Dear Editor,
It was stated in a recent Roanoke Times Sunday paper that Mr. Palmer, general manager of the Valley Metro city bus company, said the reason the bus stops were changed was because the buses were stopping where there were no stops, resulting in traffic congestion and potential safety hazards.
Mr. Palmer should be ashamed of himself for misleading the public. That statement isn’t true. If that statement were true, it would not make sense to have bus riders walking much farther to catch a bus. It has been a hardship as well as a first class nightmare for so many riders over the changes.
I wrote to the general manager before the stops were changed for all bus riders. Mr. Palmer’s reply to me stated the changes were made in order for the workers to get to work on time.
The problems started when the school children were allowed to ride the city buses. All citizens should have their old bus stops restored, that is the right thing to do. I am a regular bus rider.
A former general manager did go on record saying that if a rider held a hand out the bus driver could stop, if it was safe to do so.
-Josephine Hutcheson, Roanoke
