Most Valuable Commuter

Melissa Miller – Spokane County

Melissa is an Office Assistant and the Front Desk Clerk in HR.  She has been riding the bus for about 13 years while living in New York, Pennsylvania and Seattle. Not only does she save money and time, she feels that it’s a good break between work and home. On days that she doesn’t ride the bus, she carpools with a couple of different co-workers.

Melissa grew up in a one car household and started using the transit system many years ago. Riding the bus gave her a sense of independence as she didn’t have to worry about driving or getting a ride to wherever she needed to go. Today, she and her husband also have just one vehicle. Her husband drops her off at the transit center in the mornings, and picks her up at the transit center on his way home from work. Melissa appreciates the subsidized bus pass offered at the County, knowing that paying $5 a month for a pass is a significant savings compared to spending over $100 a month for off campus parking and gas.

Melissa has 4 children, so there are lots of activities and appointments. She schedules extra time to take the bus, pick up the kids, then continue by bus to their appointments. It doesn’t feel like any real extra effort, it just takes planning. Her only challenge is that she arrives to work about 40 minutes before she needs to. She uses this time, however, to make whatever appointments she needs to make for the kids and to get coffee before her day gets going.
ETC Julie Korssjoen says, “Melissa encourages others to take the bus, offering to walk them to a bus stop to show them where it is and help them read the schedule.”