Mary F., age 69, planned her retirement around transit. She believes in it, uses it and supports it financially.
Until 2007 it was the Boulder public transit system. Mary actually bought her retirement home because it had a local bus stop on the same block and was within a short distance of a small shopping center. Her plan worked well until she started using oxygen and had to carry a portable unit everywhere she went. Managing the oxygen and her shopping cart on the bus without assistance became too difficult.
That’s when she discovered her new transit love – Via.
“It saved my quality of life,” Mary said. “I feel taken care of and looked after with Via.”
Mary has a regular routine with Via – one day per week she schedules a morning out. Via drops her off at the local shopping center close to her home where she visits the drugstore for her prescriptions and then makes her way to the grocery store, stopping along the way to take care of business in the mail/copy center, pop in the small wine shop or pick up supplies in the craft store. She ends her morning after grocery shopping with a latte in the coffee shop, working on a Sudoku while waiting for Via to take her home.
And Mary believes in giving back and donating locally. She has contributed to Via since she started riding in 2007.
“I want seniors to know that they don’t have to be dependent on cars,” Mary said. “I support Via because it provides transit options, and I’m all about transit.”
