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lentine’s Day was a great opportunity for transit riders and providers to demonstrate their love of transit in Missouri. As a part of the Missouri Public Transit Association’s (MPTA) efforts to raise awareness of the importance of transit to MO residents and its communities, MPTA asked riders and providers to show their love on social media and riding transit throughout the day across the state.
“There is no better way to demonstrate the impact of transit and our need for it in our Missouri communities than to help build ridership on our systems. Valentine’s Day is just a great day to ‘show’ your love or ‘crush’ on transit,” said Kim Cella, MPTA Executive Director.
Throughout the day, transit riders were encouraged to help “blow-up” social media with transit love by posting their Transit Crush selfies and tagging their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts with #MOTRANSITCRUSH and #crushingontransit. The ‘transit’ love was rampant across the state from St. Louis to Columbia to Kansas City to Fredericktown to Springfield.
“We want riders to come out in droves so that we can pack the buses and trains in support of transit use in Missouri,” said Cella.
“Riders in St. Joseph depend on transit to get them to work every day.” Mary Gaston, General Manager, St. Joseph Transit
“If it wasn’t for SMTS, Id be sitting at home staring at four walls. I would not be able to get out, that’s all there is to it. The drivers know the riders very well; they know our schedule, how long we’re likely to take in the store, and if we have a doctor’s appointment, they get us there on time. Where we live, every person in the neighborhood has ridden at one time or another. Sometimes it is like old home week when we’re all on the bus.” …Eleanora Anthony
“It’s great to have my independence! My driver picks up other people on our block, and it’s always ‘Oh, how’s your husband? How’s so-and-so? – makes one feel right at home. He even helps us with our groceries, and it’s so nice that by calling SMTS, I can go get what I need myself. Thanks, SMTS – I don’t know what I would do without you! ….Rae Hartenberger
#MOTransitCrush #crushingontransit #transitway2go