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In continuing our practice of getting to know the commuters behind our programs, the Alewife TMA connected with a transit rider who lives at one of our member residential properties. This commuter prefers to keep his name private, but he was happy to share his story with us.
I'm a software engineer near downtown Cambridge, and I work on a combination of web and native (Windows and macOS) application development in the audio technology space.
At a minimum, I walk to Alewife Station and take the Red Line to and from work each day. At least a few times a week, I'll make an extra stop on the way home to pick up groceries or do a bit of shopping after work. On the weekends, I'll sometimes take a more leisurely trip to do some shopping further out of town (sometimes going via [Downtown Crossing] to another line).
I've never been a fan of driving, and I've always been a huge believer in public transit. My college years (not in the Boston area) were my first exposure to how convenient it is to have a network of public transportation that can be used for errands and other tasks, and I quickly came to appreciate it. Before I moved to Boston permanently, I did a brief summer internship in the area and got to know the area a bit through a commuter's lens, which solidified my intent to pick a full-time location with robust public transit. When I graduated, I considered several Northeast metros (in no small part because the Northeast broadly has much more robust transit options than any other region), but my familiarity with the Boston area and a great job opportunity brought me back.
I enjoy commuting to work, partly because my commute is made so easy by living and working near a subway line. Starting and ending my day with a subway trip is a very grounding routine for me and gives me space to shift mental gears between work and leisure. I gained a newfound appreciation for this after working from home during the pandemic years, when I realized that without my daily commute, I no longer felt the same clear boundaries between work and home that I had been taking for granted.
Having lived in Cambridge for many years at this point (and having been a commuter all this time), I've seen the deterioration of the T first-hand and, like everyone else, I don't particularly enjoy the inevitable delays, shutdowns, etc. I'm optimistic about the future under the new general manager, and I still appreciate the convenience (nothing has forced me to abandon it altogether, and I'm still a consistent rider) but having to grudgingly accept the T's failures is not the best part of my day.
I first heard about it through my building, which advertised one of the pop-up events. Of course, I will admit I enjoy the TMA’s incentives and prizes for a sustainable commute that I've been making since long before I knew this existed, but beyond that I like that it gets more people in the area engaged with public transit instead of driving. As someone who has always preferred the ease and value of using public transit over owning and operating a car (fun fact, I've never actually pumped gas!) I strongly believe that the best way to encourage improvements to public transit is to increase ridership and that having more people choosing to use the T will eventually translate, through necessity, to more robust service. And, if nothing else, fewer cars on the road means a better experience for pedestrians!
I once watched a pigeon board the train, ride two stops, and calmly exit! It seemed so surreal that I wrote a joke song about it. https://on.soundcloud.com/H9ybx
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