To the Editor,
I moved here from Victoria a couple of years ago, and was quite disappointed when I became aware of the lack of effective bus service in the Nanaimo area. I realize the community is much smaller, but there are some glaring gaps in the logic of the service.
I have recently become temporarily disabled and had to ride the bus to get some groceries and other items and run some errands. Trying to get from the Bowen Park activity centre to Brooks Landing or to Terminal Park is a very complex procedure.
Also, in attempting to access the Nanaimo Correctional Centre, the bus does not cross the Parkway; the closest it gets is to Mostar and Boban, which is 1.4km from the prison, and doesn’t arrive there until after the workday begins for most staff. There are in excess of 150 employees at the prison, and none of them can use public transit for their daily travel.
I’m lucky in that my mobility issue is temporary, but if I were a senior and past the age of driving, I would be forced into a very small world indeed.
In writing this letter, I’m hoping that things will change in time for me to access a fully functioning bus service when I have aged past the point of driving, without feeling confined to my home or dependent on others to manage the few errands I will need to accomplish just to run a simple life.
Betina StratfordNanaimo