A proposal would consolidate bus service to high-ridership areas and end service to low-ridership areas while providing the same service hours.
DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, June 16, 2007 7:00 pm
A family emerged from a taxi cab in front of City Hall on Saturday, and the cab driver helped the three visually impaired people make their way up the steps.
But from there, they were on their own to find a StarTran Advisory Board meeting to talk about proposed changes to city bus routes.
They and plenty of other blind people turned out in force for the Saturday morning meeting designed to give the public a chance to weigh in on changes proposed in a new Transit Development Plan. The plan was developed during a 14-month process guided by several outside consultants.
About 65 people showed up, almost all with concerns about the route changes under consideration. The proposal would consolidate bus service to high-ridership areas and end service to low-ridership areas while continuing to provide the same number of service hours.
The changes would not cost more money, although the plan also recommends long-term changes including extended hours that would. The new plan must eventually be approved by the Lincoln City Council, and if it is, changes would go into effect in one year.
But many of the bus riders who showed up Saturday opposed the elimination of routes, especially those who bought houses to be near routes that may now disappear.
The Lincoln Independent Business Association kicked off public comments by recommending that StarTran concentrate on the city core and "essential service areas" and see if it could reduce the city's nearly $6 million annual StarTran subsidy by $1 million.
LIBA head Coby Mach said ridership maps indicate hardly anyone uses the buses south of Pioneers Boulevard. He suggested the city temporarily try "outsourcing van trips" in south Lincoln.
"If people need to have bus service, they would know that they have this transition period to move within the city core," Mach said. "It is important for the community to recognize that the city of Lincoln does not have mass transportation; we have public transportation."
Then Mach and another LIBA representative left the meeting.
Les Helms, president of the bus union, later said the union unanimously voted against the new plan, and then blasted Mach, saying, "LIBA had the first chance to talk but didn't have the courtesy to listen to anybody else."
Rather than taking a chainsaw to the bus routes, Helms said, the routes should be tweaked. Ridership is up 2.2 percent, he said, but the changes will hurt ridership. He also said the study's ridership statistics appeared flawed, based on his personal experience as a bus driver.
Jeff Altman of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska said the proposed changes amount to a reduction in bus service.
"I do not wish to have anyone tell me where I may live in this city," he added.
Most people at the hearing opposed route changes that would move bus stops or eliminate shuttles that serve them or elderly and disabled people.
One partially disabled retired veteran said he bought his house 14 years ago to be near the bus route, because he has lung problems and can't walk more than a block-and-a-half to get to the bus stop. His route would disappear under the proposal.
Many lobbied for longer hours, but that's not in the cards. The city has nearly a $9 million budget deficit, and extending hours for some buses to about 10 p.m. would cost another $750,000 annually, according to city Transportation Planner David Cary.
Several people also questioned the wisdom of creating a free evening shuttle downtown Thursdays through Saturdays, suggesting chauffeuring "drunks" around could lead to lots of problems and liability concerns.
A few people argued that bus service should continue to cover most of the city to help reduce Lincoln's dependence upon cars, and therefore reduce carbon emissions.
But for most of the people at the hearing, riding the bus isn't optional.
"It's the bus or my feet," said Diane Kimble, who lives in the city core but uses the bus to get to shopping areas on weekends.
The StarTran Advisory Board is expected to take action on the plan and routes when it meets Thursday at 8 a.m. in the City Council chamber at the County-City Building, 555 S. 10th St. Changes to the plan could be made by the board, but the City Council will have the final say on route changes during budget deliberations this summer.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
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