Tag Archives: HBC

On buses and birthdays

Folks, I have a serious backblog (so much to talk about: bag upgrades, transit storytelling, route number confusion), and it’s going to take me a minute to catch up. But before I get to all that, I have to share this cake (via: STB’s Sherwin Lee). This is quite possibly the coolest cake I’ve ever seen.

Little Max is turning two:

Candles as trolley poles? A licorice bike rack? If Nicole McGuire isn’t a full-fledged transit geek, she’s definitely earned her status as an HBC.

It is an interesting coincidence that I was made aware of this cake while Chicklet and I were knee deep in our own birthday baking adventure: non-transit-themed-though-still-quite-tasty birthday cupcakes for Baby Busling, who turned one today. (!)

More soon about my first year busing with two—and all that other stuff I’ve been meaning to get to.

Some of my best friends drive cars

Another term for the glossary:

HBC, n: Honorary bus chick. A person who, usually because of circumstances beyond her control (living or working in an area not served by transit or physical limitations that preclude excessive walking), does not regularly ride the bus, but who otherwise supports the bus chick agenda. Some examples of this support:

• Advocating for more and better transit in her area
• Happily riding the bus when the opportunity presents itself
• Planning events and gatherings that are accessible by bus
• Possessing generally good feelings about the bus
• Purchasing a cool bus t-shirt for a bus-riding daughter-in-law

Like full-fledged bus chicks, HBCs often feel out of step with the car-dominated communities in which they live. They, too, look forward to a pollution-, traffic-, and sprawl-free future.