Residents want seniors' transportation restored

Zoila Zurica smiles less often since July, when Prince William County ended a bus program that allowed her and other area senior citizens to go to both the Woodbridge and Manassas senior citizen centers, as well as other spots around town.

The 80-year-old, who lives in the Ashland subdivision near Dumfries, says the lack of public transportation near her home now makes it nearly impossible for her to get around, see friends and remain active.

At the centers, she can receive a hot lunch, play cards or simply talk with others her own age.

"Right now we are saying to our senior citizens, 'Thank you for working hard and paying your taxes, now stay home.' Something is not right … this is the only county in the world that celebrates Thanksgiving, and this is the way we repay our own," said Marco Zurica, on behalf of his mother.

As county revenue continues to decline, the county's staff slashed more than $150,000 from its $254,116 senior center and adult day care transportation budget. The move forced officials to eliminate four positions, as well as sell a small fleet of 15-passenger vans used to transport seniors.

With the remaining funds, the county created a pilot voucher system that allows seniors to use taxi cabs or local transit buses to do routine tasks, such as go to the doctor, get prescriptions filled or go grocery shopping.

The board allocated $30,000 in additional funding to the new program, for a total of $130,000. Officials limited voucher recipients to those over age 55 who cannot drive, and to those who make less than $30,000 per year, or couples that make less than $40,000 annually.

The vouchers, ranging in value from $1 to $5, are few, many said. And once they are gone, there is no way for them to get to the senior center.

"Last year, we reassessed the persons who were using senior center transportation because we were faced with staffing issues and a hiring freeze," said Manassas Senior Center Manager Kathy Lee-Meredith. "We were not able to keep up with the service we were providing."

Meredith said 158 people used the county's senior bus service last year, at a cost of $968 a person. It made more than 300 trips to local doctor's offices and hospitals.

Between July and October, 50 people used the new voucher system -- all of them age 55 or older and unable to drive -- at a cost of $8,580.

Many have had to learn how to take taxi cabs or use the local bus system. Lee-Meredith admitted "bumps" in the road had to be worked out.

In lieu of the bus service, Meredith said funds have been used to double the number of seniors her staff is now able provide in-home care to, from 25 to 55 in the past year. Many of those who receive the care are at risk of being institutionalized, she said.

But others, including Catherine Marshall, wife of Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-13th, told Prince William board members Tuesday they could allocate $100,000 for senior transportation if they eliminated the county's annual Citizens' Satisfaction Survey.

Politics aside, those who volunteer at the senior centers say the time elderly men and women spend there could potentially add years to their lives.

Juanita Whitt, 66, volunteers at the Woodbridge center teaching seniors to play Nintendo Wii games. She says it keeps their minds active and makes them feel as if they are children again.

"When you sit home all day and you have nothing to watch all day but TV and four walls, you get depressed, you get blue, you even get suicidal," Whitt said. "… We don't want to be bad, we don't want to be the ones who commit suicide because we have no place to go and nothing to look forward to."

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.