Mary Carr: “For what I want, it’s worth it. This is worth it”
Reporter: “Mary Carr’s lifelong dream has always been to write a book to share her story with others. In order to write a book, she needed to learn how to use a computer, And the Women’s Opportunity Center gave her the chance to peruse that dream.”
Carr: “By me coming here, and they said that they can teach me you know, about computers. That hit the nail on the head.”
Reporter: “In order for Carr to get to the center, she relies on public transportation and that hasn’t been easy.
Although new routes have been restored, she still wakes up hours before the center opens, and walks far to the bus stop, to be able to transport to the center.”
Carr: “And see, that’s why it’s so hard now because the time that I have to get up now when I do have to take the bus, in order to get here by eight.”
Reporter: “Mary isn’t the only one that’s had to change her schedule to the lack of Centro bus routes in Syracuse New York.”
Amy Canavan: “So that I can be here to help these clients.”
Reporter: “Amy Canavan works twelve hour days, six days a week to accommodate the Centro Bus schedule. The Women’s Opportunity Center’s goal is to help women become ready for employment. With the lack of public transportation, this has been difficult and it’s also pricy.”
Canavan: “If you can’t get there by bus and that’s your main source of transportation…so now the financial impact is do Uber or do you Lyft?”
Reporter: “People at the center are relying on other transportation options to get from their home to their job while Centro Bus continues to restore more routes.”
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — (NCC News) Although CNY Centro buses restored five routes in the last week, many businesses around Syracuse are still struggling.
Syracuse resident Mary Carr, has been apart of the program since March. She joined to learn how to use a computer, so she can accomplish her life long dream of writing a book.
“For what I want, it’s worth it,” Carr said.
Carr wakes up hours before the center opens and walks to the bus stop far from her home, so she can take the Centro bus there. She arrives at the doors of the Women’s Opportunity Center at 6:45 a.m. and waits for the center to open.
The Women’s Opportunity Center extended its hours to accommodate the Centro bus routes.
To accommodate Carr’s bus schedule, the Women’s Opportunity Center deputy director Amy Canavan, arrives at work six days a week at 6:30 a.m. to let in the first round of people off the Centro bus. She also stays at the center until six in the evening to make sure the people get the bus home.
If Carr was to take the later bus, she wouldn’t get to the center until 11 a.m. And from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. she has committed her time volunteering ringing the bell outside the food court in the Destiny Mall.
“If you can’t get there by bus and that’s your main source of transportation, now the financial impact is do you Uber, do you Lfyt?” Canavan said.
People rely on Centro buses because they are cheaper and more convenient, but lately, the bus schedule has been anything but convenient for frequent riders.
