DUMMERSTON — Cars cause air pollution, which causes lung cancer, which kills thousands of people every year. Cars also cause global warming. People who are too young, too old, or too poor to own a car are often stuck at home.
These are among the reasons why the Dummerston selectboard should ask the company that the town of Brattleboro hires to operate the BeeLine bus how much it would cost to run the bus through Dummerston.
The BeeLine now goes from downtown Brattleboro (which is served by Amtrak) to Old Ferry Road near Route 5 in Brattleboro. This is less than a mile from Dummerston. Conneticut River Transit runs a bus along Route 5 between downtown Brattleboro, the Dummerston school, and downtown Putney.
The Dummerston selectboard should find out how much it would cost to run the Bee Line from the Old Ferry Road stop, up Middle Road to the Dummerston town office, then on to the Dummerston library, and back.
This could be a six-month trial to see how many people ride the bus. Federal and state money is available to defray the cost.The bus could run around 8 a.m., noon, and 5 p.m. People could flag it down at safe spots along along Middle and East-West roads.
The trial bus service should be promoted at least a month before it starts in the Views of Dummerston, and the other local newspapers.
If you live in Dummerston and would like to sign a petition to the selectboard in support of this idea, please call me at 254-2531 or e-mail me by going to ValleyPost.org and clicking “contact.“