Many Metro Transit employees are committed to sustainable transportation, riding the bus or train, biking or walking to work and other destinations across the region.
These “How We Roll” profiles illustrate how much we have in common with our customers when it comes to how we get around. See you out there!
Jovita Oghumah, Assistant Manager-Instruction
How do you get to work?
I walk about a mile and half from my house to the Highway 610 & Noble Parkway Park & Ride in Brooklyn Park. I take Route 768 to downtown Minneapolis, catch a light rail train to Target Field Station, then walk the rest of the way to the Instruction Center. In inclement weather, my wife drives me to the Park & Ride in the morning and picks me up in the afternoon. I walk to meetings at Heywood, take the Green Line to meetings at Robert Street in St. Paul, and carpool to work meetings at other sites or use the Instruction Center official van.
Why do you choose to take transit to work?
I have been taking a combination of bus and light rail to work consistently since last summer. The benefits for me are immense. I get regular exercise from walking – frequently taking more than 10,000 steps a day. I save some wear and tear on my personal vehicle and I am free from the stress of driving in rush hour traffic. It gives me a chance to meet and interact with many of our operators outside of a garage or Instruction Center setting. I drove the bus for 20 years. It’s nice and relaxing to watch somebody else drive.
Metro Transit makes it easy for me to ride the bus to work by providing me with a free transit pass. In addition, the frequency of the service on Route 768 accommodates my bus rides to and from work. I don’t stress if I missed a scheduled trip because I know another bus is not far away.
How do you use sustainable transportation in your personal life?
My wife and I always take the bus to downtown Minneapolis for any shopping, sporting or entertainment event we attend. Our goal is to avoid the expense and hassles associated with parking downtown. When we take our children to the Mall of America on weekends or go to the airport we always take the Blue Line. The convenience is immeasurable. That’s why we can’t wait for the Blue Line Extension to Brooklyn Park to be up and running (the extension will extend north to Brooklyn Park).