Parenting + CTA dependency = pain in the ass
My plan to save time on the commute was falling apart before it even started. Granted, I didn't really have anywhere I had to be, I just didn't want my commute to take 45 minutes like it usually does. So while the Division bus stood still at the beginning of its route on Clark St. for a good 10 minutes before it finaly made its way to Clybourn and picked me up I was getting a little irritated.
When it stopped the very next block after I got on and made that decompressing sound CTA buses make when the driver engages the lift ramp I rolled my eyes and looked over my right shoulder to see what the hell the hold-up was now. Standing by the front door of the bus was a tiny Latino women holding a children's stroller that looked to be almost as tall as she was.
I thought to myself, "Jesus, this is going to take forever."
And it sort of did. The bus driver couldn't get the lift to work. For a couple minutes he kept flipping some switches on the dashboard, with more and more force each time, until he finally had to turn the bus off completely. He then left his seat (something I've only seen a bus driver do once or twice) and started stomping on the ramp (pretty high tech equipment on these buses), then sat back down and started the bus.
Then, with the help of a young man who was waiting at the stop with the Latino woman, the lift worked. (I guess all it takes to get CTA vehicles to work is a little muscle).
The tiny Latino woman, who couldn't have been but an inch or two over four feet tall, took a seat in the front of the bus and rolled the infant-laden stroller to a portion of the bus where two other riders pulled the seat up for her. The Latino woman was so tiny her feet didn't even reach the floor of a bus, which made it difficult for her to control the stroller as she held it with her right arm while the bus violently smashed over potholes (Division St. between Clybourn and Ashland is apparently not very well kept, which I imagine has something to do with its proximity to Cabrini.) After a couple of exceptionally rough patches it looked almost as if the stroller were going to tip over or at least come free from the lady's hand, which made me — and probably everybody else on the bus — uneasy.
Nobody wants to see an infant spill out of a stroller on a city bus.
After those rought spots two fellow riders got up from their seats to attempt to strap the stroller to the side of the bus with a couple belts that were likely placed there for that very reason. The tiny Latino looked at them and smiled graciously, but couldn't really offer any help. It would have taken her as long to climb out of her seat than it did for the people to eventualy tie the stroller down.
At that instant a series of emotions ran through my head. For starters, I was quite taken aback by the two bus riders who helped the lady out and the manner in which they did so. Never once did they flash her a look of annoyance or a look that asked "what the hell are you doing bringing a baby on a bus you can't control?" They just tied the child in, smiled and sat back down.
This all made me feel kind of like a piece of shit for having been annoyed by the fact it was taking so long to get the lady and her child on the bus in the first place.
Which in turn made me realize just how difficult it is to be a parent and have to depend on the public transportation system in this city: The looks of annoyance young (relatively spoiled?) professionals like myself that snicker when we have to deal with buses taking an extra minute or two longer when they board with their children or disability (even though we usually don't have anywhere he have to be). The often-times humiliating situations when you have to resort to the help of complete strangers just to get on the bus and make sure you child doesn't fall out of its stroller when you do.
Living in this city without a car alone can be difficult. Doing so with children would be something most of us simply couldn't do, whether because of hassle or pride.
But then again, the fact that people were more than helpful with this lady (the young man when she first tried getting on to the two people who strapped her child in). Even the bus driver — despite his having to turn off the bus, get out of his seat and stomp on the lift — smiled at the woman as she boarded.
It's good to know that, while having to depend on the public transportation in this town as a parent can be a humbling experience, at least some people are willing to help you out along the way.
posted by Grandest @ 9:04 PM
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