The forsaken G
Why not expect a bus pass for your 16th birthday?
The holy grail of 16, the thing everyone asks you about leading up to your 16th birthday is: Do you plan on getting your license? Or something along the lines of: I imagine that you can’t wait to get your license and I remember when I first got mine! Just the usual things we all hear leading up to that anticipated day.
But, not everyone is as driven (pun intended!) to get their license the moment they open their eyes on the morning of their 16th birthday. The majority of people, when hearing that you don’t have your license, proceed to ask you why you don’t and follow that up with telling you that you have got to hurry up and get it.
A license is looked at as a necessity for every 16 year-old, and in a car centric world, it may very well be. This ideology seems to stem from people viewing driver’s licenses and cars as a practicality or status item. Status with a license takes different forms: for some people, through their license, get a loud car. For them, having a loud car is what makes them cool. We’ve all heard a young man in his fancy car absolutely rev the engine loudly so it can be heard everywhere.
Then there’s the practicality: having a license and a car grants the ability to get yourself around. This form of luxury—that a driver’s license entails—is highly sought after by most and is placed on a pedestal. It’s seen as the end-all, be-all because it is viewed as the predominant way to possess true “freedom.”
Think about how accessible things will be! A plethora of statements that people have continuously received. These opinions can often cause a sense of shame for those who do not have a driver’s license, especially if not immediately when one turns 16. It is a pressure shared,just as often as that dreaded do you have a partner yet? from that one prying relative.
There’s so much stigma surrounding not having a license that comes from people with licenses. There is complete disregard for the reasons as to why some people may not have a license, whether it be lack of time, lack of money, or any other roadblock. But in a car-centric society, any reasoning is often dismissed or not even acknowledged. The message that everyone hears is: I don’t have my license and I couldn’t be bothered to get it. They’re not interested in hearing an explanation.
Another downside to our car centric society is that despite car accidents being the third leading cause of death in Canada, we are prone to pushing to get people behind the wheel once they are legally able to do so.
Furthermore, there is a lack of interest in exploring other ways people can travel. Like using public transit! It is more eco-friendly because it serves multiple people at once in comparison to cars, where people do not carpool unless they are family or friends. Biking or walking is also a much cheaper and healthier alternative for people.
The skills honed by using transit are also often overlooked in this narrow scope of driving practicalities. Public transit requires good time management to ensure you reach the bus on time or even arrive early. Anyone who has taken public transit knows the run of shame you see when the bus pulls away because you got there just seconds too late. Taking public transit requires you to keep track of your bus pass, and having money aside saved for the bus. It creates the environment to foster responsibility in all these ways that nobody seems to realise.
We have become so narrowly focused on having a license, and being able to drive a car to where we want to go. No one advises you to take public transit more often when we turn 16. No one wakes up on the morning of their 16th birthday receiving a bus pass as their gift. Maybe, we should consider that for a change!
