School Buses Can Take Senior Citizens Shopping, Too

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A program in New York City called the Market Ride Initiative is using school buses-which normally sit idle for most of the day when they're not ferrying kids around-to take senior citizens on afternoon shopping trips. The New York Times explains:...the idea was born in the city's recent push for healthy eating. The elderly often have a difficult time finding fresh produce and healthful foods because of their limited mobility.The program, said the commissioner, required coordination with the Department of Education, but no extra funds, since the buses and drivers were already available. "The fuel costs are in their contract, so there is no increase or decrease whether we used the buses or not," Mr. Miller [a spokesman for New York's Department of the Aging] said. The initial tests of the program have been successful and it's expanding to all five boroughs. Besides taking advantage of all the spare bus capacity and providing seniors with access to better food (which can only improve their health), this program is also just totally adorable.