Living the Transit Life truths

By Erika Niedowski

As someone who “lives the transit life” — I’m one of those daily Baltimore-to-Washington commuters — I offer a few truths I’ve learned, for better or worse, riding the MARC train’s Penn Line.

If you’re a regular, you already have your own. If you’re a newbie, you’ll have some soon enough.

• If you don’t sit in the Quiet Car, bring headphones. They are indispensable if your seatmate wants to strike up a conversation (and you don’t), or if Cell Phone Man won’t hang up.
  
  
  
• Memorize the train numbers, not just the departure times. A true Marc rider should be able to rattle off the difference between the 415 and the 517, and the 436 and the 538.
  
  
• You may not think you care to know what “catenary wires” are, or what they do, but you soon will. Catenary wires are your friends.
  
  
• Murphy’s Law: When you are running late, your evening train will board from the “Far North” end of the track. Or Track L.
  
  
• There are kind conductors. I accidentally ran my monthly pass through the washing machine recently. There were only bits of it left. Since there was only one day left in the riding month, I collected them in a plastic baggie and showed them to the conductor, hoping he would not make me purchase the full-fare roundtrip (would have set me back $14). He looked at the baggie quizically and said, ‘What is this, CSI?’ He let me ride.
  
  
• If you think your commute is bad, remember the people sitting in traffic on the Capital Beltway. I’ve done that too; it’s worse.
  
  
• If you live in Baltimore like I do, and think your commute is long, remember the people from Perryville.

The MARC train moral: You will have good days. You will have bad days. Certainly, you will have commuting stories to tell (good luck finding willing listeners). Public transit is some of the best people-watching around.

A parting quote, care of the British novelist G.K. Chesterton: "The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before."

What is your Annual Savings by using Public Transportation?

Could you use an extra $10,000 this year? How about next year – and the year after that?
Now that gasoline prices have climbed back to an uncomfortable average of $3.47 per gallon nationwide, the American Public Transportation Association calculates that Baltimore area residents who use public transportation can save an average $829 monthly and $9,953 annually, according to a chart posted on their website. Savings for people who take public transportation haven’t been this high in two years. And from the news that’s coming out of the Middle East, it looks like prices won’t be heading downward for a while.

When you look at all the costs of owning a car – including some of the costs we don’t always think about, like insurance, parking, maintenance and the like – making the choice to use public transportation more regularly becomes an easy decision to make.

Want more evidence to make that decision easy? According to the American Automobile Association, the cost per mile to operate a car can be almost 74 cents per mile, when you consider all the factors. Their free brochure can help you calculate your costs. And an online calculator available from APTA can show you your savings from using public transportation vs. using a car to get around.

Of course, it can be a challenge to get everywhere you need to go in the Baltimore area using public transportation alone. But you might find that even just including it as one of your transportation options will save you far more than you might have thought possible.

So if you’ve decided that bringing a sandwich instead of buying lunch (which might save you up to $2400 a year) is your road to saving money, consider saving a lot more. Take a bus, take a train or some other public transportation – and start taking it a little easier on your wallet.

Just for laughs – and maybe some gasps - one man’s perspective on how to treat women in transportation.

We recently ran across an article re-circulated at Snopes.com that was written in 1943 by one L.H. Sanders for Mass Transportation magazine. It was an industry publication targeted toward managers in transit. We offer some highlights from that article as a way to gain perspective on the gains that women have made since that time, and as a tribute that seemed just right for March – Women’s History Month.

We hope you enjoy a good laugh at how times have changed. (And thank goodness for that!)


Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees


There’s no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage. Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from western properties.

1. If you can get them, pick young married women. They have these advantages, according to the reports of western companies: they usually have more of a sense of responsibility than do their unmarried sisters; they’re less likely to be flirtatious; as a rule, they need the work or they wouldn’t be doing it – maybe a sick husband or one who’s in the army; they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Most transportation companies have found that older women who have never contacted the public, have a hard time adapting themselves, are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It’s always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. While there are exceptions, of course, to this rule, general experience indicates that “husky” girls – those who are just a little on the heavy side – are likely to be more even-tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination – one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of a lawsuit but also reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job. Transit companies that follow this practice report a surprising number of women turned down for nervous disorders.

5. In breaking in women who haven’t previously done outside work, stress at the outset the importance of time – the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employe in garage or office a definite, day-long schedule of duties so that she’ll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them but that they lack initiative in finding work for themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employe change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be nervous and they’re happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. Companies that are already using large numbers of women stress the fact that you have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and consequently is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful in issuing instructions or making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can’t shrug off harsh words the way that men do. Never ridicule a woman – it breaks her spirits and cuts her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl’s husband or father may swear vociferously, she’ll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough variety in operator uniforms that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can’t be stressed too strongly as a means of keeping women happy, according to western properties.

Bikes on the MTA

With warmer weather finally on the way, it seemed like a good time to talk about taking your bike onto public transportation.

Following through on its commitment to be a “green” agency, MTA makes it easy to take your bicycle throughout the Baltimore region. Almost any standard-size pedal powered bicycle is welcome on MTA Local Bus, Light Rail and Metro Subway vehicles. (Keep in mind, though, that MARC Trains can only handle folding bikes, and Commuter Bus vehicles aren’t equipped to handle any bicycles at this time.)

We asked regular MTA rider and bicyclist Gerry Hanlon about his bicycle/bus commute to Downtown Baltimore from Rodgers Forge each day. Like lots of bicyclists, he was enthusiastic about having options for getting around.

“I’m not crazy about the idea of going to a gym,” Hanlon told us recently. “But I love how getting pumped up makes me feel, both body and mind. So I combine my commute to work with a good workout, and by the time I get to where I’m going, eight miles later, I’m ready to take on the world.”

“I was intimidated the first time I considered loading my bike onto the front of an MTA bus,” Hanlon shared with us. “Turns out it’s simple – just pull a couple of levers, lift it onto the front of the bus and hop aboard. And it’s good to know I can rely on the number 11 when it rains or snows or when I get a flat tire.”

“Lots of people ask if they have showers where I work,” Hanlon said. “Good question! And there aren’t showers there. But I’ve found that just coming prepared with a change of clothes eliminates any concerns about ‘working up a sweat’ that I have to live with all day. My biggest problem is ‘helmet hair’ once I’ve arrived at work,” he added with a laugh.

“I’ve taken a bike on Light Rail, too, for longer trips,” he said. Haven’t conquered the Metro Subway yet – but it’s nice to know that I can when the time is right. Thanks, MTA!”

We’re happy to say, “You’re welcome.” How about you? Getting enough exercise lately? Let MTA help you explore some options you hadn’t considered before.

Honoring Percy Brown, one of Baltimore’s first African American Bus Operators.

We honor the service of Mr. Percy Brown, who recently passed away after having left to the MTA and its customers a legacy of dedication and innovation that will be long remembered.

Mr. Brown helped shape history in 1952 as one of Baltimore’s first African American bus operators, a position he earned only after overcoming numerous hurdles. He spoke about some of those hurdles in an article that appeared about him over a decade ago.

“Although black operators could be hired, the union decided it was going to keep the colored out of those jobs was by not training them. Well, they didn’t know what to do with me when I applied for the job because I didn’t need any training, you see. I worked as a car cleaner and had trained myself in the yard on the tractor trolleys, streetcars and the buses. All I needed to learn was the bus lines (routes). A lot of the time, I had to take my own car out at night to follow behind a bus in order to learn the lines,” he revealed.

His skills and dedication to public service were recognized quickly, and he was promoted to safety and training instructor. Many of the innovations he pioneered in those positions are still in use by the MTA to this day.


Percy Brown once said that he had the good fortune to work in a job that helped so many others. Those of us here at the MTA who have lost the trusted friend we knew him to be, as well as the thousands of passengers who only knew him through his welcoming smile and kind words, recognize that we are the ones with the good fortune to have had Percy Brown in our lives.