City will hire people recently released from prison to shovel bus stops

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — If you take the bus, you know it can be quite a hassle when the snow flies.

That’s why the City of Rochester is partnering with RTS to start a new program that will pay people recently released from prison to shovel out the bus stops. The city normally handles the sidewalks but the stops themselves can get jammed-packed with snow.

Mayor Malik Evans says he gets a lot of complaints from people, particularly the elderly, who are forced to wait in or on snow banks for the bus to come.

This partnership helps both bus riders and people released from prison to get some resume-building experience.

“This is one of my many pilot programs that will help address violence prevention and intervention, one of my administration’s top priorities, while also making sure that we help with economic vitality and then public safety. This is all tied together,” Mayor Evans said.

The men and women who will be doing the shoveling will be hired by the center for employment opportunities. The funds to pay them will be coming from the city’s office of violence prevention.