Letter: Our most vulnerable citizens

This is an Open Letter to Lisa Maloff

First let me say how grateful our city is to you for the generosity you have displayed. As a private citizen of more modest means, it is over whelming to think of how much can be realized when a person is so giving.

I would like to bring a situation to your attention and ask that you give it some thought. The Tahoe Transportation District is faced with making serious cut backs to its service routes due to unsustainable practices. In addition to cutting back on the areas it will reach, it also is going to cut out, all together, the on demand service to the country areas. Many of our disabled citizens live in these areas and count on this transportation service to travel to doctors appointments, hospital appointments, jobs, social activities, volunteer work,college classes, grocery shopping etc. Many of these citizens have developmental disabilities and will never be able to drive or use a fixed schedule bus service. They must use a door to door bus service. If this is eliminated they will be stranded and isolated and might even need to move away from their home town to seek a locale that can assure them the transportation they need to live a normal and independent life. Many of these people have grown up here and have worked very hard to master the independence of riding the On Demand bus to their place of daily activity. Removing this service from this segment of our population will force them to give up lives they have worked very hard to build. Their families may have to drive them to these locations, and remove their independence. This practice will also result in many individual cars being put back on the road, driving to and from town, many times a day. This is not consistent with the philosophy of environmental awareness that our community has strongly embraced.

Would you consider partnering with the Tahoe Transportation district in some way to support some of the most vulnerable residents of our community?

Respectfully,
Nancy Libby