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Transit Tuesday

Australians Come Together on Social, Transit after Tragedy

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

On Tuesdays we’ll bring you a tidbit of transit news or trivia, either from our own backyard or from around the globe. Thanks for joining us.

Today’s Transit Tuesday highlights the story out of Sydney, Australia, called the “Sydney siege.” During the16-hour stand-off on Monday and Tuesday at a downtown café, 17 hostages were held and, eventually, two lost their lives. Three others were wounded along with a police officer. The gunman also died. The country and the world were held in the grip of the story, and soon another chapter unfolded on social media in the form of the hashtag, #illridewithyou.

During this tragedy, two women on social media came together to form an idea about helping to reduce increasing backlash against those perceived to be affiliated with the Iranian perpetrator. The initial expression of support came from the blog of Rachel Jacobs who watched a fellow passenger on public transit remove her head covering. Once off the vehicle, Jacobs reached out to the woman to tell her that she would travel with her if the woman felt intimidated. Once the story was shared on Twitter, another woman, Tessa Kum, @sirtessa, echoed the offer for those who shared her commute and then suggested the hashtag #illridewithyou.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's coverage reports more than 117,000 Tweets using the hashtag. Their RN network has a radio interview with Kum. 

This is another example of the transit community supporting each other. As reflected in our Peace Campaign from earlier this year, this inclusive solidarity is a hallmark of San Francisco and Muni.

Landscape photograph of Sydney Harbor with the Opera House on the left. In the center is "#illridewithyou" in white text.Photo credit: Flickr user Descrier