A Wichita man has ditched his personal car for a city bus in an effort to create a better city.

“I took a pledge to ride public transit at least four round trips every week in October and share the experience with people,” said John DeCesaro.

DeCesaro took the pledge after learning about an initiative called BlackoutICT.

BlackoutICT is a movement to face down Wichita’s challenges and create a better future for the city and its residents.

“I chose transit because I knew it was a valuable service here for the City fo Wichita, but I didn’t know a whole lot about it,” he said.

By the end of October, DeCesaro had taken 35 round trips using city buses or the Q-Line. He said he learned something new during each trip.

“I also realized that the more people that ride transit in our city, the more we support this valuable service, the more likely it’s going to be here and it’s going to improve for the people who really need it who rely on public transportation to get around everywhere,” DeCesaro said.

DeCesaro documented a majority of his trips on social media. He posted photos of some of the areas of the city he traveled through, some of the new people he met along the way and selfies of he and his daughter taking trips together.

“It was great to have my daughter participate with me, jump on these rides because my hope is that the transit system isn’t something that’s foreign to her or scary to her. I really think for the system to continue to grow and be a great service for all of Wichita, we need that younger generation to feel comfortable using it, jumping on the bus and seeing it as an option to get where they need to go,” he explained. 

Ultimately, the father of two hopes his experiences encourage others to get on board.

“I hope that some people who saw those posts and those photos are curious enough to hop on a bus themselves,” he said.

DeCesaro said he was also shocked by how much money and time he saved while riding the bus.

He told KSN he now plans on taking public transportation on a regular basis.