I have been a public transit user for decades, having started riding in elementary school, taking Baltimore Transit Co. buses to PS 87 and 232 (elementary), 91 (middle) and finally to Baltimore Polytechnic for high school.

My morning commute these days begins on a Casco Bay Lines ferry, owned by a quasi-municipal, nonprofit transit corporation. It’s an 18-minute ride that runs on time, rarely cancels except in extreme weather, and is a meeting place for islanders of all ages. The ferries are the daily lifeline for islanders up and down the bay, carrying passengers, pets, cars and freight. Averaged over a year, my annual senior pass costs me 67 cents per day.

If it is a METRO day for me, I usually catch the No. 8 bus right from the Bay Lines parking lot that will take me to the front door of Maine Medical Center. Or, I might take a METRO Husky line bus from Thames Street if I’m heading to a class at USM. I might walk up to Congress Street to catch a crosstown bus. The fare is either one or two dollars for seniors, depending on the line. A true bargain.

Since moving to the island and returning to a public transit commute (sometimes I walk or take my E-bike) I have started thinking about what is gained by taking a bus, other than just extremely economical transportation.

Over the past few years, I have seen a lot of Portland that you just don’t get to easily see when driving a car. The streetscape changes constantly. People waiting in bus shelters, folks walking dogs on brick sidewalks, teens heading off to school at Portland High, workers scaling scaffolding on building fronts. People sleeping on sheets of cardboard in storefronts. An occasional car accident. A wedding couple posing for pictures on the steps of City Hall. The slant of light in the early morning or late afternoon on the brick buildings downtown.

Inside the bus there are folks heading off to shopping, medical appointments or work. As you would guess, they are mostly elderly, or younger folks who are not yet driving. Others are citizens who could not afford a car of their own, let alone the cost to park one in town.

You see the patient, kind and cheery drivers who disembark to help elderly people board with their bags of groceries, walkers and canes. Drivers who help new arrivals who don’t know a lot of English negotiate the fare system or get directions. Many riders, as they disembark, call out to the drivers a heartfelt “thank you” from the back of the bus, or pause and say something and smile when leaving from the front door.

Overall, it feels like a small community on wheels. It’s friendly, accommodating and, more than anything else, public.

Since Jan. 20,  it seems that all we have heard about are public servants being summarily dismissed from jobs across all of government. Because of this, grants and operating subsidies for our buses and ferries are in extreme danger of being eliminated or sharply reduced, as well as other essential services in health care, education and housing.

Private transportation in cars will be prioritized under this new government that seems solely intent on being cruel and indifferent to those among us who can’t afford Teslas. To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

Hopefully, this will not ultimately be the fate of transit in Portland. To keep the public in public transit we must remain aware and involved with combating threats to our essential services.