A Love Letter to Public Transit

Being raised in the metro Detroit area, I never knew the importance of public transportation — especially in a giant city like Chicago. 

It wasn’t until I first moved to Loyola last fall that I truly noticed how big Chicago was. To put it in perspective, it takes the same time for the Loyola shuttle to go between campuses, which is 7.9 miles as it does for me to drive from my house in Trenton to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, which is 23.8 miles.

My family and I always drove everywhere — not only because it was all we knew, but because it was all we could do. Growing up, the only kinds of public transit I saw were the occasional SMART bus parked in the drug store parking lot or the People Mover when we visited downtown Detroit. 

What is a People Mover? Exactly what it sounds like. It moves people. There’s really nothing more I can add to that. With 13 stops around downtown Detroit, the only place you can really go is downtown Detroit. There are no stops outside the main part of the city and barely anyone knows it exists. 

Now, when I go home, whenever I see the People Mover above the Detroit River, I call it the “CTA dupe” — because it is. It’s an elevated train that travels around downtown Detroit, just like the Loop. 

Living in Chicago, I have grown to love taking public transportation, specifically the L. I find it so much easier to hop on the L and end up where I need to be rather than driving through a city where no one follows the speed limit, trying to avoid pedestrians and tourists taking pictures of the skyline, trying to find a parking spot and all that jazz. 

Every time my dad and brother visit me, they always want to take the L everywhere we go and enjoy staring out my dorm window in Messina Hall, watching the L pull in and out of the Granville stop. For Christmas last year, my brother and I exchanged CTA-themed gifts — I got socks. 

Even back in Detroit, my brother was always the one who did the most pleading to ride the People Mover. I am forever grateful he dragged me along with him. 

I don’t remember the first time I was on the CTA. If I had to guess, I would assume I loved it based on the fact that my brother and I would constantly beg my parents to ride the People Mover anytime we were in Detroit. 

When I visited Chicago when I was five or six, the only thing I can remember about young Andi and the CTA was that it was magical. 

I remember the awe of it all. Looking out the window and seeing the city of Chicago all around me was one of the foundational moments of my life. 

Now that I live in Chicago and the CTA is a part of my daily life, I’ve learned a thing or two that I probably wouldn’t have known as a child. 

No CTA experience is the same. Every time I tap my U-Pass on the card reader, I know I’m going to experience something different than the time before. Some rides can be normal and others, not so much. 

You never know if the car you are entering has a funky smell or if you’re going to be standing and holding on for dear life so you don’t break the unwritten rule of not sitting between two strangers. I also don’t think I’ve seen the same person on the L twice. 

While the CTA L system is much more efficient than what the Detroit People Mover has, there are still ways to improve the system. 

More often than not, I have waited on a platform for more than the TV screens above the station or the Ventra app tells me I should, waiting for the L to take me wherever

Many times, I have waited way too long for a bus to show up, and when it does, there are three buses with the same route number behind it. 

Flaws aside, I love the CTA. It gets me and millions of other people in Chicago where they need to be. I love public transportation, and I wish it was more present in my life before Chicago. 

Imagine how much easier it would be for my dad to commute back and forth to Little Caesars Arena anytime he had to work a Red Wings game as an off-ice official for the National Hockey League. Or how easy it would be to hop on a train back towards home after the Lions win another game against the Chicago Bears? 

I think all cities, not just Detroit, could benefit from a decent public transportation system. Cities like New York City and Chicago have great — sometimes confusing — systems so people don’t have to drive everywhere. 

Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I didn’t come to school here — if I would have the same feelings about public transit. 

I would definitely say yes. 

Two of the biggest influences on my life are my brother and dad. They are obsessed with trains and public transportation, which made me like it, too. They are the reason I moved to a city with public transportation, so they could have a fun time visiting me. 

I will always keep a positive mindset on public transportation, regardless of where I live. I wish it could be everywhere, but I know that wherever there is public transit, my family will be right there with me, enjoying every part of it, too.

Feature image by Allison Treanor / The Phoenix