the light rail every day of the week. It’s always been hard to articulate what it is I love about those moments, why I now love riding the train up and down the northeast corridor so much. There’s a freedom to it - being able to stare out the window, to fantasize, to read, to write, oblivious and uncaring of the traffic.
But it’s also how it makes me feel part of the world, a part of society. Feeling that greater connection to people, which I think is even more important than ever now. When I’m on the train, I observe people. I see them in their purest form - the way they carry themselves, how they interact with others, how they treat those around them. And most of the time, it’s easier to feel good about being a part of it. Public transport takes you out of your bubble, and I very much enjoy that feeling of being part of the world.
