We need more innovative transportation programs like this one

BY JOHN RAILEY

Three years ago, Courtney James and her husband, Gregory, drafted a plan for a business that would help fill the gap for workers who depend on the city’s inadequate bus system, the WinstonSalem Transit Authority (WSTA), to get to their jobs. Now their business is thriving, helping its patrons climb the ladder to upward economic mobility.

“Transportation is access to opportunity,” Courtney James said. “We have a large footprint in the city because we are a community business intent on meeting the needs of the people around us. Whether working with Community Court Services or transporting 50 young African American males to educational support services, we have our hands in just about anything that requires transportation, and it’s all to better our community and help individuals become more mobile.”

She and her husband started Support Systems of Forsyth County in 2019 with their savings and federal, state and local grants. They now have 10 vehicles and operate from the Enterprise Center, which is supported by WinstonSalem State University.

Support Systems works 24/7 and averages about 85 trips per day throughout the county and to Greensboro. Clients include the elderly and disabled.

Weekly rates run just under $100. That is not cheap, but with gas prices, car maintenance, insurance, and taxes, commuting in your own car can cost more than twice that a month. Many Support Systems users lack driver’s licenses or the money to buy cars. Clients get their first two weeks of rides for free. Then, as many of those clients get settled in their work, they begin paying.