Geraldine Sill comes to town from Nazko by the community bus. The band provides community members this option every Wednesday. It comes in at 10 a.m. and leaves for home at 4 p.m. This is a Godsend for the 10 – 20 people who take the bus each week.
“Before there was the bus, and I had to come to town for a doctor’s appointment, I would have to hire someone to bring me. It would cost between $60 and $80 each trip,” she said.
It could often mean that all of Geraldine’s money would go for this expense.
“Everything is expensive out in Nazko. There are limited groceries available and even the gas is expensive.” So the bus is a huge savings for Geraldine.
If Geraldine can’t get a medical appointment on a Wednesday, she can sometimes take the medical van to town now although it isn’t running at the moment.
When asked about the experience of riding the bus to town, there doesn’t seem to be too much exciting about the trip, “I sleep on the way in!”
Geraldine has a heart problem that limits her ability to walk far. She can walk to visit neighbours but she isn’t able to take part in the walking program in Nazko in which people clock their steps on pedometers and collectively compete with other bands.
So using the bus and walking are Geraldine’s low-impact modes of transportation. They mostly work well for her.
“We really want to encourage people to think before they get in their cars to drive somewhere. We are putting carbon into the air each time we start up and drive. In addition, we know that cheap, easily obtained, relatively cleanly produced gasoline is becoming a thing of the past and we need to consider other ways we can adapt to these coming changes,” Quesnel Climate Action Group’s Maureen Trotter said.
In the run up to Clean Air Day, June 6, Quesnel Climate Action Group, in partnership with Baker Creek Enhancement Society, City of Quesnel, Quesnel Air Quality Roundtable and the Observer, present just a few of the many people who chose alternate ways to move around the city.
If you have made this choice or know someone who has, contact 250-992-5833 and let the community hear the story.
– submitted by Maureen Trotter