A day with CATS

I was reminded earlier this month of yet another luxury I take for granted – the vehicle in my drive. A group of volunteers that included city and numerous nonprofit staff members hopped on CATS – City of Anderson Transit System -with surveys in hand for Free Ride Friday October 7.  I’ve sat around tables with others for years discussing the real and/or perceived transportation needs of people in our community, but before that day I had never set foot on a city bus here.

The day-shift volunteers gathered downtown at 5:30 a.m. to get our supplies and directions, then got on a shuttle to the bus station in time to take off promptly at 6 a.m.  I rode Route 6 with driver Dan and the first riders of the day. These were workers heading to the south side. As the morning progressed the workers were joined by people running errands. The lift was used for several riders, and between 9 and 11 the bus reached standing room only status.

Dan told me that nearly all his riders are regulars.  The riders told me that Dan is a great driver.  Indeed, he knew most by name and was quick to accommodate passengers who required assistance.  Except for the three riders who thought they would take advantage of the event to try out the bus for the first time, and a couple of riders whose vehicles were disabled, the riders of Route 6 depend on the bus to get where they need to go. Overall it was a day of discovery for me and I wanted to share some of those discoveries here:

First and foremost, CATS is truly a lifeline for a much larger population than I imagined. I expected to be bored much of the time, but I couldn’t keep up. I collected about 40 surveys between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. but missed many more riders than that due to the limited timeframe to talk to people between stops, and the number of riders.

Route 6, and I suspect all the other routes, has its own community of riders. They are friendly and thankful for the service they receive.

CATS serves a diverse population. Some people ride because of disability that prevents driving, some due to economics, some younger people don’t yet drive.  No one told me it was more convenient than driving, a reason that I would expect to find in larger metropolitan areas.

People who are dependent on public transportation schedule their lives around it. Shopping, banking, appointments must be carefully planned, especially if travel requires transfer to another route.  I learned that employees must forego work hours, much of their wages for a cab, or walk miles home late nights or weekends.

The minimal fee charged by CATS is significant to many riders.  I talked to more than a few who were taking advantage of Free Ride Friday to run multiple errands at no cost.   

I learned that CATS is a service that needs and deserves community support.