One of the findings in the area of transportation from the Bay Area Community Council’s 2007 study, Poverty in Brown County, stated there was “no reliable data on the transportation needs of the poor.” We were unable to learn how well their transportation needs were being served. Was the Green Bay Metro providing adequate service for work trips, childcare, shopping, and other community services? How many owned vehicles?

Since transportation costs rank as the second highest expense after housing for households with annual incomes of $20,000 and under, and that reliable transportation is a requisite for holding a job and being employable, Harry Maier and I decided that transportation needs was worthy of more study. Without better information on the extent of the problems, meaningful solutions would not be forthcoming.

With the support of the BACC, we drafted a questionnaire on transportation needs and plans to administer it. The fact that this work was to be done on a voluntary basis and without a budget created an opportunity to solicit support and cooperation throughout the community.

NWTC, Advance, Services Plus, and the Nicolet Federated Library System donated services for printing the questionnaires and maps. Professor David Wegge and student Jenna Heinrich of St. Norbert College will conduct the survey analysis. We have had strong support from Brown County United Way. More than 20 community organizations helped conduct the interviews. Each organization is acutely aware of the transportation problems facing their clients. Cathy Putman of the Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition has provided us with major assistance in this effort.

One of the most gratifying spin-offs came about during the week we spent interviewing at the Salvation Army’s lunch program. While Harry and three Salvation Army volunteers and I administered the survey in a room adjacent to the lunchroom, Eileen, my wife, was in the lunchroom recruiting respondents. By midweek trust with the luncheon regulars passed the tipping point and they become comfortable talking to us about their personal transportation needs.

We learned first hand about how limitations in bus service limits opportunities for a better life. In one instance, a young female employed on University Avenue and Elizabeth gets off work at 11 p.m., after the buses have stopped running and then is faced with walking home, from the east side to her home on the west side, on Velp Avenue. The number of people wanting to be interviewed increased and by week’s end more than 100 questionnaires were completed.

In addition to talking at length about transportation, other issues related to poverty were raised. One persistent gentleman talked at length about not being able to attend events at the Neville Museum and the arts. Responding to this plea, Eileen called Sandra Hagen, Board of Directors of the Green Bay Civic Symphony, and told her about the problem and the need to help solve it. Mrs. Hagen responded quickly. She obtained twenty-five tickets for the Green Bay Civic Symphony concert at the Meyer Theater on February 6, 2009, featuring Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals. Working in cooperation with Major Ruth of the Salvation Army, she found financial support for bus transportation for the new concertgoers to and from the Meyer Theater.

Our work on the transportation survey has been a delight and is far from over. More important, it is bringing the BACC into a working relationship with people and organizations making a real difference in the lives of others. The strengthening of these relationships in hard times is an essential step towards reaching the actual goal of addressing the needs of the low-income community and improving transportation in Green Bay.