Julie Timm is the CEO of Sound Transit.
Being a transit worker isn’t easy. Day in and day out, through all kinds of weather and amid uncertainties that can reach pandemic proportions (literally), we can’t stop, we don’t stop.
Our communities depend on us to connect to their families, friends, and critical resources — homes, jobs, health care, food, education.
And it’s front-line transit staff who make that priority happen every day and every night.
As we approach Transit Worker Appreciation Day on Saturday, March 18, please join me in giving a deeply sincere and heartfelt “Thank You” to transit operators, maintenance crews, security personnel, agency ambassadors, custodial teams, and anyone else you see that helps keep our systems moving.
This day of recognition, which is now national, started right here in Seattle.
In 2009, two transit advocates wrote a blog post in celebration of bus operators. That day grew into what some now call Transit Operator Appreciation Day and others call Transit Driver Appreciation Day.
At Sound Transit, we call it Transit Worker Appreciation Day because, in addition to our operators and operating partners, we extend our gratitude to all front-line staff members.
Whether onboard our trains and buses, at one of our stations, or on-site at one of our facilities, they keep Sound Transit’s many lines of service running for our riders and our communities under incredibly complex and challenging conditions.
To thank transit workers for the work they do carrying us through each day, please give them a wave, write them a note, stand on the side of the service lines with a poster-sized sign (in a safe location, of course) — any way you feel called on to tell them that you recognize their efforts and are grateful. Or, post a photo on social media and tag us @SoundTransit.
Remember, you don’t need a special day to say thanks – please show your expressions of gratitude every day. And let’s make this Transit Worker Appreciation Day our inspiration and call to action to always express our support and gratitude for all of our essential workforces.
We had a few events this week to celebrate. Check out some photos from Friday in Tacoma:
