Essential Skills
Post by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit
This week Esquire magazine released a column entitled, “The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master.” For the record, I am a list junkie. I will watch those Top 100 Whatevers of All Time shows that are always on — or at the very least try to catch the Top 10.
Esquire’s list is pretty good, — it includes things like knowing how to take a photo, write a letter, buy a suit — but as with most of these sorts of lists, it’s bound by the law of diminishing returns. Once you get past a certain point the items on the list become increasingly silly and useless.
Case in point, the author suggests finding your way out of the woods if you’re lost — a useful skill perhaps, but how about knowing how to find your way around a strange city using transit?
Most people know their transit systems like the back of their hand. In fact, many people I know who live in large metropolitan areas love to know the little secrets about their transit system. For some people this is as much a badge of honor as any other, knowing which bus routes are regularly on-time, which drivers are the nicest, how you can go down one entrance into a station and get around most of the crowd during rush hour.
I think in today’s day and age knowing how to properly use transit no matter where you are (especially in a foreign country) is an essential skill for anyone. So here are my “Five Essential Transit Skills Everyone Should Master”:
- Read a System Map – Every transit authority has a system map. Some of them can be so intricate that it seems you need to be a cartographer to really figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. Being able to flip open any transit map and locating your place on it is the first step in being able to use transit effectively
- Use a Timetable – Knowing how to use a system map will show you where to be and where you can get to, but using the timetable will let you know when to be where and what time you will arrive at your destination. Many systems are beginning to do away with timetables in favor of predictable headways (the bus arrives every 15 minutes, etc.), but it is still an essential skill.
- Find a Bus Stop – Ever been to a big city and tried to find a bus stop? Sure, some are easily located next to a shelter, but in case it’s just another road sign on a post next to the highway, you need to be able to not only find where to stand, but make sure you are in the right place for your bus
- Find the Right Train at a Station – Much like finding a bus stop, locating the right train in a station full of them can be difficult. Unlike bus stops, though, larger train stations will have conductors to help you find your way should you get lost.
- Use a Ticket Vending Machine – Having tried to figure out how to get from one city in Spain to another while reading the instructions on the vending machine in Spanish, I can attest to how essential this skill is. If in doubt, look around for help. Other passengers will often help you out of altruism, if not to just get you out of their way and keep traffic flowing.
My list skims the surface, but you should get the point. Effective use of transit in itself is an essential skill anyone today should master. It ranks right up there with being able to drive a car. In fact, more people in the world probably have mastered transit use than know how to drive a car.
If only we required everyone to learn how to use transit when they were 16.
Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
May 12th, 2008 at 6:57 am
I’d like to add Safety on Transit. First time riders should understand basic safety principles: keep a hold on children, avoid carrying large packages, don’t lean on the doors, don’t walk close to any large vehicle. People who aren’t even on transit can also be safer: not parking in bus stops, watching for people who run to catch a train, etc. Awareness of transit safety will benefit everyone.