Reading Resident Proposes Stoneham Area Bus Line

Reading resident Linda Greenlaw has proposed a bus service to both the Reading Town Manager and Selectmen. Her goal is to have the bus provide transportation to residents in Stoneham, Reading, North Reading and Wakefield.

After suffering with breast cancer last year, Greenlaw realized how difficult it was to get to her treatments without a car, she said. So proposing the idea for a bus line seemed like a "logical conclusion," she told Patch.

"I understand from a deep level that transportation is needed," Greenlaw said.

She is now in remission, but aims to get the Reading Rocket line off the ground to help fellow residents and those in need of transportation.

The price of a taxi can get expensive, The Ride has increased their prices and pickups need to be scheduled in advance, she said. As a solution, she is proposing a local bus service called the Reading Rocket Line.

The idea is to have local businesses sponsor the bus, with a small cost to riders, and in return the buses will make stops at their locations. The bus line could provide "an opportunity for improving local business traffic while avoiding increased automobile traffic," she said.

She would also like to have high school students volunteer to paint the bus and design the rocket logo. Former Reading Memorial High School Principal Elinor Freedman supported the high school being part of the project, Greenlaw said.

Greenlaw referred to Burlington’s B-Line bus that takes residents to various locations in their town, including trips to grocery stores, medical appointments and other locations. She would like to expand on Burlington's concept and include Stoneham, North Reading and Wakefield in the Reading Rocket line. Ideally, she would like to see the bus stay mostly on Main Street, but make detours to the YMCA, libraries, businesses on Haven Street, Market Basket, the IMAX theatre, the Stoneham Theatre, Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, medical clinics in the area and more.

She proposes that the bus line run Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. The line would need at least three buses, she said.

She chose the name, Reading Rocket Line, to "offer support to the local Reading teams." 

Greenlaw has been asked to meet with the North Reading Rotary Club, but has not yet heard back from Reading Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner or the selectmen.

If you support her proposal, sign Greenlaw's petition. You can sign a copy at Christopher's Restaurant or email her at lgreenlaw8@yahoo.com for more information.