Francisco Silva – OR – PCUN

I’ve used public transit in many places—Salem, Woodburn, and Portland, Oregon and even Vancouver, Washington. It’s something I really enjoy because it lets me meet new people, see new places, and connect with my community. Public transit is clean, affordable, and a lifeline for people who can’t drive, like students or those who don’t have much money. I see it as necessary for society as a whole.

In my experience, there are challenges to using public transit. I can’t use public transit for work—the buses just don’t go to the fields. That means we farmworkers have to figure out our own rides. And on weekends, it’s even worse. I live in Salem but need to get to Woodburn on the weekends, and there’s no bus service on Sundays, so I’ve had to walk to the freeway with a sign saying “Woodburn” just to hitch a ride. Most people don’t realize how hard it is to plan your life around a bus that only comes every two hours or doesn’t run at all.

I remember one trip when I had to go to a doctor’s appointment in Stayton. A friend dropped me off, but after the appointment, I found out there were no buses in the afternoon. The receptionist said a taxi would cost $120 because they’d have to come from Salem, and that was just too much for me. I called all my friends, and one finally came, but I waited outside for hours until 8:15 p.m., with everything closed around me. It made me wonder—how is this my only option in 2024?

We need changes. Bus service should run more often and include weekends. On-demand transit service would be immensely helpful for people who need to get to doctors’ appointments or other destinations not served well by transit today. 

I also think about how mass transit could help the environment. The buses in Salem use green energy, and that means less pollution. It’s better for everyone. I believe we don’t need more cars—we need fewer. I look at cities like Tokyo, where my daughter said everyone uses public transit. That’s what we need here. Mass transit is the best way to address climate change, reduce traffic, and help people get where they need to go.

It’s hard for me to understand why immigrants like me, who pay taxes, don’t see those taxes come back to help us. People like us work hard, but we’re left without the services we need, like good public transit. Expanding public transit service would mean so much to people in my situation.