Charlotte Casey

 t’s the early evening hours of a typical Thursday at Great Mall Transit Center in Milpitas. The VTA station is surrounded by green hills and lined with fruit trees filled with pink blossoms, fresh from the rain earlier that afternoon. From afar, Charlotte Casey can be seen affectionately saying good-bye to her friend at the bus stop for the 180 Express to Fremont BART station.

Casey owns a vehicle and could drive her friend home to San Francisco; but she doesn’t see why that would be necessary since the 180 could drop her friend off just as easily. And, with the weather forecast calling for more rain, it’s better for her to be off the roadways.

Since her retirement from a lucrative engineering firm in Santa Clara seven years ago, Casey claims she hasn’t been prompted to take her own car out as much these days.

“Often, my car is parked in the driveway. With Community Bus 45 around the corner, taking the bus makes sense,” explained Casey.

Her average trip lasts for a half an hour. She also touts that she’s doing her part for the environment.

"It’s relaxing to ride and it allows me to be green. I get tired of driving and I can also catch up on my reading.”

Originally from the East Coast, Casey has been an avid rider of public transportation locally for 25 years. She knows the bus system and although VTA is not as extensive as the public transit in New York, Casey is satisfied. She is for a moment, nostalgic and as she reflects on some of the bus operators she has meet over the years and talks about how courteous and helpful they’ve been, the sun slowly sets, making for yet another memorable moment in the life of Charlotte Casey.