It’s a warm summer day. You decide to take the kids to Seattle Center to check out the new playground and goof around in the fountain. You throw some snacks and changes of clothes in a bag. You find your purse and phone, and then you do what you always do without thinking twice: grab the car keys.
Carla Saulter wishes you’d stop for just a second before taking that last step.
“Instead of thinking of cars as the default mode,” Carla says, “just think of transportation as a menu of options, and cars are useful tools.”
Consider, for a moment. taking the bus or light rail.
Carla Saulter, aka the Bus Chick, has lived car-free since 2003. Since then, she got married, had two children and became a foster parent to a third. All without a car. In Seattle. Urban legend has it she even took the bus to the hospital to deliver her children, but Carla says the bus ride to the first delivery doesn’t exactly count because the baby was late and the labor was induced. For the second, she took a taxi.
While many would give her bus-delivery credit anyhow, she did take her daughter Rosa Saulter-Edwards, 7, and son Quincy Saulter-Edwards, 5, home from the hospital on the bus. And she’s shaping her 2-year-old foster son into a bus rider as well.
Carla, whose family lives in the Central District, readily admits that her dedication to bus riding is more than most families want to commit to (she does, after all, write a smart, funny pro-bus blog at buschick.com). But she urges other parents to give it a try now and then. The upsides, she says, are many.
There are the environmental and social benefits, including reducing the release of climate-changing greenhouse gases by driving fewer cars and lessening traffic congestion.
And there are the more individual perks, including getting to know and chat with people in the community. Her kids get exercise every day walking to bus stops and destinations, and they develop independence navigating transit. They learn how to politely engage with people, as well as how to feel comfortable setting boundaries with strangers.
Some aspects of busing admittedly are tough. It can be hard to keep a wiggly toddler occupied on a long ride, Carla says. And getting everyone assembled and out the door with shoes on and diapers changed, or a potty check completed, can be a struggle.
“The one thing that is always challenging, no matter the age of your kids, is timing,” Carla says. Because even if you’re just five minutes late out the door, if you’ve missed your bus, the next one might not come for 30 minutes.
When you do time it right, however, you skip the hassle of parking. Meeting friends at the zoo, “we always get there first,” Carla says. “They drive around for 15 minutes looking for somewhere to park.”
But the best thing about riding public transportation with kids? “Hands down, it’s the together time. We’re holding hands and making conversation,” Carla says. “Whenever we’re going somewhere, we’re together. That’s part of the adventure.”
Tips from the Bus Chick
Packing: Travel light, but remember the basics, including a small snack, change of clothes or underwear for younger kids, and a mini first aid kit. If you can, skip the stroller and use a baby carrier for non-walkers.
Distractions: Bring bubbles to pass time at the bus stop and books to read on board. Watch what’s happening out the window. One of the best ways to keep kids occupied is just paying attention to them.
Short trips, fun destinations: Get kids on board by choosing shorter trips ending somewhere fun where it also can be hard to find parking, such as Seattle Center or a popular park.
Get inspired: Loads of Seattle parks are on bus lines and the light rail now runs from the airport to the UW campus: buschick.com
