Program takes aim at seniors' bus fears
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Residents of Golden Acres Apartments board a training bus while learning how to use the city transit system.
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Golden Acres resident Carol McCarthy tries out the stop cord during a training ride on a Janesville Transit bus.
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Scott Hennings, mobility manager for Rock County Council on Aging, talks about the bus routes during a training session for residents of Golden Acres Apartments.
JANESVILLE — Riding the city bus for the first time wasn't as scary as Richard Grams had feared.
Grams, 54, Janesville, worried he'd get off at the wrong bus stop and have to walk a mile to his destination.
That would be a problem because one side of his body has been numb since a stroke.
"I could probably walk two blocks at the most," he said.
Grams decided to overcome his fears by taking advantage of a free bus travel training program Tuesday morning led by Scott Hennings, Rock County Council on Aging mobility manager.
The program is for Rock County residents who want to travel independently by riding buses in Janesville or Beloit. The program teaches riders how to:
-- Plan a trip.
-- Read and understand route maps and schedules.
-- Get to and from bus stops.
-- Recognize bus numbers, bus stops and landmarks.
-- Pay fares and buy tickets and passes.
-- Get on and off the bus safely.
-- Use the ramp to board with a mobility device.
-- Locate and transfer buses.
-- Safely cross streets.
After 30 minutes of listening, Grams and a half dozen others from the apartment complex where he lives boarded a city bus with Hennings for a ride to and from the transfer center.
Grams said the ride helped him overcome some of his fears. He planned to study the transit map and route guide before riding the bus again with another resident, who would teach him more about transferring buses.
"It's fun, now," he said.
Hennings presents travel training in small groups or to individuals wanting help riding the bus. Since starting the program a month ago, he has presented a half-dozen sessions to 80 seniors and has another program scheduled.
"I figured seniors and people with disabilities have an even harder time navigating the bus system, so I thought I'd help them get familiar with it," he said.
Grams said he was surprised to learn how affordable it was to ride the bus. He said he's living on a fixed income and struggles to afford gas for his car, which he drives only when necessary.
Dorothy Sherman, 88, also attended Henning's training session and rode the bus.
"I want to at least know what's available," she said, "and be prepared if I my car breaks down."
FOR HELP
To learn more through the Rock County Council on Aging Travel Training Program about how to ride city buses, call Scott Hennings, mobility manager, at (608) 757-5408 or email hennings@co.rock.wi.us at least two days in advance to schedule a travel training session.
Training will be provided to individuals or in small groups at senior centers, apartments, schools or any other place organizations meet.
Nov 11, 2011 at 7:25 p.m.
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Keep in mind some of these seniors may not have grown up in a city even as large as Janesville. Rock County has a lot of rural residents.
Nov 11, 2011 at 11:18 a.m.
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Why don't they just funnel a very loud clapper audio signal inside the bus so they know where to get off?
Nov 11, 2011 at 10:16 a.m.
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Off topic a little but there are many kids at Parker that are considered homeless and need bus tokens to get to school. (you can live far enough from Parker that walking is not practical for time reasons). Bus tokens/passes for them to use can be dropped of at the Parker front office. For $45 you can get a kid in a tough situation back and forth to school for a month.
Nov 11, 2011 at 10:07 a.m.
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@crunch_munch: "55 is YOUR idea of senior"... It's also set up for the disabled, as was the first individual in the story. The word "senior" in the headline was a grabber for those that truly think of themselves as a "senior"...whatever age that really is for each of us.
Nov 11, 2011 at 10:03 a.m.
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One lady stated: "I want to at least know what's available," she said, "and be prepared if I my car breaks down."
Each of us should know how to ride the bus. Obviously, not many do, or more would ride them. In Madison, they're pretty full most times of the day. I wish we wouldn't have such large, free parking lots around malls...they need to put in parking meters in their lots to subsidize mass transit, to get us off of ME oil.
(Yes, i know...that's not the point of a private venture's parking lot...don't write me... it's just a thought.)
Nov 11, 2011 at 6:08 a.m.
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Really? "mobility manager for Rock County Council on Aging" <-- this is an actual position?
Nov 10, 2011 at 9:01 p.m.
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frogger, your comment was humorous and true. Good one.
Sigma40, Maybe YOUR taxes should be increased to purchase, "smaller shuttle buses", for the slow nights. :)
Nov 10, 2011 at 8:59 p.m.
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I agree... They run the buses at hours no one needs them. Where are they at 2:30 AM? They city wouldnt go for that though, then less people would get DUI's and the city would make less money.
Nov 10, 2011 at 7:12 p.m.
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We could fill the bus if the drunk drivers would use it.
Nov 10, 2011 at 7:02 p.m.
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Why dont we get some smaller shuttle buses to run when no one rides them? Every night I see buses with 2 or 3 people on them. Seems a waste of a huge diesel bus driving all over for a couple people wasting diesel...our tax dollars going out the tailpipe.
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