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A pleasant day with the MTA

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Contributed by: Minerva A. Hernandez on 2/29/2008

I must admit I had ridden the subway only once, and that was when free rides were offered to the public.

If I'm not mistaken it was on a New Year's Day, so it was pretty quiet - and, for the most part, empty. Though I enjoyed the ride on that occasion, it was nothing like my trip a few days ago.

This most pleasant experience included riding the Metro Orange Line for the first time. I started at Warner Center and then transferred to the subway at the North Hollywood station.

Being a first-time rider, I thought I needed to purchase a ticket from the driver, as if riding the regular city bus, but I noticed people were getting tickets from the machines placed on the side of the bus stop.

Two very pleasant young girls noticed my state of confusion and kindly informed me that I needed to purchase my ticket from the machine.

I didn't know which ticket to purchase, since several options are given. I looked around and saw a young man working on one of the machines, so I walked over to him and asked his help.

To say he was courteous, pleasant and kind does not begin to describe him - he advised me to get a "One Day" ticket, which would allow me to travel without having to purchase another ticket each time I had to board again.

His attitude was so friendly, he seemed to really enjoy his job. ( I regret not having asked his name so that I could mention him here.) I couldn't help thinking what a difference it makes to be around people like him and the two girls who so willingly had guided me.

When I first got on the Orange Line bus at Warner Center, I noticed that no one was making sure we had a ticket. All the way down to the Union Station, people kept getting on and off. I'm sure people had either a monthly pass, or a ticket like mine.

The beautiful part in all of this is the trust given to the passengers, in a city as big as ours, that says a lot about the trust that officials have for the riders - how refreshing this is!

I was very impressed with the service as well as with the passengers - I'd say that at least 99 percent of them had a very pleasant and helpful attitude. No one was pushing anyone. I noticed that if a passenger saw that someone needed the seat more than they did, they willingly gave it up.

The passengers were friendly and willing to help those of us who were kind of lost like I was. There was no rowdiness or conduct that was out of order. A lady told me she rides from San Fernando to El Monte every day and said that she's never had an unpleasant experience. She said that people who ride the bus usually are kind and helpful.

Indeed, I found that to be so.

Why am I so impressed with this? Well, riding the bus sure beats driving, not only because one saves on the wear and tear of an automobile, but even more than that, finding out how young and old - I'd say for the most part - can be trusted to pay their fare. And there's so much genuine camaraderie among the passengers.

On top of all this, I noticed how clean the stations are, with transit workers making a point to keep each station looking so beautiful for the passengers to enjoy. Everything seems to be in its proper place.

Every convenience is there - the escalators, the elevators made available for people on wheelchairs, bicycles or just for those who prefer them rather than the escalators, the stairs for people who prefer walking, in short, everything's there for the riders' comfort.

I'm just a regular citizen of this beautiful city who decided to relate this very pleasant experience. I get the feeling that most of the people who use this transportation system share the same thoughts.

I hope that the officials who worked hard in designing this system have gotten some well-deserved recognition. It made me realize that in spite of the bad rap that our cities sometimes get, there are plenty of things we can look to with pride - especially this transportation system.

No one told me to say this. I just decided to share my enjoyable experience riding the Orange Line bus and Red Line subway.

I hope that if you haven't experienced the beauty of this maravelous transportation system, you make it a point to do so as I did. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was!

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