GTA bus trip images

I chose to take the #6 Greensboro Transit Authority bus starting from the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot. This Depot functions as a station for GTA buses as well as the HEAT buses, Greyhound buses, and Amtrak trains. I was immediately struck by the scale and beauty of the station. Having visited other bus and train stations in North Carolina, this station stands out as an exceptionally nice looking building that conveys an importance to the city with its classical architecture and the wide road leading up to the entrance. I also noted the functionality of the station. Having all of these modes of transportation meet at a central point (or node) is very user friendly and efficient. It demonstrates that a lot of thought has gone into public transportation by the City of Greensboro. As a commuting student, I can take Amtrak to J. Douglas Gaylon Depot then take the GTA bus from there to different points in Greensboro or take the HEAT bus to UNCG. As logical and simple as this seems, it is something that is not possible in most parts of North Carolina. I did take the GTA ride before reading William H. Chafe's, "Civility and Civil Rights". After completing the reading, I realize that the Trailways Bus terminal denied Joseph McNeil food service in 1959. This incident was later noted as one of the factors that led up to the Woolworth sit-ins (Civilities and Civil Rights, 1980). My first illustration is of the entrance to J. Douglas Gaylon Depot and my second image is a GTA bus in the terminal.
I rode the bus alone and rode for one route cycle. The bus was full when the route began at the Depot and at the end as it neared the Depot again. It was closer to half full for the middle part of the route after several passengers deboarded at Walmart. Route 6 goes by the Library, the History Museum, and the Department of Social Services as well as several medical facilities, Walmart, and some residential neighborhoods. The route serves the Northeastern part of Greensboro running on Summit Avenue, Textile Drive, Sixteenth Street, and E. Cone Blvd. I noticed that the bus seemed relatively new and was well air conditioned. I did take note of the bus stops along the way. A few of the stops were covered and had benches, but most were just benches and some had no bench or cover at all, only a sign. This is an area were there could be a lot of improvement. The weather was very nice when I rode bus 6 but I know from my previous bus riding experiences that almost any weather is uncomfortable if you have no shelter and no place to sit. Any rain or more extreme weather would be terribly uncomfortable to deal with if you had to wait at most of these stops. I am always amazed at how easy it is to forget how much the weather can affect you when you don't really have to be out in it. Another big factor in riding the bus is time. It requires much more planning and waiting. There are more factors that are out of your control when you travel by bus than when you travel by car. My third and fourth image are of bus stops without shelters.
Several of the the other passengers greeted the bus driver as though they were familiar with her and rode this bus often. I had to be shown how to use my bus pass by the driver. I did not feel unsafe in any way while on the bus or at the station but I did feel uncomfortable taking pictures. I was reluctant to do anything to draw attention to myself. Most people seemed to keep to themselves or the other members of their party despite the physical closeness imposed by the bus. There was a sense of personal space and privacy was generally respected without excluding politeness (as with most modes of public or mass transportation). I have ridden the city buses in Raleigh on a regular basis for the last couple of years. My experiences and habits there certainly informed my expectations and actions on this bus ride. I have found, both in Raleigh and on this bus ride, that the majority of passengers are African American or Hispanic with Caucasians making up a very small minority. Being white, I did feel like I stood out. My fifth picture is a photograph of a carved name on the back of the seat in front of me. It was visually interesting to me with the crown and star details but it also reflects my reluctance to photograph the other people on the bus.
With the exception of a very few large cities in the United States, most of our cities are organised (and our society functions) in ways that assume that everyone has a car. Only recently, with an increased focus on green and sustainable living, has the option of using public transportation become something that is seen as a positive choice. Despite this shift, I feel like the overall perception of public transportation, especially buses, is negative. It is something that you do when you have to for some reason, not by choice. Usually that reason is economic. As happy as I am to have used the bus system in Raleigh over the last few years, I probably would not have done so nearly as often if my boyfriend and I did not share a car. Most likely we would not share the car if we had enough money to afford another one. In my experience, people feel sorry for you when they find out you take the bus. A car is a powerful symbol of personal wealth and Independence in our society. Although I wish it were not the case, it would seem to follow that public transportation users are going to be made up primarily of people who do not have cars; mostly the poor and the elderly. If this is true, the disproportionately large number of African American bus riders that I have observed in Raleigh and on my one bus ride in Greensboro must reflect a larger economic and social issue. As I think about my observations in relation to our reading, it seems clear that economic divisions persist along racial lines and that equality is a continuing battle.