In the news

Cherie O’Connor is a devoted bus person.

“I’ve taken the bus my whole life,” 61-year-old Ms. O’Connor said at Union Station yesterday morning. The city resident was one of the supporters of the report released yesterday by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group on the importance of public transportation for college students and seniors in the state. “The more people we have on buses, the fewer people we have on the road.”

Ethan Davis, a campus organizer with MASSPIRG, and Jacqueline Cournoyer, a junior at Worcester State University and a MASSPIRG intern, also hope to raise awareness for public transportation by urging the state to invest in additional public transportation.

“I am a great advocate for Worcester public transportation,” Ms. Cournoyer said. “It’s a big deal for us to get back and forth to work and school.”

There are 30,000 college students in the city and the nearby region, according to Mayor Joseph O’Brien. He said he was there to voice his support and enthusiasm for increasing investments in public transportation, not only for senior citizens and college students, but also for low-income residents who also heavily rely on public transportation.

“I would make a case that public transportation is critical,” Mr. O’Brien said.

Mr. Davis said investing in public transportation is important for senior citizens because it provides both groups independence.

“Investing in transit also delivers returns to everyone in the commonwealth in the form of roads, reduced congestion, reduced dependence on oil, and fewer emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming,” according to the report.