Reliable Transportation

He told struggling strangers to stop making excuses. Then his rent went up—and his car broke down.

At sixty-eight, retired warehouse worker Walter Briggs believes he understands personal responsibility. When people online describe transportation problems, workplace barriers, or financial hardship, he offers blunt advice: work harder, plan better, find a way.

Then a steep rent increase upends his retirement budget. Before he can find work, his aging Buick needs repairs he cannot afford.

Returning to the workforce should solve the problem. Instead, Walter encounters unpredictable retail hours, difficult bus connections, and employers who expect punctuality from workers whose schedules keep changing.

For the first time, the obstacles he dismissed belong to him.

As Walter struggles to keep his finances afloat, a coworker’s efforts to obtain a disability accommodation challenge another of his assumptions. Listening becomes harder—and more necessary—than offering advice ever was.

But recognizing his mistakes privately may not be enough. Walter must decide what to do when others repeat the judgments he once encouraged.

Reliable Transportation by Mia Bills is thought-provoking contemporary fiction about aging, financial insecurity, employment barriers, disability, and personal accountability. It explores how quickly confidence can become vulnerability—and what it takes to replace easy judgments with understanding.

What happens when “just try harder” becomes advice you can’t make work yourself?

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Content note: Includes financial hardship, housing insecurity, workplace difficulties, and dismissive attitudes toward disability and poverty.

Digital ebook. No physical book will be shipped.

Cover: 100% AI

Content: 70-80% writer

Category: Contemporary Fiction/Social Drama, Secular Fiction

File Format: PDF, EPUB

Word Count: 8,500

Rating: PG