Detroit man who commutes 34 kilometres on foot gets thousands in crowdfunding
Many people who work in urban centres grumble about their commute. It's too long sitting in traffic, or waiting for trains or buses that never run on time, etcetera, etcetera. You've got nothing on James Robertson, who has become famous in the last couple of days because his commute forces him to walk 34 kilometres to and from work....
Many people who work in urban centres grumble about their commute. It's too long sitting in traffic, or waiting for trains or buses that never run on time, etcetera, etcetera. You've got nothing on James Robertson, who has become famous in the last couple of days because his commute forces him to walk 34 kilometres to and from work.
But all that's about to change. This week, after the Detroit Free Press ran a feature about him, a university student decided to set a crowdfunding page to solicit donations to get Robertson a car. And people responded, by the thousands.
So far, about $300,000 has been raised for Robertson, mostly in $10 and $20 donations, Blake Pollock, Robertson's friend, tells As It Happens guest-host Laura Lynch.
Pollock, a banker near Detroit, met Robertson a couple of years ago, after repeatedly seeing him walking along the road. "He was usually, dressed inappropriately...He'd be climbing over snowbanks in the winter," Pollock said.
So one day, Pollock asked him about his walking, and offered him a ride. More than 70 rides later, the two are friends. Pollock says Robertson started walking about 10 years ago when his company moved - and there wasn't bus service to allow him to commute all the way.
James Robertson, left, and Blake Pollock on one of their commutes. Ryan Ganza/AP
In the next couple of days, Pollock says, he's arranged for a car dealership to donate a brand new car to Robertson, outside of the money raised through crowdfunding. What kind of car? "A Ford Taurus," Pollock says. "It's exactly what he asked for. He said it was just like him: 'simple on the outside, and tough on the inside'."