Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette
	Marcia El-Omrani, of Hazelwood, arrives to volunteer at the Charles Morris Nursing Center by way of the Ship of Zion transportation service. The Ship of Zion provides free transportation for people to get to jobs where the Port Authority does not run.

Kathy Getty has been on the road since 5:30 a.m., steering her bus over cobblestone streets and through nearly empty shopping plazas just yawning to life.

Ms. Getty's bus, called the Ship of Zion, is a passenger van that set sail in September. It operates Monday through Saturday to connect its riders to jobs, job training and public transportation, which, for distressed communities, can be costly, time-consuming and inadequate. It is free, but passengers must register for the service.

The Ship of Zion is in partnership with WorkLink, a free Mon Valley van service that has been sponsored since 2001 by the Heritage Health Foundation. The shuttles connect riders to child-care and health-care services. Many of the areas served by WorkLink have narrow streets, steep hills and tight turns that aren't accessible to the larger public buses.

The Ship of Zion, supported by $350,000 in state and federal grants and a consortium of Presbyterian churches and ministries, is a godsend for many of its passengers.

It is for Marcia El-Omrani, an angel in her own right. She boards in Hazelwood and catches a ride to volunteer at Charles Morris and the nearby Kane Hospital in Glen Hazel, where she combs patients' hair, helps with feeding and, for those too frail to do it themselves, occasionally holds a cigarette to a patient's mouth for a smoke.

At least three days a week, she gets on the Ship of Zion, a nine-passenger shuttle which is equipped to accommodate physically challenged clients.

"It's a great thing," said Ms. El-Omrani, a chatty laughaholic, as she settled at the rear of the bus. "It's free and it's excellent service up the hill."

Now 50, Ms. El-Omrani grew up in Hazelwood and catches the Ship of Zion in front of an old stone church across the street from her home.

Without the Ship of Zion, her journey would take longer and would involve transferring buses. At the end of the ride, she'd have to cross a busy thoroughfare on Browns Hill Road, only to be rewarded with a steep and lengthy hike to the facility. The Ship of Zion delivers her to the front door.

"This service is very important," she said, "I don't drive, so in the winter, I'd have to walk up the hill to the [Charles Morris] nursing home."

The Ship of Zion has two routes. One ferries passengers through the Hill District, the South Side Works, Hazelwood and to The Waterfront shopping district. The other begins at The Waterfront and travels through Homestead with stops in McKeesport, at Echo Star, and in Clairton. Passengers can transfer between the two routes.

Dana McCray gets on the bus in Homestead. A transportation counselor with WorkLink, she's not riding, but jumps in to tape a flier on proper bus behavior to the window. No profanity. No eating on the bus. No disrespecting the driver.

On this morning, though, not many will see the flier. With two passengers in nearly four hours, Ms. Getty said, ridership has been slow and Ms. McCray would like to see more people on the bus. It is her job to help spread the information through tenant councils, family meetings, City Council and word of mouth.

"This is one of the best bargains in town and we need to let people know about it," she said.

As gasoline prices fluctuate and jitney costs rise, Ms. McCray said, the free service "helps families with their economics. The more money they save, the more they can use for day care and other stuff."

The Ship also saves time.

The commute for working parents often can be two hours or more, said Diane Watley, the project manager who oversees the Ship of Zion from an office at Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church, Hill District.

With the Ship of Zion, more of them are not delayed at transfer points, "so, it gets working parents home to their children faster."

Leaving at 5:30 a.m. from Centre Avenue and Protectory Place in the Hill District, it takes about an hour for the bus to get to TJ Maxx at The Waterfront, where riders can disembark or transfer to the Echo Star stop in McKeesport. There are about five other stops sandwiched in between, including care homes in Hazelwood/Squirrel Hill and South Side Cinemas.

The vans make a complete loop every 60 minutes, and while there is service on Saturdays, there is none on Sundays or holidays.

Service is free, and riders must register to verify their names and addresses and get a photo ID, which are the only criteria governing ridership. Passengers don't have to meet any income or job-training guidelines.

Because of federal guidelines, a WorkLink spokesman said, "we travel through too many diverse neighborhoods to discriminate."

Parents can apply for children age 12 to 17. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult and children under 4 must have a child safety seat or booster seat to ride.

Gretchen Bett, 27, is an unmarried mother living in Clairton with her two young children. She said the booster seat requirement was a hassle, but otherwise she welcomed the convenience of the Ship of Zion.

It stops about a block from her door. She regularly takes the 10-minute trip to the grocery store and, by the time she makes her errands and other shopping, she hops back on and heads home.

"I recommend it," Ms. Bett said. "I know a couple who do not have a car and I know they can use the service. Free is cool. The money you spend on bus passes you use on your family."

For more information, call 412-325-1332.