Instead of screaming into the void of Twitter, I bring you a weekly highlight reel of what it’s like going places in Greater Hartford when one is gloriously car-free. These posts are on a slight time delay because nobody needs to know exactly where I am when I am there.

The day began unbelievably smooth. Took the first train out of Hartford, only two minutes later than scheduled. Even with slowing south of Wallingford, the ride was fast and easy. Bonus: getting a window seat on an Amtrak and not having to share until Wallingford. Can’t remember the last time that happened.

I’d gone down to New Haven to meet up with a friend and take an art class — because you can do normal things like socialize and make earrings without needing a car. She arrived on e-bike. People in the class were talking about the SLOW DOWN signs in New Haven, bike commuting, and a guy doing trackstands in an intersection. She and I did not start either of those bits of conversation, and oh, the class was all women (in case any male dudes were wondering what ladies talk about in all-female spaces, it’s that).

The train back was exactly on time and moved along.

It was stunning to have a flawless public transportation day.

I should’ve known better than to get attached.

Back home, I was preparing to go out for a maybe-it’s-a-date and glanced again at CTtransit’s Facebook, even though I’d checked in the morning. It’s a good thing I did. As I wrote about before, it seems that drivers are playing games, still.

Last week a friend was stranded when the bus taking him from work downtown to his home in a neighboring town never showed. He called the bus company, and they told him the bus was sitting there. A woman next to him, waiting for the same bus called, and they told her it had come and gone. The Facebook page said it was one of the trips that day that had been canceled. My friend took a taxi home. It seems that drivers are trying to make themselves obsolete with this behavior.

I was steamed from that and the gaslighting by CTtransit, and then I saw so many cancellations that it took three screenshots to capture them all:

For just a moment, imagine if each road these trips involved had been closed. Would motorists settle for that? We know that they nearly riot every time it takes longer than a couple hours for snow to be cleared after a blizzard. But when it comes to the bus — the mode serving frontline workers — there’s radio silence. This has been ongoing for weeks.

But this is my diary, so back to me for a moment.

The bus I was planning to take to get myself most of the way to said maybe-it’s-a-date was not canceled, but the one before it was, and honestly, I would not put anything past CTtransit at this point.

I’m human, and resentful as hell that I could not have simply had my own situational anxiety, but on top of that, added stress about how I was even going to get to my meeting. Were it twenty degrees cooler, sure I could walk that. But it was hot, and who wants to make a first impression soaked in sweat? I also had walked quite a bit already in New Haven and knew I’d likely be walking home later. The scooters are never around when I want one. This didn’t meet my criteria for calling an Uber. While I’m sure a friend would lend a vehicle for an emergency, this might not have constituted their definition of one.

When I got to the stop, there were more people than usual there. Immediately I was asked what time it was and if I knew if the bus was coming. They had been waiting for the canceled one. Because not everyone uses Facebook, they had no idea the trip was canceled. One woman was on her way home from work. She’d already had a full day. When the bus arrived, you could feel the relief, but also the general agitation.

And besides how it’s messing up life for people who need to get to and from work, this trash behavior dared threaten my ability to effortlessly go where I wanted to. I am a single woman in my 40s. I do not have time for y’all’s games.

It’s worth noting that on this day — a Saturday — bus service to where I am going is not even that close. I still have to walk about 12 minutes to the bus stop, and then it’s about 15 minutes of more walking once off the bus. Why? Because of this silly practice of not running certain buses on the weekend. . . including one that stops directly at a venue people visit on after work and on weekends. (Although I’m not referring to the West Hartford Reservoir, they don’t have bus service there on Sundays, so I’ll extend my side eye there since everyone reading this knows the Reservoir)

I did forget the other option if the bus didn’t show: ask a person I never met before to pick me up.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong?!

It’s basically Uber, but free. All the danger, none of the cost.

ANOTHER OPTION
I’m not saying we should steal golf carts because our public transportation system is collapsing in on itself, but how can you dangle these out in front of us and not expect us to be a little tempted?

Anyway, spot the municipal code violation — golf carts are only supposed to be used on the golf course and when going from one part of a golf course to another in Hartford, if anyone cares. Not that anyone does. Bushnell Park is where muni code goes to be broken again and again:

That’s a cars-in-the-park violation and an obstructed path to Union Station, not to mention, total blocking of the sidewalks. . . again.

CONFESSION BOOTH

Sometimes it feels like I’ve started a union.
I’m not complaining, but let me explain.
At least once a day, I hear from someone — a friend, an acquaintance, a person I’ve never met — who has a legitimate grievance about some transportation issue or another. Maybe it’s to vent, knowing that the general population is not sympathetic to active and public transportation complaints. Maybe it’s to find solutions.

My answers are usually along the lines of “have you harassed your local politicians today?” or “have you tried closing that road yourself?” and I don’t know if that’s what people are hoping to hear, but that’s what I have to offer: make people do their jobs or get out there with traffic cones and caution tape.

I’m sent lots of bike lane violation photos (please also post on Bike Lane Uprising and to 311) and construction sites where sidewalk is closed without any detour for pedestrians; I’m copied on the pathetic excuse emails that politicians and those in City employment create.

What if we were a union, though?

Up and refused to do the things until conditions improved?

Oh, you wanted grocery store clerks and restaurant cashiers? Then get the bus company to straighten itself out and run its bus routes. You want librarians and professors? Install an east-west and north-south barrier-protected bike lane for the width and length of the capital city. You want Grampa to babysit? Get the trains to run on time.

There is historical precedent, obviously. It happened before. It could happen again.

I mean, if bus drivers can decide to not show solidarity with fellow workers by leaving them stranded, why don’t the rest of us just shut it down too?!

I don’t mind these kinds of emails/exchanges in the least, and I don’t get the “my DMs are open” thing . . . I never saw it as an option to close myself off from communication. I could put all my thoughts in my actual paper diary that nobody is allowed to read. But, I’m not here to blow off steam. Instead, I put my thoughts on the Internet because I am interested in seeing positive changes.

With that comes the interactions that I don’t have much use for– the ones in which someone treats me as their eco-sin confession booth.

If you’re a politician, planner/engineer, or an overpaid yuppie living in downtown within a couple blocks of where you work, then you are fair game. I will blast you for never using public transportation or walking or biking. Those who make decisions about others’ mobility have an obligation to understand how these systems work and what these experiences are like. (Michelle Wu and John J. Bauters are proof that it’s possible to hold power and take public transit or ride a bike on the regular)  If you’re a public servant who can’t use active or public transportation at least one day a week, I’m calling you out as not committed to your constituents — especially in places where a high percentage of residents do not have ready access to private vehicles.

And if you’re that downtown yuppie, I don’t have enough hours in the day to explain why the occasional charity work to “give back” does not make up for your daily obnoxious choices that erode the planet.

But the rest of yuhs?

Those nervous ramblings about what you drive or how much you drive or why you drive could be directed somewhere besides me. Maybe to a priest. Your diary. A therapist. It’s clearly something you’re having feelings about, but I don’t need to receive them unless you are looking for concrete advice. Otherwise, I’m not going to give you either the absolution you desire or the shaming you expect.

I am serious. Either be motivated toward doing what you believe you should be and alleviate that guilt, or learn to be okay with your actions. Don’t dump your insecurities all over me, whether that’s verbally, texts, DMs, what have you.

What I have been consistent about is systems change.

That’s what I return to: if you want to but aren’t walking/biking/riding public transit for some reason, work on changing our system and our roads so that this becomes a better option for you someday and is improved for those who are already doing these things. That goes a lot further than some awkward conversation with me about how you’d like to but can’t/aren’t/won’t.

So, there’s the action item of the week. Are you someone who does not take the bus? Well those of us who do are exhausted. Give CTtransit a call (Hartford area — 860-525-9181 ) and demand they get it together and return to providing the actual service for which they are paid.