Letter to Mayor Sherman P. Lea by BRL Learners

by learners enrolled in Blue Ridge Literacy’s daily Workforce Preparation classes

We use the bus to go to English class. We use the bus to go to Commonwealth Catholic Charities. We use the bus to go to the Social Services office and the Social Security office. We use the bus to go to the library. We use the bus to go to the bank. We use the bus to go grocery shopping. We use the bus to go to work. Our family members use the bus to go to college. We use the bus to go to the park. We use the bus to go to the clinic. We use the bus to visit family and friends. We use the bus to go to the mosque or church.

The bus doesn’t come often enough. The bus has limited service on Saturdays. The bus doesn’t run on Sundays. The bus stops far from our destinations and homes. The bus doesn’t stop long enough for passengers to get on. The bus stops aren’t covered. The bus stops don’t have seats.

We need more buses because every year the population gets bigger. We need bus service on Sunday because my family members go to work or go to another place. We need bus stops closer to our homes. We need seats at bus stops because people have to wait for the bus. We need covered bus stops because of the weather. We need bus drivers to respect passengers.