Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Deloris Jacobs leaves her home around 3:30 a.m. to begin her commute to work. What was once a short bus ride, has turned into a hasty walk lit only by streetlights.
The 59-year-old previously relied on Local Motion’s public transit services to arrive at her job at Palm Pantry on Dunbarton Boulevard and open the store each morning.
Since mass transit services have been limited to prioritize Medicaid rides, individuals who do not drive or own vehicles and who are not receiving Medicaid benefits such as Jacobs, are left to find their own means of transportation.
“Everyone says that people don’t want to work. We do want to work, we just can’t get there,” said Jacobs.
Local Motion has been transporting Barnwell County residents to work and doctor’s appointments for over 30 years – regardless of their Medicaid status. In a county without a hospital, this service has proven to be vital in accessing care.
Now, Generations Unlimited (GU) has limited their mass transit services due to financial uncertainty and begun to prioritize transporting Medicaid patients over mass-transit riders.
“None of us want to stop it, we just can’t afford it,” said GU chairperson Cheryl Long of mass-transit services.
Before starting her job at Palm Pantry in 2019, Jacobs managed another convenience store for over 20 years where she utilized Local Motion with no issues for a flat rate per ride. Now, she finds herself coordinating with friends and customers to ensure she has a ride to and from work, sometimes costing her $20 each way.
Jacobs feels unsafe walking to work in the dark, morning hours. Around the same time Local Motion stopped mass transit services, her store was broken into before she arrived for the day.
A home health nurse living in Snelling is in a similar situation. She leaves her house at 4:30 a.m. She previously depended on Local Motion to bring her to and from her patients’ homes, who rely on her for much of their basic needs.
Now, she finds herself paying more to catch rides with friends or starting the day on foot, hoping a generous neighbor offers her a lift.
Aside from worrying about her patients' safety, this nurse, whose identity The People-Sentinel has agreed to not disclose due to potential impact on her employment, is also worried for her own safety when walking on busy roads in the early morning hours.
Getting to work on time is not the only reason people rely on Local Motion. Every rider has a specific destination and reason for riding, such as medical appointments, to get groceries, or to utilize an offered public service.
For Ellen Herman, it is to maintain a sense of independence.
Herman has one goal: to walk again. Five years ago, Herman woke up paralyzed from the waist down. She was later diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition where a person’s immune system attacks the peripheral nerve leaving them unable to move.
Herman estimates she has ridden Local Motion mass transit almost 400 times since her diagnosis and becoming wheelchair bound. She is not a Medicaid member, and has been prepaying for her twice weekly rides to Aiken for physical therapy.
“It takes me from 8:30 a.m. to two in the afternoon to get my 50-minute physical therapy in,” said Herman. “It is worth it to me because I don't have anything better to do than to get better.”
Herman is 67, and is grateful to have a support system that can get her to Monday and Wednesday appointments when Local Motion cannot. However, she uses Local Motion because it provides a sense of independence throughout her recovery.
“It’s my independence, it gives me a sense of well-being… and that matters,” said Herman, who explains Local Motion greatly aids in providing quality of life for seniors.
Herman is grateful for the service Local Motion offered, and sees how essential it is for other riders and herself each time she boards a bus. Some of her fellow riders are being transported for chemotherapy or dialysis, others are parents bringing their child to a wellness exam.
“It is a service,” said Herman. “The people need it. They need to get to the doctor.”
When the Barnwell County Hospital shut down in 2016, those in an emergency or needing medical aid had to turn to surrounding facilities for care. Local primary care doctors were forced to refer patients 45 minutes away rather than ten, and Local Motion became vital for persons who do not drive or have reliable transportation.
Herman, like Jacobs, has been vocal about her experiences with Local Motion to her county councilman, GU administration, other riders, and anyone else she finds to be impacted by loss of services.
“She is one of our loyal members of Local Motion transit,” said GU executive director Ethel Faust of Herman at the November 15 GU board meeting, just before Herman detailed her experiences with the service.
However, even the most loyal riders such as Herman and Jacobs are being limited from using Local Motion transit services as they are not Medicaid patients.
To Herman’s surprise, she was granted a ride on Monday, November 20. Although grateful, she questions why she was able to ride after speaking up at the board meeting. She wonders if others were able to get services back as well, and what it takes to receive them.
The People-Sentinel was unable to contact Faust prior to publication to determine who is currently eligible for mass transit services.
GU is holding public forums on Wednesday, November 29 and December 6 to present a proposal for transit fare increases. These events will be an opportunity for the community to express their opinions.
Each date will have four drop-in style meetings: 10 a.m. at the Blackville Community Center, 11 a.m. at the Barnwell County Public Library, 1:30 p.m. at the Williston Town Hall, and 2:30 p.m. at the Gail Reyes Senior Center.
During the past four years of Herman riding Local Motion, she has watched the condition of the buses deteriorate. What started as clean, well-kept, maintained vehicles has shifted to broken or unusable windshields, wheelchair lifts, and air conditioning.
“How many times have I been sitting in Aiken, staring at the lift, and everyone holding their breath because it didn’t come down,” said Herman. “I can’t just stand up out of my wheelchair and climb on the bus. If I could do that, that’s what I would do.”
The People-Sentinel previously reported on some of the maintenance and fleet issues being experienced by GU in a November 22 article, detailing some of these mechanical problems.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second article in an ongoing series by The People-Sentinel.
