“My biggest influence is Jesus. He inspires me every day to be a better person.” Timothy rides the bus to work every day. “I love that I get to meet so many new people on the bus.”

“When I was little, I told my mom I wanted to grow up and live in the television. I still feel that way. I've been a professional actress and comedian for years. People keep telling me to move to New York or L.A., but I just so happen to be madly in love with my city. I have a habit of living across the street from bus stops. It hasn't been intentionally, but awfully convenient.”

“I grew up a Navy brat. After college, I went to UT Austin for law school, but dropped out after the first year and joined the Army as a paratrooper scout. After a tour in Afghanistan, I got out of the Army, finished law school and then worked for a judge. Now I spend all my time working on startups and programming. Learning how to start businesses when you don't know if any of them will work has been a long road, but I think this will be the year I make it.”

“I’ve been traveling from England around the United States for three months now.” Charlie and his girlfriend are making their way across the country. His favorite stop so far? “Memphis, definitely. I love those Delta Blues. The MetroBus has been helping us get from downtown to uptown and all the areas in Austin we need to visit.”

You can often find Akin riding the bus to gigs with his amp and guitar. “Playing music is an extension of my Rastafarian roots. To honor that, we play music.”

Anthony is a car mechanic and entrepreneur. “I buy cars that need work. After repairing or replacing necessary parts, I sell them. I take the bus everywhere. It’s much more reliable than most of the cars I buy.”

“It’s important for kids to have a peace zone, a quiet place to think. Riding the bus is a lot like that for me. I can think about the day ahead while listening to music or just staring out the window. Gives me time to gather my thoughts before entering the hectic school environment.”

Lavender LaFleur has been a makeup artist and drag performer in Austin for the past four years. Drag explores ideas about gender through performance, painting, sewing and makeup. “Capital Metro gives us a way to be visibly queer in public, avoid car reliance and move around the city.” These experiences help shape the art Lavender creates.