Upper School Spanish teacher Mr. Jose Narbona’s commute to school is rather different than your average Houstonian.
While the majority of Houstonians rely on personal vehicles, Mr. Narbona opts for public transportation and carpooling to get from place to place.
Houston is a city built for transport by car. The news organization Digg released a video calling Houston one of “the least walkable cities in America.” The Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Understanding Houston initiative published a metric that about 93% of households in Harris County have a vehicle.
“I leave from home at around 5 a.m. each day to ensure I get to school on time,” Mr. Narbona said. “It’s a daily routine for me.”
And even after a long day of teaching, Mr Narbona takes a five-minute walk to the San Felipe and Voss bus stop to board a bus home.
“I’m glad that the Houston Metro system is extremely reliable,” Mr. Narbona said.
He uses an app that provides him with the time of the bus’s arrival; that way, he does not have to wait too long.
Mr. Narbona’s commute to school serves as an example that there are alternate transportation methods in Houston.
He also enjoys biking and often bikes around his neighborhood and the city to grab a quick bite to eat, visit a friend, or even for a workout. Last year, Mr Narbona suffered a bike accident when a car collided with his bicycle, but that did not stop him from doing what he loves.
“If I could ride my bike everywhere, I would,” Mr. Narbona said.
Mr. Narbona also often carpools to school with his neighbor, Upper School geometry and AP statistics teacher Ms. Kristen Madison.
“All this is something I do to save our planet and cut down on all the emissions we are putting into the atmosphere,” he said.
