I regularly ride the Portland Metro bus system. The buses are usually prompt, the drivers and fellow passengers tend to be courteous and I really appreciate the Southern Maine Transit Tracker system. I love to look out the window and see interesting places and things I wouldn’t notice if I were in a car.

This leads me to my complaint about the bus system: The exteriors of the buses, including windows, are often adorned with large ads. This makes it difficult for riders to look out the windows and take in the view, which takes on a dim, pixilated appearance with the ads covering the panes.

To deny bus riders the simple pleasure of looking out of an unobstructed windowpane seems to me to be an unfair indignity. I can appreciate that the ad revenue is needed. Even so, I ask that the Metro reconsider them. Portland’s bus riders deserve better.

Sarah English

Portland