We have Other Overseas Bus Avocate Group Wanting To Learn of Our Groups Success

We have received an e-mail from Jane in Michigan USA asking for assistance as they have seen our group has been successful - being us.

They live near a university and are battling to save a major bus stop, have provided comments from Jane, povided to us regarding their battle:

'We are only starting out from a local University in town (Western Michigan University, we are located in Kalamazoo, MI) and have been placed at a community center that service low-income individuals and families if they need assistance with food, financial assistance with evictions or utility shut-offs. The place is called Portage Community Centre; they are having many other services that they offer to the public. So include in this small group that want to save the bus stop is myself, Jane , Mike (another intern) and Dianne the Executive Director of the PCC. Like I said we are very small.

The bus stop across the street from us is vitally important because many of our community members that wish to use services PCC, rely on bus transportation to get them there. We have been petitioning and doing surveys for about 2 months now, and after our input session with community members and the bus authority, other surrounding service agency and council men and women: the Kalamazoo County Transit Authority ( a board member of about 50 people in charge of making bus decisions) have agreed to hold more public hearings! This is great because a BIG issue during the Input session was that the people felt KCTA was not letting the people (taxpayers) know what was going on and felt that those in charge was going behind their backs. So all in all input session did leave an impression.'

I have provided tips to assist them, copied Debbie in and so far they have appreciated the tips provided so far. It appears that although we think that reduction of bus services and or bus stops may be in our front yard it is also an international problem and could be wide spread - I hope that this is not because the 'Global economic downturn in stock shares and financial markets! If so, this is inexcusable! You do not have a society when there there is a general trend to population growth and transport infrastructure is heading the opposite direction to population growth ( negative)!

Thank to Western Michigan USA it is great we are working together in different parts of the world for the same cause - there maybe other parts of the work feeling the same!!!!