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Expanded Bus Route Meets Critical Transportation Need
Javier Arias doesn’t have a driver’s license, so he depended on rides from his older sister and other family members when he needed transportation.
That all changed in August when the Alamance County Transportation Authority (ACTA) expanded its bus routes to include a regular route through southern Alamance County.
“It’s been great!” said Arias, an inventory and logistics specialist with SAFE, a nonprofit based in southern Alamance County that addresses food insecurity, health care and other basic needs in the region. “The bus takes me from my job to Graham where I can get to several stores to buy anything I need.”
Even more meaningful to Arias is knowing that the new bus route was created in response to feedback collected by the organization where he works.
Tiffanie Jackson, executive director of Safe, said lack of transportation emerged as the number one need during a series of listening sessions the nonprofit held in early 2023 with volunteers, clients and community partners.
“There were actually very limited resources available for those with transportation needs,” said Jackson.
Once the need was identified, Jackson began reaching out to agencies in the county that she hoped could help. She connected with Peter Murphy, ACTA’s executive director.
A community straw poll confirmed strong interest and need for the expanded route, and a regional transportation study already underway pointed to the same need, Murphy said.
Today, the new route includes stops at key locations such as a dollar store, two grocery stores, a post office, the SAFE food pantry and Alamance Community College. Riders can also connect to Burlington’s LINK bus system and other regional transportation services to Durham, Chapel Hill and Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem. There is no charge to riders to use the route.
For Arias, the new bus service is more than just a ride. He and the regular bus driver have become like family, sharing with each other about how their day is going. “He’s even given me his phone number in case I need to get in touch about the schedule or service.”
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