Leo Sherman, 84, arrived tired at the Capital Area Transit terminal Tuesday night.
He and 36 other people returned to Baton Rouge on the 4 p.m. bus from New Orleans. Some travelers went to survey their homes, to get to work and to find new jobs.
The riders took LA Swift – a new, free emergency bus service designed to get displaced New Orleans residents back to their homes and jobs.
The service is part of a pilot program. It’s passenger volume is being tested until Nov. 14 and is scheduled to run indefinitely.
On Tuesday, 137 people used the service. The first bus rolled out Monday at 4:30 a.m.
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Labor Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry, said the service, which leaves every hour-and-a-half, was an effort of DOTD, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority and the Louisiana Department of Labor.
FEMA is paying for the service.
LDOL officials passed out steel-toe boots and equipment to returning New Orleans workers.
Mark Lambert, communications director for DOTD, said anyone can use LA Swift free of charge to get to New Orleans.
“FEMA is not going to discriminate against anybody,” Lambert said.
FEMA, DOTD and LDOTD have seven Hotard buses picking up passengers at the Renaissance FEMA trailer park on Groom Road.
The Groom Road bus takes them to the bus terminal, where it connects with the LA Swift bus going to New Orleans. Passengers are dropped off at Canal and Elk streets.
The last bus arrives at the Baton Rouge terminal at 8:40 p.m.
Lambert said people going to New Orleans for tourist activities can ride the bus.
Lambert said people living in New Orleans whose jobs may have relocated to Baton Rouge can also use the service. He said many people are stranded in the city without adequate transportation to work.
Bradberry and other state agents also gathered at the bus terminal Tuesday night as they and the passengers waited for Gov. Kathleen Blanco to arrive.
While other passengers shook hands and spoke to Blanco, Sherman said he was not interested in seeing the governor or hearing what she had to say.
“I ain’t got time for this,” Sherman said.
Sherman said he wanted to go to Renaissance Park, where he has been living for the past two weeks.
Despite state officials working to get Sherman home, he still complained about getting there.
Major Dright, 21, and his girlfriend Britney Ford, 20, arrived from New Orleans on a later bus than Sherman.
Dright, Ford and their two small children arrived at the terminal carrying several bags with items they salvaged from their New Orleans home.
He said he has been to New Orleans five times and that he thinks LA Swift is helpful.
“I was actually looking for ways to get back to New Orleans,” Dright said.
He considered taking a cab, but it was too expensive, he said.
While Dright said he appreciates the service, he thinks some people are taking advantage of it.
“This is my home, not a museum or an exhibit,” Dright said.
Christy Hunter, a LDOL re-integration counselor who rode the bus, said passengers had an anticipatory mood.
A lot of people were anxious to see their homes, Hunter said..
“They wanted to see that’s it real,” she said.
 
Contact Alexandria Burris at aburris@lsureveille.com