for prof Nicholas only

In today’s increasingly connected world, I have personally seen the need for constant contact. Over the past two years, as I have traveled nearly daily on the light rail, I have seen that this is often most apparent in the riders of mass transit. As the younger generation increasingly turns to the use of public transportation, or at least decreases its dependence on driving, connectedness becomes the number-one priority. As shown in Joseph P. Schwieterman’s article “The Travel Habits”, the so-called Millennial generation is combining its transit usage with a strong increase in the use of mobile technology, which can be used most freely while on public transportation. As is reflected in my own life and in those I observe on mass transit, connectedness and efficiency often becomes the first priority, even at the expense of some time and effort.

I have a car of my own, and the means to pay for gas and insurance. However, I have chosen over the last two years to depend almost exclusively on public transportation, walking, and bicycling to make my way around Phoenix and Tempe. While many would argue that I would be more independent and able to move around if I used my car exclusively, I have found just the opposite to be true. I have lived on two sides of a well-connected transit corridor, in southern Tempe and downtown Phoenix, where the light rail is easily accessible and is often more predictable and dependable than the drive between these two centers. Then once I exit the light rail, I emerge into mostly bikeable and walkable areas, where I can just get out and go without worrying about parking spaces or any sort of vehicle access. Additionally, by riding rather than driving, I am able to focus less on the actual travel itself, and more on the world around me while analyzing either what the day will hold or what already occurred. I feel far more independent because I can go immediately to my destination without worrying as much about route changes, traffic, accidents, or the unpredictability of other drivers. When on the light rail, I am able to plan ahead, reflect on the past, or take care of reading, writing, research, any of a myriad tasks that I may not have had time to address during the course of the day—a practice that could produce a deadly distraction while on the road.

This activity is much simpler thanks to the emergence of “the expanding segment of the urban population that harnesses technological innovation to live a transit-oriented and digitally connected life” (Schwieterman, 30). People just like me are able to accomplish more than ever before, if only given the opportunity to multitask in a safe, semi-private environment. According to Schwieterman, these young people are “almost never seen without their iPads, netbooks, and smartphones”, allowing them to be constantly connected to the outside world, even while traveling from place to place. Even though I personally don’t have most of the listed personal tech devices, I am still able to effectively use the time I spend on the light rail making calls, writing in my planner, listening to music, texting, studying, or reading. In today’s world, there is nearly no time where one can’t be productive, and utilizing transit only enhances those abilities, and it has done so for me.

My personal change is indicative of a larger shift in usage of public transportation from almost exclusively needs-based, to increasingly wants-based. In chapter seven of Levy’s Contemporary Urban Planning, he notes that “Public transportation in the United States now…is largely used by the less prosperous—those who do not own automobiles.” However, according to Schwieterman and an increasing number of studies, this is no longer exclusively the case as more and more young people embrace public transportation. As I ride between Phoenix and Tempe, I see countless students and young adults living the same way that I do, choosing to ride the light rail rather than being shackled to their cars. Though many park their cars at either terminus of the rail route, they still see the advantage of extra work time and savings on gas expenses, which Schwieterman mentions as likely contributing to “changing attitudes toward driving”.

While previously use of public transportation meant dead time spent in the presence of others, it has become another temporary personal space, populated by whatever I choose. Throughout his piece, Schwieterman brings up the changing nature of public space as afforded by the massive expansion in personal technology. Although this generation is traveling more via public means, there is a “shift in the way many Americans experience the public realm” (Schwieterman, 31). Though I initially tried to experience the light rail in a public manner, as time went on I couldn’t resist the opportunity to complete work that often would otherwise be neglected while proceeding to my destination. For as much as I immerse myself in other pursuits while riding the train, I see the vast majority of those around me checking E-mail, playing games, reading news, and listening to music, all the while surrounded by dozens of strangers. It is truly fascinating to see so many people, all together in a single enclosed space, yet each within their own private world.

Lastly, Schwieterman brings up the decreasing significance of cars and even driving among teenagers and young adults as driving the use of public transportation among many. Phoenix, I feel, is a bit behind on this trend, with is massively divided residential zones and sprawling development. But though most people I knew as a teenager had the ability to drive, their personal connection to it was far less apparent than that described by my parents during their generation. Not everyone simply gets a car to drive that is their own, as was seemingly true among the middle-class of the past. Therefore, as Schwieterman says, “Millenials don’t view cars as status symbols.” Rather, they serve as something more of practical worth, possibly influencing the greater acceptance of public transportation as a means of travel.

With the Phoenix metropolitan area’s massively underdeveloped transit network and lack of Wi-Fi access on the light rail, I find it unlikely that many are choosing transit primarily on the basis of their ability to use technology as hypothesized by Schwieterman. However, it does provide a nice value-added to the experience of using said alternative transportation. I have chosen public transportation because it allows me to use my time much more effectively and live more freely, just as Schwieterman illustrates in his article.