Many residents in Texoma have a car, bike, or some means of transportation, but others don’t. While public transportation in Wichita Falls is an option, some residents say it’s too limited in its service.
A disabled veteran reached out to city officials Tuesday saying he’s had trouble finding work to coordinate with city bus route schedules. He said many businesses are open later than the buses run.
“I’ve been unemployed for two and half, no three and a half years,” said one resident. “My time that I can make myself available is not convenient to employers.”
He said getting a job with no means of transportation is nearly impossible. “Most employers want you to work evenings and weekends,” he said. “There is no bus system, except for the one that runs out to Sheppard, in the evening.”
Current bus routes begin at 5:30am and run until 7:30pm Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, bus service starts at 10:30am and runs until 5:30pm, and there is no Sunday service.
However, the problem is something city officials said they recognize. “It’s definitely been on our radar,” said John Burrus, Director of Aviation, Traffic and Transportation for the city of Wichita Falls. “Getting people to and from work is something that’s come up quite frequently lately.”
He said fixing the problem is in the works. The city has submitted preliminary applications for planning, in hopes of providing additional services to residents.
“I think this is a widespread issue,” said Burrus. “It’s one that we’ve got to start somewhere, and that will begin, like I said, with a baseline study and then we’ll see what we can do with the funding and then we’ll go from there.”
Over the next two weeks, Burrus said, the city will hold open meetings on this issue to determine how big of a need this is. “I have no doubt in my mind that once we implement the program, that we have a bigger need out in the community,” Burrus said.
After the open forums, officials hope to have gathered enough information to submit a federal grant application. Burrus hopes to have those applications submitted by May.
– Newschannel 6
