Bus Meeting

A public hearing for Augustans to speak about proposed cuts to service and increased fares to the people in charge of Augusta Public Transit and any other public officials who made it down there was held at May Park on Thursday afternoon. Commissioners Brigham, Hatney and Mason and Administrator Russell showed up. I didn't see Mayor Copenhaver- he may have gotten hung up at his three o'clock ribbon-cutting.
The chairs on the gymnasium floor were filled and more people sat in the bleachers. Possibly many more people would have been there if the meeting had been scheduled differently. One speaker estimated that a hundred to a hundred and fifty of his fellow bus-riding ASU students would have attended if the meeting had been earlier so they could have taken the bus home from it. (Mr. Johnson of the APT say he scheduled it late in the day because earlier in the day people are working. When asked why not on a Saturday, he said people are working on Saturday. Seems an ironic concern since he proposes ending Saturday bus service.)
Here's a sampling of the many points made:
Some people take three buses to get to work, a trip that with the new proposed fares will be $9 a day. Fares for disabled riders who need assistance are also scheduled to go up- some as high as $9 one-way. People new to Augusta expressed surprise at how bad our transportation system is. Why is transit always the thing that gets cut? Wouldn't the system make more money if it performed well enough to attract new riders? Most cities' public transit rider numbers went up when gas got expensive, but not Augusta's. Why doesn't Augusta have a park and ride program? Transportation is the number one need for senior citizens. Most riders make under $14,000 a year. Instead of paying for more studies, why not implement some of the recommendations from past studies? One woman hasn't been able to get to church in five years (there are already no Sunday buses). The advertising on the buses could be better. The system still is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act from 1990. Why doesn't Augusta seek the grants out there for transit? Public transit is essential to becoming a world-class city. A nun said she just could not believe the city would do this to the poor and handicapped. Where's the planning?
The commission will discuss transit- according to the administrator, sometime in mid-January. Save the date-ish.