Postponement of Recently-Announced “Get On Board, East Texas” Region-Wide Transportation Event
March 23, 2020
GOBUS
“Get On Board, East Texas” Day, a recently-announced, region-wide public transportation event, sponsored by EasTexConnects
regional transportation committee and the East Texas Council of Governments
(ETCOG), has been postponed from its originally-scheduled date of April 16, 2020.
The event was to include participation of counties, cities, transportation providers, social service agencies, transportation users, and other citizens in the 14-county region of Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Marion, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.
Christina Anderson, chairman of the EasTexConnects regional transportation committee, stated: “Like everyone else throughout our region, nation, and world, we’ve been going about the work of making the very important and necessary changes needed to effectively address the current Covid-19 pandemic. This includes, of course, social distancing, cancelling non-essential activities, postponing or cancelling public events, and other very important steps.”
The “Get On Board, East Texas” Day event is designed to raise awareness about the many benefits provided by public transportation and to reach the people who need this transportation in our East Texas region. The event was to be done in coordination with the American Public Transportation Association’s National “Get On Board” Day.
David Cleveland, Executive Director of ETCOG, shared: “With public health and safety, of course, being our highest priority, the postponed ‘Get On Board, East Texas’ event will be re-scheduled for a date to be announced sometime in the future.”
Ms. Anderson added: “In the meantime, we wish to express our deepest appreciation to everyone working on the front lines of the current health crisis in the field of healthcare, safety, and other essential services, as well as those in government and other leadership roles throughout our region, nation, and beyond. We also want to thank every citizen for the important role that each of us plays in taking the steps needed to successfully battle this Covid-19 outbreak together.”
The EasTexConnects committee is comprised of elected officials, transportation providers, representatives of social service agencies and transportation organizations, and users of transportation throughout the 14-county region.
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