Tri-State woman takes matters into her own hands to start transit company

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A Tri-State woman saw a need that wasn’t being met and took it into her own hands to launch her own transit company.

Aretha Furr started A-List Transportation back in 2020.

She says her mother inspired her to start the business after watching her struggle to get back and forth to medical appointments. Her mission now is to be a reliable source of transportation for others in need.

Furr is always on the move and you may have noticed her fleet of A-List Transportation vehicles making stops across the Tri-State getting students to school or seniors to critical appointments.

“We assist them,” says Furr. “We get them where they got to be on time and safely.”

Furr says she wishes a service like the one she started existed before her mother died a few years ago.

“She was a sickly lady,” explains Furr. “Double amputee and was transported by numerous transportation companies across the city.”

Furr says her mother was often picked up late or not at all, causing her to miss critical medical appointments including dialysis.

“It was very frustrating because you feel some type of sadness in your heart knowing that they are actually going through this each and every day,” Furr says. “You know, and not just her, it was a host of people in the community expressing the same level of service.”

Furr, who was working in childcare at the time in 2020, decided the best way to fix the issue for others relying on critical transportation was to start her own business.

“We provide a better level of service than what she experienced during that time,” Furr says.

Starting with just one car, she now has a fleet of seven as the business has grown over the past three years.

“We have many contracts in place,” says Furr. “We are with Council and Aging. We transport our elderly seniors. We just give them the best service we can possibly provide for them.”

She says the feedback from happy customers has been the most rewarding, knowing that her mother is smiling down, pleased with all that she has accomplished.

This past spring, Furr lined up all of the A-List Transportation vehicles around her mother’s gravesite to honor her.

“I wanted to have a small ceremony letting her know that, ‘hey, we are out here providing some good service and I only wish I had the service in place then,’” Furr says. “Where I could have transported her myself to and from. You know, but we here no turning back. She would say, ‘thank you.’ She would say ‘thank you.’”

Furr is also finding ways to give back to those in need.

She started a scholarship, which offers rides to students with a need free of charge.

Breaking Through Series

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