Mallon: Why I care about transit — and you should too

People often ask me why I care so much about transit. Over the years, I’ve told a lot of stories, but I realized that I haven’t really told my own.

I grew up in the Bay Area, and like most kids, I used transit because I wasn’t old enough to drive. But when I moved to San Jose at 18 to attend San Jose State University, transit became more than just a way to get around. I didn’t have a car, and I was working a minimum-wage job. Transit helped me get to school, work, and everywhere I needed to go. Without affordable transportation, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate debt-free or start building a future for myself.

During college, I stumbled into transit advocacy accidentally when transit cuts were proposed in my area. I went to one meeting, then another. Eventually, I got more interested and involved in pushing for better service and projects.

When the pandemic hit and so many people told me to give up, I fought against transit cuts because I knew how hard it was for essential workers who still depended on transit to get to their jobs. I understood that without frequent service, they were facing even more challenges. I also knew that someday the pandemic would be over and many of us would need transit to get back to work, school, and start rebuilding our lives.

More recently, during the VTA strike, I made sure riders had a voice. I shared my struggles navigating without VTA service, pushed our leaders to be more responsive, did interviews on my lunch breaks, and answered hundreds of questions from riders who were struggling to get around. As a rider myself, I understood the frustration, and I worked hard to ensure that everyday riders were heard and represented.

People often wonder why I’m so vocal about transit, especially since it’s not my career. I’ve seen rumors that agencies are paying me to promote transit (spoiler: they’re not). The truth is, transit is an essential part of my life and it’s helped me stay afloat during challenging times. Today, I’m a prominent transit advocate in a major media market, and people often view me as being “too good” to take transit. But here’s the truth: You can be smart and articulate and still struggle financially and need transit to survive.

I care about transit because I know what it’s like to rely on it. Every day, I see people using it to get to work, school, and all the places they need to go. Transit isn’t just about buses and trains and policy debates to me—it’s about the people who use it. And I’m one of those people. That’s why I care.

San José Spotlight columnist Monica Mallon is a transit advocate and rider in Santa Clara County. Monica’s columns appear on the first Thursday of every other month. Contact Monica at [email protected] or follow @MonicaMallon on X.