TRANSIT STORIES

Asheville, NC – The VA is where my transit journey started in Asheville. When I first got to Asheville, I would take the bus to the VA hospital, to my classes, back to my housing. But the bus didn’t come all the way to the VA hospital. Instead, it would stop about a quarter-mile walk away from the VA hospital, and one day I even waited over two hours for the bus. One of my instructors helped me find out who was responsible for the bus out to the VA, and I started advocating for my fellow veterans who used walkers and found it difficult to get all the way to the bus stop. It turned out that there was a fault in the system, and they suggested I apply to join the transit committee. So for the last eight years, I’ve been a member of the Asheville Transit Committee.

Providence, RI – I’m Vinh, a student at Brown University studying Urban Studies. I grew up in Gwinnett County, Georgia, a suburban area where getting around without a car was almost impossible. My interest in public transportation started in high school when I realized how few options there were for students who couldn’t drive. I remember walking home along a two-lane road with no sidewalks because there was no bus service to my neighborhood. That experience made me want to learn more about making transit more equitable and accessible.

St. Paul, MN – I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for about four years while attending college, where I’m studying aerospace engineering. Originally from Colorado, I’ve experienced transit in rural, suburban, and urban settings. However, it wasn’t until I moved here that I started using transit regularly. Between buses, light rail, and biking, I can get just about anywhere I need to go without a car.

My name is Judy Jones, and I live in Sedro-Woolley in Skagit County. I am blind, due to retinopathy of prematurity. I am currently a white cane user, but I have also been a guide dog user. As blind people, my husband and I have been very independent.

I’ve been riding transit since 1979. Transit has allowed me to have a working career, to raise my kids, and to get where I need to and want to go.

Little Rock, AR – I grew up in Durham, NC which was an easy place to get around as a kid. My sisters all got drivers licenses when they were 16 but that wasn’t an option for me since I was legally blind so I walked or bicycled on the relatively empty streets or took the bus.

I live in Nashua, NH and have been active with the New Hampshire Developmental Disability Quality Council and Disability Rights Council NH. I’m on the autism spectrum and have heart disease so I use buses, Medicaid transportation, Uber, Lyft, and taxis to get around.