Bus Route Change Means Rough Half-Mile Walk For 78-Year-Old

She survived Hurricane Katrina and she beat cancer, but Gloria Calway, 78, said these days she’s just having trouble catching the bus.

Every day, the former hurricane evacuee walks 12 blocks from her apartment on the 7100 block of Mesa to the Franklin Heights Nursing Home on Resler where she visits her husband who is currently recovering from an aneurysm.

Calway said she used to be able to hop on Sun Metro’s route 18.

But the city’s bus fleet recently changed route 18 to an “express route.”

That meant the elimination of many stops including the one near her home.

Calway told ABC-7 she’s aware the half-mile walk may not seem like a big deal to some, but with a cane and in the heat, it is a big deal to her.

“I’m 78. It’s not easy,” she said. “I can make it maybe half a block and then I have to stop.”

Calway qualifies for Sun Metro’s LIFT program, but she said she can’t afford the $5 round-trip cost the para-transit service would cost her every day.

A spokeswoman for Sun Metro said while she is sympathetic toward Calway, the change to route 18 has actually benefited a lot of other riders.

“It’s one of our most successful routes,” Sun Metro spokeswoman Laura Cruz-Acosta said. “Unfortunately (for Calway), Sun Metro is tasked with addressing the issues of the entire community.

Calway told ABC-7 though she may be just one complaint, she believes there are others who just haven’t spoken up.

“It’s not a selfish thing,” she said. “I’m looking for help for everyone. Just last week I saw a woman walking with three suitcases!”

Sun Metro said it’s constantly evaluating its routes for efficiency, so there is a chance route 18 could change in the future.