Much has been written about Metro-North’s slow return to “normal” service as commuters ponder a return to their New York City offices. But what matters as much, if not more, is bus ridership within the state.
Pre-COVID busy systems like
GBT (Greater Bridgeport Transit) served as many as 15,000 bus riders in
communities from Westport to Milford.
Recent statistics show 10,000 riders per day, about a 33% drop from
pre-COVID.
“We
reached 10,000+ boardings on some weekdays this past July. I expect to see that gap partially close as
the high schools, universities and colleges resume in-person learning,” says
Doug Holcomb, Executive Director of GBT.
CT Transit ridership in Stamford,
New Haven and Hartford has equally held up, recently down only 40% compared to
Metro-North’s 60% drop.
Why the difference in returning
ridership between trains and buses? Because
bus riders are much different than train riders.
Most can’t work from
home: nurses and blue-collar workers
can’t telecommute. And many don’t even
have access to cars. (GBT says 90% of all passengers are going to or coming
from school or their job.) If the bus
doesn’t keep running to get them to work, they can’t get to class or lose their
jobs and go on unemployment.
Bus riders are also less
affluent. Even though bus fares are only $1.75 (closer to $1 for those with
discount passes), that daily expense represents a bigger chunk of their weekly
pay compared to “gold coast” residents taking the train. While Metro-North riders enjoy a one-seat
ride from their home station to Grand Central, many bus riders must take two or
more connecting routes.
In other words, bus service in
this state is essential. It keeps
service jobs staffed, our hospitals running and cars serviced.
But what will it take to get even
more riders back on the bus?
First, they need to feel
safe. And here the bus companies are
doing a much better job than the railroad both in cleaning and in enforcing recently
extended federal and state mask-wearing rules.
“We have only had one reported incidence of refusal (to wear a
mask) that resulted in a driver/rider confrontation. We focused on
encouragement and outreach – signage, announcements, newsletters, social media,
mask giveaways, persuasion. This seems to have worked as well as anything,” says
GBT’s Holcomb. “If there’s a group of people who really know we’re in this
together, it’s bus riders.”
To
encourage their staff to get their vax, GBT held a lottery with prize
money. Vaccination rates went way up to
70%. They’re also building service
resiliency by keeping the staff healthy and are even hiring new drivers.
As crucial as bus service is,
there is a lot of anti-bus prejudice in Connecticut. I regularly see social media posts
complaining about “empty buses” driving our roads, often posted by the same
people opposed to highway tolls as being too burdensome for the working class.
When
Southington was recently considering restoring bus service for the first time
since 1969, a local resident wrote a letter to the local paper declaring “Towns
that have bus service are towns that frankly have a lesser quality of people.”
Really?
Forget about community college
students who need their U-Pass to bus to class every day. Or the people who come and clean your home,
if you’re so fortunate. Bus riders are what keep the state, literally, moving.
Kudos also to the bus
companies’ drivers and technicians who, as Holcomb says “are courageous and dedicated people with a
commitment to this community."
Amen.
Posted
with permission of Hearst CT Media
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