ATLANTA — Residents of Berean Village Senior Community in southwest Atlanta say they must walk a grueling half-mile to catch a bus after the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority closed the bus stop on their street last month, while restructuring the bus route system to improve efficiency.
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“Which is a problem for seniors, especially for those with these chronic conditions and ailments,” said resident Belinda White.
White and several other residents who rely on bus transportation filmed their walk to the nearest bus stop on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard to show MARTA officials. The long walk includes cracked sidewalks and crossing a bridge over Interstate 20.
“We wanted to demonstrate to them how difficult, nearly impossible it is to do this. There were ones that were walking with us that had to turn back. They couldn’t do it. They have respiratory illness, they have canes, wheelchairs, oxygen, you name it,” said White. “We are basically paralyzed now, when it comes to getting around.”
Those who can’t walk to the bus stop miss out on important appointments, such as doctors’ visits and trips to get groceries.
“A lot of them have to cancel. If I don’t use an Uber or something, I have to cancel,” said Resident LeRon Moore.
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White said there’s no shuttle bus available to them either.
“I don’t understand why they couldn’t hook us up with MARTA Reach, shuttle MARTA on demand. They said ridership was too low, and they were losing money on this route after 35 years,” said White.
MARTA released a statement on the elimination of the bus stop on West View Place. It said in part:
“Decisions that impact our riders are never taken lightly. We understood that while the NextGen Bus Network would improve service and frequency overall, it would also create challenges for some of our customers like those at Berean Village.”
The residents say the plan is to meet with MARTA officials Thursday night.
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