How+it+affects+the+PEOPLE?

__IT'S YOUR PROBLEM TOO! __

 * **Cutting service in older, urban communities like Malden is not right. **
 * //Older people are being more affected. They cannot drive and they rely on public buses to go to the doctors, into the city to get medication and to do their household needs. //
 * //"Transportation is key to senior citizens health and well being," said Howard McGowan, 87, of Malden, an advocate for elder services. "Seniors without transportation are at increased risk of isolation." //


 * **Students that don’t have anyone to bring them to school will stop coming due to no rides. **
 * //Malden High Principal Dana Brown urged officials not to cut bus service on Salem Street, where the school is located. Attendance is up, dropout rates are declining, and a loss of bus service would harm progress, he said. //
 * //Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan, noting his city has three commuter rail stops and multiple bus routes, said cuts would harm "the prosperity of both our citizens and our businesses." Middle and high school students rely on the bus to take them to school, as do the elderly to get to doctors appointments, he said. //
 * //A lacrosse player, d'Entremont said she and her teammates take Bus 136 to Pine Banks Park for practice and games. "So many youth take this bus," she said, noting her father is disabled and can't drive her to school. "Malden High does not have the funds to get buses." //

**__EXTRA INFO __** v Four of the bus routes up are for reduction and, possibly elimination, are the only four buses that go down Salem Street and right by the high school every day, which would force students to find another way to get to school each day. The second scenario would be that the 106 and 108 would be cut completely; the 411 route would be demoted to weekdays only, and finally, the 430 route would run only on Sundays. This leaves only the 411 bus to transport students, via Malden Center, to the high school, every day. v As well as affecting high schoolers, the MBTA cuts will also take a major mode of transportation away from senior citizens. They are the biggest age group that rely on these four bus routes, particularly the highly popular 108 bus. Info came from __[] __ __[] __ __- Made by Haline Cunha __

03-29-12 DYOH FLYER