County, cities need mass transit

By Nelson Graves
Published: August 23, 2008

When I first glanced at The News Virginian’s Aug. 20 front page and read the headline, “Citywide transportation plan discussed for W’boro,” I thought the story was going in another direction.
As I mature (PC for age), I can’t help but wonder when Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro will obtain a mass-transit system that will meet the needs of their maturing populations.
Frequently, you read articles or reports of accidents where senior citizens are involved. Or they get lost due to Alzheimer’s disease or just from aging. Then there are stories of adult children facing dilemmas. Should they take the car and/or truck keys from parents who shouldn’t be driving?
Another question: What or who will restrict aging parents from driving if their adult children live outside the immediate area? At least the seniors whose children live nearby have someone to take them where and when they need to go.
Many seniors living in retirement homes and villages have facility-run transportation options. Others might have fellow churchgoers or friends to carry them to various places, but what of those living alone? And then there are still others who don’t have family, friends or are just too financially challenged (PC for poor) to have their own transportation.
Augusta County is a large, spread-out locality, while Staunton and Waynesboro are hilly and expanding in all directions. All three are too widespread for seniors to consider walking to purchase groceries, medicines and clothing or to keep doctor appointments. If seniors want to dine out, take in an afternoon or early evening movie and don’t have personal transportation, they’re in trouble.
Options currently available to both cities’ residents include a Waynesboro-headquartered cab company. Staunton has its trolley service that’s geared to tourists but doesn’t serve folks most in need. Waynesboro has a non-emergency, all-volunteer transportation resource for the elderly and disabled. Medical transportation for the elderly and disabled is also available to residents of the county and both cities to most regional medical centers. Available to all three localities is subsidized emergency and non-transportation services.
If an urgent trip is needed, it might be costly. And should a medical need arise, charges may come from the Staunton-Augusta and Waynesboro Rescue squads.
My point is that reliable, timely and continuous transportation will be a major priority for the county and both cities. It’s highly unlikely and cost-prohibitive that each will create and maintain its own resource.
I’m suggesting that Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro jointly study ways to provide future transportation to their maturing and their monetary-challenged residents.
In an effort to not only foresee a problem but to also offer an outside-the-box solution, consider this: Each municipality currently operates a bus system – its school buses. Why couldn’t each run regularly scheduled routes and charge fees to cover the costs of operation? Or better yet, why can’t all three operate a joint system similar to the landfill operation?
Nelson Graves, Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. E-mail him at .