"There's always somebody on the bus"

An empty Downey Link bus. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY - I couldn’t help but let a nervous, wry smile spread across my face as I read the email from my editor, Eric.

“This may sound a little goofy, but what about a feature-type story on the Downey Link? What I mean is, you ride the bus and document your experience. Is it empty, are there students, etc. Many people may not even know how to ride the bus. Just a thought.”

I knew why Eric was sending me on this little adventure: to find out if people were still riding the Downey Link.

It was just last month that Councilmen Mario Trujillo and Donald La Plante signaled an interest to do away with the Downey Link, suggesting that it was costing the city money and other environmental factors to keep a service going that they felt no one was using anymore.

They’re supported by the information in the city’s annual budget reports, which show that ridership has plummeted since its heyday in 2017-18. Back then, the Downey Link reportedly transported 120,500 riders; this year, they’re only anticipating around 68,000.

I had written what I admittedly thought was a throw-away piece about the Link’s apparent imminent demise, and was shocked at the pushback it received. This article I wrote mainly just to give Eric a little extra content to choose from evidently struck a nerve.

I can recall only twice that I road a bus outside of a school function: once as a teenager, when a friend and I wanted to hang out in Anaheim and neither of our parents were available to drive us, and another in 2015, when I used the bus to get around Eugene, Oregon for a few days as I visited for a football game. Other than those two instances, I’ve always been blessed with the luxury of a car, or at the very least, a ride. Because I never had a need to use it, the Downey Link has always operated kind of like background noise in my head; I knew it was there and had a general grasp of what it was, but I really didn’t pay it any mind.

The Downey Link operates four routes throughout the city – Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest – Monday through Friday from 6:30 am – 9 am, and then again from 2 pm – 6:30 pm. It usually costs 50 cents or a Downey Link bus ticket to ride, though I would come to find out that that hasn’t been charged since the pandemic.

At around 2:15pm, I pulled up to the Downey Link Station - located off Downey Avenue, just past Firestone and tucked behind the Downey Gateway - and sheepishly stepped out of my car, walking over to the list of bus routes.

It’s a funny thing, picking a bus route when you intend on making a round trip. I made my decision about as scientifically as you could guess.

“Northeast? Southeast? Northwest? I played at Northwest Downey Little League as a kid. Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll ride Northwest.”

At that point, it was around 2:17 pm, and I heard the familiar squeal of a bus making its departure. I turned around just in time to see the Northwest bus pull away and drive off.

The next in line was Southeast. I’m pretty sure the bus driver and I made eye contact as the bus began to swing out towards the street.

“Northeast it is then.”

I stepped onto the bus from its front door and reached into my pocket. I had come prepared both with change and cash.

“It’s 50 cents, right,” I asked.

“It’s free,” the bus driver grumbled as he wiped his mouth and finished whatever he was eating.

I took a seat towards the back of the bus and just looked out the window. I was the only passenger on this particular bus; the only other seat occupied by what I can assume was the driver’s lunch container and scraps.

Another Downey Link bus road ahead of us briefly before we eventually pulled aside and passed. From what I could see, their circumstances were the same: one, maybe two passengers, and a driver.

Our route passed by Unsworth Elementary School, which was letting out some of its younger students that moment. While the street was flooded with kids and parents, the bus didn’t stop, and to my surprise, we didn’t pick up any new passengers.

Partly for investigative purposes and partly because the silence was killing me, I asked the driver if the bus was usually this empty, or if they have a lot of riders.

“Yeah, we get a lot of riders.” Then silence.

A minute or two later came the question I had been dreading.

“Where are you getting off at?”

I had overplayed my hand. I’d been made.

“Oh, uh, to be honest with you I’m doing a round trip. I’m a reporter with the Downey Patriot Newspaper, and…,” I said as I started to explain my assignment.

“Okay,” the bus driver replied. I’m pretty sure he started to tune me out after “round trip.”

The trip remained uneventful as we eventually made our way back to the bus depot. I began to contemplate whether or not I should try a different bus. I hadn’t exactly made friends with this driver, and the prospect of explaining my mission to another wasn’t all that appealing.

Ultimately though, I decided to expand my sample size by at least one.

I hopped off the bus and thanked the driver. We were the first bus back, so after admiring the sun-faded art on the Downey Dial-a-Ride building for a few moments, I sat on a bench and waited.

There were three others at the depot waiting with me: An older gentleman wearing a security jacket, an older, grandma type with a plastic bag and a roll or two of wrapping paper, and a younger, kind of disheveled looking guy who looked too clean to be homeless.

I figured the older gentleman was probably running security for the Downey Gateway and likely wouldn’t be joining me on a bus. The other two, however, I admittedly let my imagination run wild on: a sweet little abuela riding home to wrap Christmas gifts, and a ragamuffin going to ride to nowhere in particular.

It was about 10 minutes before the Northwest and the Southeast arrived, and I found myself surprised at the obvious signs of life on board, even before the buses parked and opened their doors.

Those who exited were primarily made up of students and their parents, maybe one man who looked like he was running errands or on his way to work.

An elementary-aged girl jumped off excitedly and gave the older woman a hug. A couple of other students split off in different directions.

I boarded the Northwest bus and chatted intermittently with bus driver number two. This is where I got a more detailed explanation about the currently free fare. A little more at ease, I went ahead and explained why I was riding the bus. Thankfully, this bus driver seemed much more friendly (or maybe just open) than the last, and wasn’t at all bothered by my presence.

Almost immediately on our route, we picked up a shy looking man who I assume was around my age (give or take a few years) from the Downey Civic Center. He must be a regular, because the bus driver was familiar with him. She asked him about work, about if he was ready for vacation, and even took a moment to introduce me as a writer from the paper. I almost wish she hadn’t done the latter, because he became very obviously concerned and worried about the future of the bus, persistently asking me questions that I didn’t necessarily have great answers for. Once he settled in, I was able to refocus back on my task at hand.

What was interesting about this ride was how knowledgeable my driver was about the people and the neighborhoods that made up her route.

“This house right here throws parties that are off the chain! This house has a family that does girl scouts and sells girl scout cookies. ‘Grandpa’ lives here. He’s not my grandpa, but I call him ‘Grandpa.’ And across the street, I call them my twins! I’ll probably see them on my next rotation after school lets out.”

Of course, I couldn’t tell you if all these tidbits of knowledge were true, but they were fascinating to listen to.

Something I was not prepared for was that this bus driver was well aware of the prior article I wrote, and had some strong opinions on the subject. While she never said anything overtly rude, condemning, or condescending about the city, the councilmembers, or their comments, one thing was clear to me: If the city council thought the buses were empty, it was because they didn’t see the people on it that she did.

Besides the conversation, the trip was – again – rather uneventful. We picked up a mom and her son for a brief moment, who rode from Paramount Boulevard and Suva Street to Paramount and Vista Del Rosa Street. My ride companion from the Civic Center departed at Paramount and Telegraph Road.

As our journey came to an end, the bus driver made one final commentary about the council member's comments.

“They think nobody’s riding because they only watch here [the station]; they don’t see the people who get off and on in between. I know where they sit and watch, right there,” she said, pointing at the corner of Downey Avenue and 2nd Street.

I only include this moment for my own amusement. The corner she is referring to is known to some as “Mayor’s Corner,” a favorite hangout of former Mayors Mario Guerra, Rick Rodriguez, and a handful of others to sit, talk, and smoke cigars. I contained my laughter in the moment, but could not stop sprouting a grin.

Turning into the station, the bus driver let out a gleeful “There’s my twins!” I looked up to see two high school age students walking from the direction of Warren, both excitedly waving back. In fact, there were handfuls of other young students either waiting for the bus, or just arriving from school.

So, what did I learn?

While I never saw a packed bus in my small sample size, it became abundantly clear through my conversations with my second bus driver that the Downey Link is absolutely the bloodstream of the community to those who use it regularly, and it would be devastating to them if it were to be done away with.

That’s not to say that the Downey Link couldn’t potentially use a little TLC.

While buses are by no means run down or dirty (at least from what I could tell) a fresh coat of paint (both to buses and the depot) might do the service a little good. It might also be beneficial to put the buses on the receiving end of some renewed advertising and promotion.

The buses may look empty – and to be fair, some are – but their value to those in the community who use them is indispensable.

Students. Workers. Families. People just needing a way to get from point A to point B; it’s like my bus driver said:

“There’s always somebody on the bus.”