MASCOT is a lifeline

One afternoon I stepped off the MASCOT bus with six packages and the driver helped me put them on a cart so I could wheel them into my apartment building — then he drove off.

A few minutes later he was back with my seventh package, which I had accidently left on board. I was so impressed and so were some other residents who happened to be in the lobby. All in a day’s work for the MASCOT driver!

Is it any wonder that I’m a MASCOT fan and cheerleader?

For more than 12 years, MASCOT (Matanuska-Susitna Community Transit) has been known for its friendly service day after day after day. Well, only Mondays through Fridays (there’s no weekend service — yet).

I explained to the president of the MASCOT Board of Directors that my high regard for MASCOT had been formed by how helpful the bus drivers have been to me ever since I moved to the Valley. He gave me a big smile and said, “Yes, the drivers are the face of MASCOT.”

This local bus service is my lifeline to everywhere in the Valley, as well as my connection to the commuter bus to go to Anchorage when I need to. It’s not only me. In talking to other bus riders, I’ve learned it is their lifeline, too. Many folks do not drive for a variety of reasons or have access to a vehicle. Other families and extended families have only one vehicle and so MASCOT provides the transportation link for other members of the family.

MASCOT has been very, very, very good to me ever since I moved to the Valley, and I want to find a way to express my appreciation and to give back and help the service.

The first day I rode MASCOT, I followed the driver’s suggestion to ride a complete loop around Wasilla and Palmer to learn how the system worked. That was the best thing I could have done. It made all the difference in my understanding of the local bus service.

Now I ride MASCOT everywhere it goes in the Valley. And when I need to go back to the noisy, crowded metropolis of Anchorage, I use MASCOT to connect to the commuter bus, Valley Mover, which connects to People Mover, the Anchorage bus system, and then I do it in reverse to return home. Coordinating three bus systems is great mental gymnastics, but I can do it.

MASCOT is an excellent bus service, but it is way too small for the continually growing population of the Valley and the tremendous size of the Mat-Su Borough. The residents here need and deserve a much larger bus service.

What can I do to speed up this expansion process? What can all regular, semi-regular and occasional riders do to help expedite this?

Everyone is going to benefit from an expanded bus service — businesses will have more customers (that means money), more people will be able to get to the polling places to vote in elections, more folks will be able to get to church activities, more will attend various social events and fundraisers and more tourists will be able to get around the borough, and that means more money.

So what can bus riders do? Talk about your experiences in riding MASCOT. Tell all the folks you know how much you appreciate the bus service — and ask them to pass it on — and pass it on — and on.

And tell MASCOT, too. Tell the drivers how much you appreciate their being behind the wheel every day. Also, tell the office staff who work so hard behind the scenes to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Encourage the government officials you know to do their part to help MASCOT grow to its next level of service. If you know anyone who is involved in distributing grant money, share this information. If you know business folks who want to help the local economy and receive excellent public relations, please share this with them, too. And maybe you can come up with even more ideas. It’s our bus system. It’s here for us.

Come ride MASCOT with me and you can tell your family and friends you rode the MASCOT bus with Rosemary!

Rosemary Vavrin, a Wasilla resident, is retired from her education and media careers, and today describes herself as a MASCOT fan and cheerleader.