Manatee County's Handy Bus service needs help but not via a fare hike

This is in response to the news item about Manatee County's Handy Bus raising its fare from $2 a ride to $3. Like many other senior citizens, I no longer drive since I turned 90 two years ago.

Without the bus I would be depressed, very unhappy, not as healthy as I am going to my doctors when needed and am stranded in an apartment not even near a grocery store I could walk to.

Since I now know how to spell the word "billionaire" after seeing it in the press so frequently, I would like to ask any local family with that kind of bankroll to help finance the Handy Bus.

I can afford the $50 a month traveling by Handy; it would go up to $75. But we do need the two new buses and two more drivers since there are so many more seniors in our population using the service. Sometimes the buses are full and we cannot get a ride.

Most of the seniors had worked and live on Social Security. The younger disabled people using the service haven't, but the transportation is more useful going to the agencies that help them since they have Handy Bus service.

This service drives many with no other means of transportation. However, we are still lacking, for all residents, Sunday bus service. With the world in the mess it's in right now, we need to get to worship services to pray for peace en mass even though we do at home, too.

Perhaps two or three agencies or families could merge their resources to give Handy Bus a lift, as well as our public bus service. Thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness.

Rev. Emmalou Kirchmeier

Bradenton

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee County's Handy Bus service needs help but not via a fare hike ."