The Metrobus is My Car

Originally published on DC Metro Moms, 10/01/09:

Of all the ways that I can define myself, there is one that usually catches people off-guard.  Shocks them into silence.  Yes, I am an almost-34 year old mom of three children, with an undergraduate degree, a husband of eleven years, and a fair amount of common sense.  But there's one thing I don't have.  A driver's license.

You read that correctly, I don't drive.  I never took driver's ed in high school, and my one attempt to do so as an adult was a pathetic waste of $300.  As the sole really-old person sitting amidst a whole mess of teenage angst in that class, I was a nervous wreck, and I never even signed up for the behind the wheel practice time.  The whole idea of trying to control a motor vehicle is the most terrifying thing in the world to me, as silly as that may sound to many.  But here's the thing- I live in a pretty walkable city in Prince George's County, and between my feet and the Metrobuses, I do manage to get out of the house.  The question on my mind lately though is this.  Is it safe to take my young children on the bus anymore?

I've been trying to follow the news about WMATA's summer of woes, and it hasn't been easy reading.  When I recently read about Metro's incredibly lenient policies for bus drivers in relation to their involvement in traffic accidents, I began to question my decision to haul my preschool aged children on a bus, even for our shortest ten minute rides.  Is our safety being compromised by potentially unqualified drivers?  Am I being a responsible mom as my three year old sits on the seat next to me and my almost-two year old is perched on my lap on the bus?  Did the driver of the bus my nine year old rode each morning to camp for two weeks this summer have any blemishes on his record?  What if?  What if?

Saying that I have a tendency to sometimes worry is like saying that there's a tad amount of partisan disagreement in our area.  BUT.  I can't just abandon the bus.  I have to advocate for safe public transportation, because for some of us, whether by choice or necessity, the Metro system is integral to our travels.  One of the major factors of consideration when we shopped for our small townhouse was the proximity to a Metrobus stop, and from the number of faces I see peering out from windows as buses pass by our house all day, I know that I'm not alone in my reliance of this service.  I hope the pressure from a few months worth of negative press (and too many accidents to be considered just bad luck) will cause the WMATA higher-ups to create stricter standards for all of their employees, which will trickle down to safer and more reliable service on the customer's end.

As for me?  On those days when the rain is falling or Mommy's back just can't stand the thought of pushing the stroller for half an hour, you'll still be finding me and the rugrats waiting under the bus shelter on our way to the library or the doctor's office.  I'll be the one hoping for a driver with a squeaky clean driving record.

This is an original post to DC Metro Moms.

Dawn blogs nonsense about her family at my thoughts exactly, and tries to sound intelligent when she reviews books at 5 Minutes for Books.