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Janis Scott, Houston’s Bus Lady, Fights For Her Transit Lifeline

(Claudia Feldman/Houston Chronicle)
Janis Scott used to drive an old Cadillac. But cars, in Scott’s view, are not worth the trouble. In the 1980s, she sold the Caddy and returned to her first and favorite means of transportation.

“I have an extended family on the bus,” says Scott, who is known by many as Houston’s bus lady. “I know the operators – here’s a shout-out to the Polk garage – and I know when friends are supposed to get on and off. Bus passengers care about each other.”

When Scott is standing among passengers at a bus stop or atop a train platform, she is part teacher, part tour guide, part cheerleader. When she is talking to Metro brass, she is part watchdog, part critic, part gadfly.

And even before becoming a member of the new Metro customer-advisory committee, she’s been on a mission to report overflowing trash cans and broken ticket machines, nudge friends and strangers to try public transit, and tell the unvarnished truth to Metro president and CEO George Greanias. (Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle)

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