Let me preface by saying I know nothing about how polluting jet planes and their fuel are or are not. What I do know is that a rather sizable portion of the American public (i.e. voters) cannot afford to fly on an airplane these days, and that public transportation options like buses have been demonized for years as beneath the dignity or social class of Americans of means. That is exactly why Beto O’Rourke’s decision to take the bus matters so much.

Campaigns often have privately chartered or owned travel-buses at their disposal. John McCain criss-crossed America in one back in 2008. But O’Rourke has decided to actually get on a bus whose fare of 40 dollars does not give him much in terms of privacy or plush seating. Instead, he’s spending a whole lot of time with everyday voters whose economics, social class or busy lives prevent them from being particularly active in politics today.