Bus service mismanaged, should be fixed and saved

InMaricopa’s recent article on the MaX bus service represents only one side. No where does it mention why the ridership has dropped. Since I have never ridden the early bus to Phoenix, I don’t know exactly how many people were riding. I do know that with all the changes the council felt necessary to make, that riders would not be taken to the capital area, where the majority of them work. They would have to pay the $3 Maricopa Express charged, (before the moratorium was in place), take the light rail and pay for that and many had to catch yet another bus to get to work and that would be another charge.  

Do you realize how much revenue Maricopa has lost by all those riders being driven away by the changes the city council has put into place?  Everyone I’m aware of was willing to pay the $3.00. No one complained about the fee to my knowledge.

I see you still have the “nice buses” pictured as our transportation.  That is false advertising as the people would expect to ride that bus and then the reality of the tin can buses we ride now would be a huge let down. I know of a couple riders with bad backs that are not able to tolerate all the jarring these buses cause so that is more lost revenue.

Monday morning someone wanted to ride the bus but the buses the city council chose don’t have room for three bikes or more. This gentleman rode in the cold to the bus stop only to be told he couldn’t get on.  This totally affects his employment. The city says it provides a service but this man wasn’t served. He had to ride his bike back home in the cold and may have well been late for work thanks to this new service.

Of course these new buses don’t have any compartments underneath that would store a bike if there were more than the two allowed. Did no one take into consideration the needs of the riders? Riding a bike allows one not to have to pay for parking. I know I dropped my parking spot at the university as it was too expensive for me. I’d rather pay the $3 per ride to Maricopa. I’d ride my bike as well but God forbid there would be more than two bikes and someone would have to go home.

The second bus in the morning has seen days when all the single seats were taken and also the first bus in the evening. We will have to start sharing seats if this keeps up. I think your tallies need to be recounted. On the second bus this morning there were 17 riders and 14 last night on the first bus.

The way this bus service has been handled since Oct. 1 would be laughable if it didn’t affect the way people get to their jobs. Why can’t the city continue a service we’ve had for the past two years that got people to work safely and on time?   

A bus service can never be considered a money maker, hence all the grant monies involved. It is suppose to provide a service to the community residents. There needs to be a way for people to get them to work if they choose not to drive themselves. This service was started with that intention. Now there is always a threat not to keep it. Let it work itself through and become successful.

Many riders were lost due to all the changes that have been made. I have no proof, but the way this company [that now operates the bus service] has been shoved down our throats leaves cause for suspicion.  Any company that submits a bid for a job would need to have all its equipment in operating order in case they got the bid. This company was ill-prepared for the job they were hired to do. They didn’t even have up-to-code buses initially. There is something very fishy in all this and I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Debra Callaghan is a Maricopa resident who has used the city bus service for the past two years.

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