How We Roll celebrates Metro Transit employees who regularly ride transit and other forms of sustainable transportation. Read more How We Roll Q&As here.
How do you get to work?
I live in south Minneapolis and walk to the 38th Street Station to catch the Blue Line into downtown Minneapolis. I telecommute from home a few days a week. Transit became a big part of my life when I moved to Chicago for college. I would ride the CTA into the city’s neighborhoods to check out a new restaurant or get to ultimate frisbee practice. Having an unlimited pass provides a lot of freedom! Outside of work, I use transit to meet up with friends (more so pre-pandemic!) and to shorten a walk downtown.
What do you enjoy most about your commute?
I enjoy sitting down next to a window on the train to watch the city go by. It’s like looking at a painting! It’s a great time to relax. I also love the possibility of running into someone I know on transit. Many times, it’s co-workers on the commute, and I get a chance to catch up with them.
How does your commute impact how you do your job?
It’s a great way to experience our system and understand what’s happening on the ground. I enjoy seeing projects I’ve worked on or read about going live. I notice how people are navigating the bus stop or train platform space and take a mental note whether it seems easy or difficult. It’s energizing to see our operators working in these dynamic traffic environments with precision and professionalism.
Our household decided to get a car about five years ago once we realized our Car2Go usage was pretty high. We use the car now to do daycare dropoff and pickup, to play frisbee, and other trips around town. It should be noted that my toddler, Soren, might just love transit as much as I do! We have a lot of books on things that go, and he loves the pages with buses or trains.
How do you use transit when you’re traveling?
I love taking transit in new cities and new countries. That’s the best way to get to know a place and not see it at 60 mph. I turned our honeymoon into transit tourism when we went to Europe. We took streetcars, buses, trains, even a giant ferry between Stockholm and Helsinki. We rode bikes and walked as well. The trip was a great opportunity to take every segment of transit.