Thursday, March 04, 2010
Responsible Rides program arranges for cars for low-income families
Responsible Rides plans to offer up to 100 affordable automobiles in the next two years.
Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
Quandra Bonds, 29, of Roanoke rides in her new car, a Chevrolet Aveo, that she is purchasing through a new program called Responsible Rides. She said having her own car reduces her stress and saves her time.
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Editor's note: An earlier version of this story, which ran in The Roanoke Times on Thursday, March 4, 2010, misrepresented the nature of Quandra Bonds' car purchase in a photo caption. The story has been updated online to reflect Bonds' purchase through the Responsible Rides program.
Quandra Bonds is like many people who juggle a job, children and household responsibilities.
Except for one thing: Until 16 days ago, she belonged to a small segment of the Roanoke Valley that functions without a car.
The 29-year-old Roanoke woman rode public transportation for errands and to work as a child care aide. She rode a church van to and from Sunday services and depended on a service for medical appointments. The bus was her least favorite, especially when traveling with her 2-year-old nephew Zavion, whom she is raising.
"It was just a real struggle getting on the bus with groceries or with the laundry," Bonds said. "Or getting on the bus with him."
One time she left behind a bag of canned goods in her seat. More than once, the driver overlooked her waiting figure at the bus stop and rolled by.
Now Bonds is a case study in the benefits of owning your own transportation.
She is the first client of a newly launched car purchase program for low-income families in Southwest Virginia called Responsible Rides.
It was created by Total Action Against Poverty and New River Community Action, which lined up Freedom First Credit Union in Roanoke to provide loans and Enterprise Car Sales in Roanoke to provide vehicles.
The program is open to people whose household income is at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, or $44,000 for a family of four.
More than a year and a half of planning went into launching Responsible Rides.
"Every year low-income families try to buy vehicles, but are unable to because of debt or credit challenges," reads a promotional brochure that lays out the problem the program will address.
Bonds, who works at TAP Head Start, knew how to drive and had had a driver's license since she was 18.
But although she saved for a car, she ended up spending her money on more urgent expenses. She continued paying for bus passes and cab rides and could not get far enough ahead to purchase.
Bonds is not alone. One in 12 households in the Roanoke Valley has no vehicle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey of 2008. In the New River Valley, it's about one in 15.
To try to bring those numbers down, Responsible Rides starts with education.
Clients first take classes in personal finance and car ownership. Once qualified to handle a car, they're connected with a below-market-rate loan and insurance, and given a choice of vehicles to buy.
"They walk you through, step by step, and they have your back for you if you need assistance," Bonds said.
Owen Schultz, vice president of program development and planning at TAP, said he expects the program to connect 80 to 100 people with cars in the Roanoke and New River valleys by the end of 2011.
Rodrigo Nunez, outreach coordinator at Freedom First, said the credit union will take program participants not qualified for traditional vehicle financing because of no credit history or damaged credit and lend them money at 9.5 percent for five years.
Many banks can beat that interest rate on a used car, but usually reserve it for those with good credit.
Given the circumstances, Nunez said the Freedom First offer represents a long repayment window and favorable rate when compared with other institutions.
Josh Hughes, a Richmond-based group sales manager for Enterprise Car Sales, said the company will charge market prices for a variety of used vehicles, some of them former rental vehicles and all of them inspected and certified.
The cars will come with a power train warranty, repurchase option if the owner dislikes the vehicle and a year of roadside assistance, he said.
More than $60,000 in federal stimulus money is paying to begin the program.
Twelve people were in the pipeline Wednesday to get their own wheels, said program director Donna Stevens. Two others have received cars since mid-February.
The first, Bonds, bought a 2008 Chevrolet Aveo with about 48,000 miles for $7,699. She owes a monthly payment of $207 that includes insurance.
Here is the rest of the math: Although she'll be buying fuel and maintenance, too, she estimated she will save about $80 on bus and cab charges. She said she can handle the price of her freedom.
Earlier this week, she went on her first shopping excursion in her new car, hitting both Kroger and Walmart in two hours -- a task that would have taken four hours by bus.
Putting her shopping bags in the trunk "felt so good," she said.
She was home in five minutes.
"I'm still in shock."
