Only a person who has had to endure the long daily grind of rail commutation can understand how important a portable device such as an IPod is to the mental health of railers. Sure, we can try to make sure our devices are fully charged and that we are carrying our headsets with us. But the reality is that often we forget. Imagine our chagrin when we settle into our seats to endure the loud cramped ride awaiting us, only to discover that our beloved IPod is out of juice, or that we forgot to pack our headset. Minutes seem like hours as we pass by the same scenery and stations we have seen twice a day, five times a week, for any number of years. Indeed, some say we should "read a book". Unfortunately, many of us cannot read on a moving train because of the nausea and dizziness it induces. RIP's Movement-Challenged Readers Subcommittee (MoCRS) is peopled with such individuals, many of whom can attest to nearly passing out from the uncomfortable symptoms of reading-induced motion sickness.

Our action committee also advocates a "lend-lease" program of IPod rental for regular commuters with broken devices. The idea is to provide special loaner IPods to regular riders while they await IPod repair or windows phone repair. RIP has found broken or battery-dead IPods to be a prime cause of railer anxiety. Fortunately, we have been able to identify and recommend speedy Internet repair services, such as Rhousemedia, to minimize the time we must spend without our devices. But even a service as quick as Rhousemedia can't get us back our IPod?s on the same day. Therefore, our idea for a lend-lease program fills an important void in the lives of commuter rail's most loyal customers.

We encourage all railers who love their IPods to join our cause. Through our collective action, we can force the railways to acknowledge the needs of those individuals most responsible for the continued operation of the rail system - the weekday commuters.