Ambassadors Help Seniors Master Napa's Bus System
Editor's Note: Few Californians today can remember a time when mobility and independence were not closely linked to the
ability to drive a car. Yet many older adults are becoming non-drivers for the first time since their teens, due to
failing eyesight, the onset of cognitive impairments or other age- or health-related problems. As a result, older
adults are often left with mobility barriers, and a sense of dependence on others, that never seemed to exist before.
This is the first in a series of articles that highlight services and programs around the Bay Area that make it easier
for older adults to get around on their own.
For someone who doesn't drive, Irene Martinelli gets around. Two days a week, the 78-year-old Napa resident meets friends for lunch in the city center. She occasionally
accompanies fellow seniors from her apartment building on downtown shopping excursions. And she enjoys traveling to nearby
Yountville to visit her daughter and grandchildren.
Martinelli accomplishes all this using a resource that many older people find confusing or frightening,
particularly if they have spent most of their lives traveling by car: public transportation.
"After I stopped driving, I really had a hard time getting to places I wanted to go. I was
unfamiliar with the bus routes and a little scared to ride the bus," says Martinelli. "But now I use the
bus almost every day. There really isn't much to it."
Like hundreds of other Napa County residents, the turning point for Jones came when she
heard about the Transit Ambassador program, started by the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency 15 years ago
to help people who have never ridden the bus - and those who have had an unpleasant initial experience with public
transit - become comfortable with using buses.
"When I rode the bus with a Transit Ambassador, I got over my fears. I found I could talk to
the bus driver and get all the information I need," says Martinelli.
Under the program, people who want to learn how to use buses in the city of Napa and surrounding
communities can schedule an appointment with a Transit Ambassador, who will accompany them on bus rides and teach
them the bus routes, how to read schedules, how to use transfers and how use special features like the wheelchair
lift and "kneeler." The process is repeated until the new rider feels confident enough to ride the bus alone.
Additionally, Transit Ambassadors, who are volunteers and frequent bus users themselves, provide
help to anyone who requests it while they are riding the bus. Many of the 13 current Transit Ambassadors - who wear
hats, vests and T-shirts with a Transit Ambassador logo - are senior citizens or have physical disabilities. Seniors,
children and people with disabilities are the program's most frequent users.
"Many times, the reason people don't ride the bus is that they're afraid they will get lost or
take the wrong bus," says George Blackstock, a Transit Ambassador since 1992.
"The goal of the Transit Ambassadors is to demystify the process for them," says
Blackstock, who is 71 and visually impaired. "When they see that a blind guy can get around easily on the bus,
they realize they can do it too."
Napa's Transit Ambassador program addresses one of the main barriers that prevents seniors from using
transit, and thereby gaining more independent mobility, says Bob Planthold, co-chair of the non-profit Senior Action
Network's pedestrian safety and transportation committee.
"Because people are living longer, more and more people are living past the age when they can
or want to drive. But they still need a way to get out and about," says Planthold. "Seniors who can't
drive should be able to get around by transit, but many don't know how because they've been driving their whole lives.
"Travel training programs like the one in Napa are a simple and very direct way to teach people
that transit is reliable, efficient and safe for them to use," continues Planthold. "It would be great
if more communities developed, and made sure people know about, programs like this."
For more information about Napa's Transit Ambassador program, see www.nctpa.net/vine/ambass.html.
San Francisco MUNI and the East Bay's AC Transit offer similar "travel training" programs for people
who want to learn how to use their transit systems. However, these programs are not well advertised, and are geared
mainly toward people who have applied for paratransit services. For information about MUNI's travel training programs,
contact either Annette Williams at (415) 923-6142 and
annette_williams@ci.sf.ca.us or Paul Fichera at (415) 923-6141 and paul_fichera@ci.sf.ca.us.
(This article originally appeared in the Spring 2004 issue of Bay Area Summit)
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