JUL 12 2022
Transportation can often be a significant barrier for new neighbors as they build and navigate life in a new place. Accessible transportation can have an incredibly positive impact in lives of newcomers as it supports economic or educational success in addition to convenience for daily activities such as grocery shopping or enjoying time at the park across town. Keep reading to learn about how this system changed the life of a new neighbor and her family due to the incredible access our local Ozark Regional Transit System has provided to our community.
Access to convenient public transportation outside of a large city can be uncommon; however, Northwest Arkansas has recently implemented a brand new system of public transportation that provides nearly full and on-demand access across NWA. Ozark Regional Transit began providing on-demand services via a mobil phone app that can be scheduled to and from any location in Washington, Benton, and Madison counties (ORT) in late 2021. Not only is this incredible service available to all with access to the app, but it is also currently free of charge to all users. This upgrade in transportation services has greatly boosted the autonomy our new neighbors can achieve. With just the click of a button, going to the grocery store is a simple trip rather than a planned event that takes hours to complete. Now, getting to job interviews, medical appointments, parent-teacher conferences, and soccer games are more convenient than ever before.
Jevin, a neighbor from Syria who recently came to NWA with eight of her family members, was astounded upon learning about ORT’s on-demand transportation capabilities and says it’s “great for everyone”. Jevin began taking English classes shortly after arriving here and would routinely take a two-to-three hour bus journey to get to and from her class on a daily basis. After the implementation of ORT’s new system, her entire schedule opened up – “now I arrive at school in ten minutes!” She loves the capabilities the app offers to schedule rides at specific times so she and her family are able to plan ahead and are not wasting hours of each day. “They keep [us] updated by sending messages – we know what time it’s going to come, how long it will take, and we can keep track of the bus on the map they have in the app.” She added, “we use the bus for many [other] things, not just school. We use it for going to the grocery store, going to parks – we even went all the way to [Lake] Fayetteville!”
Quick trips to her English classes, the grocery store, and the park have greatly improved life for Jevin and her family. Jevin made a point to contact Canopy about how this public transportation system has truly changed her life and given her valuable time back to do the things she loves, rather than waiting around for longer, more tedious forms of transportation. She also noted she loves that “it’s really safe”. She is excited, not only to teach her family, but to also teach many other new neighbors around her about the public transportation that is available to them here in our community. She is so grateful to have access to such a wonderful system and wants others to reap the benefits that she enjoys almost daily.
We are so excited about this development in transportation for our community as we assist new neighbors each and every day in gaining autonomy and self-sufficiency for themselves and their families in their new lives here in NWA. We are grateful to Ozark Regional Transit and the greater NWA community for providing this level of support for new neighbors and all in our community who will benefit from these services!
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