Rooted within the Twin Cities since my first breath, I’ve been voyaging the expansive metropolitan area on Metro Transit my whole life.

Like so many kids, “no” was the one word in my vocabulary as a toddler. But, with my fingers interlocked with my mother’s, I discovered the word “yes” scattered across the pavement as we hustled to our bus stop in Brooklyn Park. Later, as a chronically online teen who envied those delighting within the spots of Minneapolis and St. Paul, I followed them by jumping from bus to light rail to sidewalks to a different bus.

Entering the bus, my ears tune into the assorted conversations, some in my native tongue and others not. I scooch over to go away an empty seat for a stranger, or a friend you randomly encountered or simply made. Transit allows us to foster a community, to attach with others we would never interact with outside of that collective movement. From those that just finished a piece shift to those that are about to start out one, from those that are going to a Vikings game to those that are heading to the food market, transit encompasses the cultural and social landscape of the Twin Cities.

At its best, transit is a vibrant and practical arena where our cultures are visible to one another. It’s a technique to get monetary savings, protect our climate, and make our communities more connected. And, now, due to historic investments from the state legislature, we now have the chance – and the duty – to tap the complete potential of transit within the Twin Cities.

This session, state lawmakers passed a transportation bill that can raise latest revenue to shut Metro Transit’s operating gap and electrify the fleet so it will possibly transition to renewable energy. For lower than a penny on the dollar, we’ll have buses and trains that come every five to 10 minutes, and the capability to construct out a strong bus rapid transit network that features suburb-to-suburb transportation. We now have the funding for a transit ambassador program to make our rides inclusive and protected for everybody, and an eliminated fares pilot program on two high-traffic lines.

But money alone isn’t enough. To show those resources into quick motion and lasting change, we’d like strong, visionary leadership on the regional level. Straight away, the Metropolitan Council is filling key positions – including the Metro Transit general manager and regional administrator. It should be as much as them to encourage staff, infuse the agency with a way of possibility, and act with the extent of urgency and innovation needed to fulfill the needs of our people and our climate.

It won’t be a fast or easy task. Due to a long time of disinvestment, our system is disconnected. Due to infrequent bus and train schedules a 20-minute automobile trip can take an hour and a half on transit. Even people like me, who need to take transit, are driven to automobile ownership to have access to the mobility we’d like to get to jobs and make our lives work.

Though my mom was the one who introduced me to the bus, her goal was all the time to get a driver’s license and buy a automobile. With two jobs and two kids, it was just too time-consuming and stressful to depend on transit. I soon learned that lesson myself. In highschool, I worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Maple Grove – a 13-minute drive from my home in Brooklyn Park. But with out a automobile, that trip became a two-hour bus ride with three transfers and a 20 minute walk at the tip. I needed to buy a vehicle with a purpose to freely move, otherwise I might’ve been stuck in Brooklyn Park, with no easily accessible job in sight.

Now, my sister is facing the identical challenge. With limited job options because she’s often stuck at home, her economic and physical mobility are limited with out a automobile. Like my mother and I also experienced, she will be able to’t access our region’s opportunities without taking over the immediate and ongoing financial burden of automobile ownership, which the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics pegs at greater than $10,000 per 12 months to operate and maintain an automobile. Currently, a transit pass costs lower than one-tenth of that.

A long time of underinvestment in our transit system has given me and my family no real selections, no real freedom. Now we now have the financial resources to alter that.

For our future, for our freedom, for our collective prosperity, we’d like Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle, members of the Metropolitan Council and Gov. Tim Walz to appoint leaders who will rapidly deliver an excellent transit system that works for everybody. Let’s ensure every little kid has the possibility to fall in love with the cities, one bus ride at a time, like I did.

Grace Bassekle is a transit legislative intern at Move Minnesota. She is a community organizer who’s keen about the intersectionality of climate justice through a special lens.