Irate bus riders complain about changes

[dtwarren]

From: http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/erie/Ir...-about-changes

Updated: Tuesday, 08 Feb 2011, 7:13 AM EST
Published : Tuesday, 08 Feb 2011, 7:13 AM EST

Al Vaughters
Posted by: Emily Lenihan
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - After receiving a number of complaints from irate NFTA bus riders about drastic changes to the bus routes, News 4 decided to take a look for ourselves.

News 4 put a news producer, undercover, on one of the busier buses serving downtown and the suburbs.

It was the morning rush, and it is standing room only on an inbound Clinton Number Two bus, maybe good for the NFTA, but not so much for the passengers.

"They literally leave people standing at the bus stop," said a bus rider.

Riders tell News 4, since the NFTA reworked routes back in October to reduce costs and increase ridership, some buses are running too full and for them, less dependable.

"I am late for work 10 minutes every day. I try to make it up during my lunch," said the bus rider.

Riders are pushing back.

Passengers on the the Number Two Clinton responded quickly by circulating petitions, gathering nearly 300 signatures from riders, telling the NFTA just how dissatisfied they are with the route changes.

Other passengers were more adamant.

Demonstrators rallied at the bus stop in front of this homeless shelter for women in Lackawanna to protest the cancellation of weekend routes to Hamburg and Lackawanna.

Homeless Shelter Caseworker Patricia Elliott said, "They have to become independent, and self-sufficient, and what we have to make sure they do is get jobs, and they can't get to work on the weekends."

Cutting weekend service has also put Diane Roth in a tough spot.

The NFTA applied its weekend schedule to Martin Luther King Day, a Monday, and Roth couldn't get to work.

"I miss work. I don't get, as a contractor, I don't get paid time off," said Roth.

Lynn Higgins does believe NFTA officials responded to their petitions by adding two morning buses.

Higgins said, "Still not picking up adults and children in the morning, and the bus ride home in the evening is still overcrowded to the point, once you get past Ellicott Street in downtown Buffalo, the bus can't pick people up."

NFTA officials told News 4, bus ridership has risen sharply since they made the changes and they have modified 10 routes, since October, due to customer concerns.

[speaker]

Talk about treating people like second class citizens. Really, NFTA? You need those dollars that much that the business you're in, transporting people, cares less about people than money? Kind of self destructive, isn't it, when some of those people leave the city for good?

[DomesticatedFeminist]

Doesn't NFTA get a ton of govt assistance?

They are screwing up the waterfront process as well.

[300miles]

We can't have it both ways. Before people were complaining that the NFTA was wasteful and inefficient with too many bus runs that served only a few people instead of focusing on the the main routes where most of the people use it. Now their doing just that, and people complain that someone loses a bus route. If we want them to be efficient then they're not going to be able to stop everywhere they used to. If someone gets to work 10 min late everyday, why can't get just get to the bus stop 15 minutes earlier to grab the earlier bus?

[mesue]

... If someone gets to work 10 min late everyday, why can't get just get to the bus stop 15 minutes earlier to grab the earlier bus?

I was thinking the same thing. I used to have to change bus times when the schedule changed. I hated it, but I did what I had to do.

[WNYresident]

We can't have it both ways. Before people were complaining that the NFTA was wasteful and inefficient with too many bus runs that served only a few people instead of focusing on the the main routes where most of the people use it. Now their doing just that, and people complain that someone loses a bus route. If we want them to be efficient then they're not going to be able to stop everywhere they used to. If someone gets to work 10 min late everyday, why can't get just get to the bus stop 15 minutes earlier to grab the earlier bus?

I didn't see that coming.

You have a point.. your dammed if you do or dammed if you don't.

In this case couldn't we say they are routing incorrectly and needs some fine tuning?

[300miles]

In this case couldn't we say they are routing incorrectly and needs some fine tuning?

Totally agree. If one route is always jam-packed and leaves people behind, then they probably need more buses on that route. I'm guessing they expected to need some fine tuning after the major overhaul.

[WNYresident]

Why do you think this issue would get to the point of having the news involved. Wouldn't the bus drive pull into the garage and say... Hey boss, we need an extra bus, let administration know. Administration would then know and correct the issue quickly. These are people who are paying a fare, correct?

[FisherRd]

Nobody likes having their routine changed. Change leads to griping. That's all this is. Adapt and overcome, bus-riders. Or get a car and shut up.

[clancy]

It isn't just the Cinton bus - it is ALL the bus routes . Many of us have to wait in the dark, sub zero temperatures an extra half hour early , and get home a half hour later than usual . Would you want your wife, girlfriend or Mother to be subjected t this? Buses passing us by. If you are in your nice warm vehicle, and have never had to stand and wait for a bus or train, you have no right to judge people.

[dtwarren]

It is more than just the bus times, it is the complete loss of some routes and consolidation of others that is creating the overcrowding conditions.

This is the bus I ride each morning the 2B Clinton, it is equally crowded on the way home.

The NFTA eliminated many suburban runs that would normally go just inside the city line and then get on the expressways to downtown so now they go all the way down a main street becoming overcrowded and creating a safety hazzard.

[FisherRd]

It isn't just the Cinton bus - it is ALL the bus routes . Many of us have to wait in the dark, sub zero temperatures an extra half hour early , and get home a half hour later than usual . Would you want your wife, girlfriend or Mother to be subjected t this? Buses passing us by. If you are in your nice warm vehicle, and have never had to stand and wait for a bus or train, you have no right to judge people.

You're either too cheap to buy a car, or can't afford one. Either way, that's on you. Buses aren't about your convenience, they're about cheap, reliable transportation. Either make alternative travel plans, get used to the new delays, hope that the NFTA sees a value in accomodating the gripes, or start sticking your thumb out.

Buses are generally not seen as a convenient mode of transpo.