At AARP Louisiana, we drive change

AARP Louisiana volunteers and staff asked Kenner residents what would make their community and lives better. They got an earful about the local bus route: wait times were too long, there were few signs marking bus stops, even fewer seats or shelters, and inconvenient or dangerous stops across busy highways from destinations. Truly, a bus service that didn’t serve its clients.

So, the AARP team got busy, riding the Kenner route and talking to customers and local business owners about the challenges. They also got Kenner Mayor Michael Glaser to do a ride-along too. He started taking action while he was on the bus.

Within less than a year, the Kenner bus loop was under new management, with Jefferson Parish Transit offering customers shorter waits and new signage marking bus stops, including a new convenient dropoff point at the Social Security Administration building. And more covered bus shelters are coming.

“It’s unacceptable for public transport not to be convenient for the rider,” said Glaser. “I would not have known without AARP.”

This is just one way that AARP is working with local residents and officials in Kenner and other communities throughout Louisiana. Get connected and help make your community an even better place to live, work and play!

Meet the Kenner Bus Loop AARP Trio

Brenda, Barbara and Jeannette went to an AARP community listening session in Kenner, where they heard about the challenges local bus riders were having. So, they volunteered to ride the bus and document the issues firsthand.

They saw that there were no signs marking many of the bus stops, no shelters or benches where people could sit and wait, and that people had to walk blocks to their destinations (like the Social Security Administration office).

“People were getting to work late. They were late for school. They were late for appointments. Some of them didn't know where to catch the bus unless they had been doing it for such a long time. But if you were a newcomer, you had to assume where to catch the bus because there was no sign,” said Brenda.

Jeannette was appalled to see a pregnant woman have to get off the bus a long way from her destination. “When I was pregnant, I didn’t even want to walk one or two blocks,” she said.

The trio reported their findings to AARP staff, but really didn’t expect anything to happen. Certainly not for the mayor to change the bus service within less than a year.

“I was very excited about the way things happened so fast,” said Barbara.