Publisher’s Note: The Issue of Transportation in Roanoke City

I recently attended a community meeting where a young woman was sharing her excitement about a new job. Then she said, “Now I have to figure out how to get to work.” Her job is at Orvis near the Roanoke County line headed to Botetourt County on U.S. 460. She lives in Lansdowne apartments. Her work day begins at 5 a.m. According to her GPS on her phone, she said it would take her two hours to walk to her job. I said to the young woman, “You are willing to walk two hours to work?” Her answer: “I will do whatever it takes to feed my family.”

The issue of transportation has been a long talked about concern. Elected leaders ran on platforms of improving transportation and bus routes in our neighborhoods so the citizens of Roanoke would have ample means to get to work and provide for their families. Yet, to my knowledge, this issue still has not been properly addressed. 

Since school began, the Roanoke City School system has been experiencing issues with buses picking up children late, therefore hindering school time and learning. The Roanoke School Board contracted a North Carolina firm, Durham School Services, to transport our children to school. However, a few weeks into this new contractual arrangement, bus problems persist. 

So, what do we do to solve the transportation issue for parents and children? It appears to me that one solution is to extend the hours of public transit. Thinking out of the box…This would be a great opportunity for an entrepreneur to start a private transportation company and contract with area businesses whose employees need transportation to work. This would eliminate employees being late to work due to constantly trying to find transportation. This would not take money from public funds and it would bring huge value to the community.

Back to the school buses. I really do not understand why the School Board decided to contract Durham School Services to bus our children. Not only are they late in picking up our kids, but there are issues with nonpayment to the drivers. What a morale deflator that is. I would encourage school leaders to get rid of this company and find one where the wheels on the bus go round and round – on time, on time. Since the school board receives 40 percent of Roanoke City’s budgeted funds, I think we should bring back our own drivers, pay them a decent wage and keep the structure within the school district. Getting our kids to school safely and on time is imperative. Let’s do what makes good economic sense.

Robert L. Jeffrey Jr.
Publisher