I remember so clearly this past 4th of July seeing a billboard advertising discount tickets for a Gwinnett Braves game on that day as well as telling us there would be fireworks after the game. Sounds great? The only thing stopping me is that I don’t have a car and Gwinnett Transit doesn’t run on holidays nor does Gwinnett Transit go there on a regular game day.
Public transportation for me is what gets me from point A to point B. I was happy to see SPLOST was approved in Gwinnett County. I would like to see money invested in Gwinnett Transit so that the bus service would run 7 days a week, on holidays and running to at least 11PM.
There has been some unfair statements made that having public transportation increases crime. What I see riding the bus with me is people like myself riding the bus that is going to work, shopping or at times places of entertainment. The bus is our car! Just normal people trying to make a living!
Gwinnett County has great places to go like the Mall of Georgia but you can’t get there because no bus runs there. So if someone wants to seek employment at the Mall of Georgia they have to have another form of transportation because there isn’t a bus.
I have two Wal-Mart’s that are less than five miles from me but I can’t get there because the bus doesn’t run late enough during the week and the bus that goes to both of those Wal-Mart’s don’t run on the weekends. If I want to go to a movie, I can get there on the bus but can’t get back because the bus on some routes stop at 7:00pm.
It is good that they have money from the SPLOST to use for public transportation but there needs to be some advertising as well as corporate sponsors to generate revenue. There are many companies represented by the people that ride Gwinnett Transit. In order for any business to be a success there has to be a nucleus of sponsors that help not only the sponsors but Gwinnett Transit to operate to their highest potential. This way the businesses in the community are helping to support the bus system for the people that use the bus system to get to their businesses.
Lastly, I would really like to see an ad hoc committee of public transportation riders that would work with the people that make the decisions about public transportation because the people that make the decisions don’t use public transportation. That way Gwinnett Transit will not just be a spreadsheet to the decision makers but when they hear the input and suggestions from the riders it will make a difference in the decisions that they make.
Source: Reverend Harriet Bradley, Gwinnett Resident