PHILADELPHIA -- Marcus McKnight’s fascination with public transportation began when he was growing up on a quiet block in the city’s Logan neighborhood. Riding SEPTA gave him a window to the world, or at least, to Philadelphia.

Sure, that window may have been scratched and smudged sometimes, but it never dulled McKnight’s curiosity.

“It was like an adventure: ‘What can I see where we’re going to go?’” he said. “Whether it was to school or to the supermarket, the people were always different and there was always something different going on.”

Motivated by his love for public transit, McKnight, 34, who still lives in Logan, got his commercial driver’s license in 2019 and today works as a driver for the Krapf Group, which operates the Navy Yard and Philly Phlash buses.

But McKnight, a 2007 Olney High grad, has long felt called to teaching too. In a 2003 Daily News student spotlight feature, McKnight, then just 13, said he wanted to become “a teacher or the mayor.”

McKnight is now pursuing his bachelor’s degree in history online from Southern New Hampshire University and in December, he started substitute teaching at K-12 charter schools in Philly.

“I thought, ‘Let me do this part-time and see how this will work out, see if my heart is still in it,’” he said.

On top of working two jobs and going to school, McKnight also advocates for public transit riders and workers through the Philly Transit Riders Union, a grassroots group he co-founded that works to defend and expand public transit.

“We’re the first organization to give viewpoints of not just bus riders but also transit employees,” he said.

McKnight often posts about his experiences as a bus driver, substitute teacher, and transit activist on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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