SUFFOLK
Bus routes in Suffolk offer some of the quirkiest, riskiest and most delayed service in the region, according to a review by Hampton Roads Transit.
That must change, HRT staffers told the City Council on Wednesday.
The city moved last year to outsource its bus service to HRT. The handover occurred on Feb. 1, but the regional transportation agency began reviewing Suffolk's routes last fall, said Ray Amoruso, HRT's senior vice president for planning and public affairs.
The biggest and most serious problem they found was the frequency with which routes snaked through parking lots at shopping centers and apartment buildings. Buses drove right up to front entrances to pick up riders, presenting a conflict "between a very large bus and pedestrians," Amoruso said.
Aside from slowing the routes - the Wal-Mart visit takes five minutes - the detours present a serious liability concern, Amoruso said.
"The risk management people said you've got to get them out of the parking lots," he said.
Other cities have similarly troubling routes, but Suffolk has the most by far, he said.
This helped make Suffolk's bus services some of the most consistently late in Hampton Roads. Buses were behind as much as 30 minutes, and probably 10 minutes to 15 minutes on average, said Paul Adamo, a senior planner for HRT. "That's why people can't rely on it to go to work," he said.
And it's probably one reason the routes in Suffolk are among the least ridden in Hampton Roads, Adamo and Amoruso said.
HRT also found that while Suffolk's routes were mapped, there were few, if any, signs marking the stops. It appeared that longtime riders just knew by habit where to wait, Amoruso said.
When one bus driver explained how Suffolk's flag system worked, Adamo said it was hard to believe until he saw it in action. He rode a route in which the driver entered an apartment complex, picked up one woman as she left her door, drove another 70 feet to pick up a rider at another door, then picked up a third person as he left the complex.
Among the other findings:
- One route included a dead end that required the bus driver to blindly back up to get out.
- One route included a one -mile detour through a neighborhood where it hadn't picked up a rider in three years.
- Many stops were not accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Buses that would be ready to leave on time waited for late connections rather than leaving after a few minutes as they do in other cities.
HRT has revised the routes and plans to roll out the changes in July, Amoruso said.
Vice Mayor Curtis Milteer Sr. expressed concern that residents won't like being forced to walk farther to a traditional bus stop.
Adamo said people might have to walk a tenth of a mile to a stop instead of waiting by their door. He acknowledged that will be a significant adjustment for some.
"It's an entire cultural change," he said.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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Its more than a transportation system
A municipal or regional bus system is not just a means to get people with means to get to work. It is also a social service, which enables people who cannot afford a car, or who are not able to drive due to other reasons, to go to work, shopping, and entertainment. Most of us are lucky, and dont need it, but without a good mass transit system, many people could not get to work and therefore we would be providing them services more expensive, by other means, such as direct unemployment payments. I would rather help them get to work by subsidising their trip than paying them to stay home. At the same time, we are making mass transit available to those of us who opt to use it because it can be a greener and better way to travel than one person/one car.
Waste!
What a waste of money! If HRT can not pay its own way then eliminate it! We should not be subsidizing losing operations. If they go away a private enterprise will step in, if there is a need. But we run expensive busses when there is not enough demand to support. By the way, the next time HRT tells you they don't have any money, go look at the massive new facility on Pembroke Ave. in Hampton. Who do you think paid for that?
Folks in mass transit
Folks in mass transit agencies have not been pushed hard enough to find a low cost, high service system for mass transportation. They go with the same old ideas year after year. The METRO system in DC works wonderfully and is relatively inexpensive. The train/trolley system in Philadelphia is OK but very confusing.
In our area we may not be able to get a lot of trains fast but we could work wonders with the bus system. Why not slightly smaller buses that run more frequently and on paths that make more sense? Oh and with shelters that actually provide shelter? It's like HRT was setup to handle a bunch of poor people who most others in this area don't care about. Why not make a system that serves everyone and make it easy to use?
Not quite.
The D.C. Metro is NOT relatively inexpensive and has a lot of service problems related to its limited capacity (among other things). There is no way the bus problems in Suffolk would be resolved by taking a type of transit system found in one of the largest regions in the country and applying it to low-density, low-population Suffolk. Remember that HRT inherited this system a few months ago from the City of Suffolk, so it probably evolved to be a system designed around the people who would actually use it, and nobody complained when it was working fine for them.
And I seriously doubt that you would get much savings from smaller buses. The operating costs are not so much related to the size of the bus, yet you would still have to pay someone to drive each one as well as staff to maintain each vehicle. Then multiply that cost if you also want to increase the frequency.
HRT SUFFOLK BUS SERVICE
Reminds one of the old cartoon entitled THE TOONERVILLE TROLLEY. But, that "wye" arrangement currently in place upon one of the bus lines should be eliminated immediately; it is an accident waiting to happen.
Front door service?
Do these riders expect front door service? How about we hold a spoon full of food in their mouth. Put on your walking shoes and go to a central stop.
I oppose the whole HRT system. It is not the governments responsibility to subsidize physical transportation. Raise fares so it is a self sustaining system, not tax supported.
Is Suffolk trying to provide
Is Suffolk trying to provide cab service or bus service? Come on Milteer, buses usually pick up at a central location not at individual doors. Not being on time is a significant issue, not to mention liability problems as well. If Suffolk wants to ptovide cab service then it needs to charge cab rates and forget the schedule.
Not Just Suffolk
Ever try riding Route 23 in Norfolk? The only run of that bus is the first run of the morning, After that forget it, 30 minutes behind is common. Yesterday I waited 45 minutes, got disgusted and called a cab. I've even seen these buses one behind the other going the same direction down Princess Anne Rd! You would think one of them would have sense enough to stop and turn around, call dispatch for instructions or something. But no they will just continue running like this all day if left unaddressed. Try calling HRT to complain about this is a joke. Nothing gets corrected, these customer service reps are just there to apppease the public - NOTHING GETS DONE!