Riders respond to transit agency’s request for input
Debrah Thomas discusses transit issues with A.J. Knee, multimodal transportation planner with Michael Baker International of Harrisburg, at an information-seeking session Wednesday in Washingtoin.
Barbara Miller/Observer-Reporter
Kathy Stefani, program manager for Alliance for Transportation Working in Communities, checks the response to charts gauging participants’ access to cars, transit use and barriers to service during an information-seeking session Wednesday in Washington.
Opportunities for riders to head to Pittsburgh International Airport; extended service hours and more weekend trips to shopping destinations and the casino; less time waiting for the shared-ride service to pick them up.
Those are some wishes on the lists of riders who use transit services offered by Washington County’s Freedom Line voiced at an open house Wednesday at the city’s transportation hub on East Chestnut Street.
Someone with an automobile at his or her disposal might care less about public transportation until the car breaks down. Others, for a variety of reasons, don’t have a car as an option.
Debrah Thomas, a case manager for Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services’ Connect Inc., walks to work, but she relies on bus transportation for longer trips.
She’d like to see service expanded on weekends and in the evening.
“My main concern is the working people who can’t do things during the day,” Thomas said. “I usually catch the Metro bus, which is pretty good.”
But because of a lack of evening service, riders risk being stranded.
“You can catch a bus going out, but you’re not getting a bus back,” she said.
Thomas would like to see a bus route connecting Washington County with Pittsburgh International Airport, The Pointe in North Fayette and Robinson Town Center in Robinson Township, Allegheny County.
Evening service to and from Pittsburgh, where festivals and sporting events abound, are off limits to Washington Countians who depend on public transit.
When the Washington County Transportation Authority last year reworked its routes to serve the Arden area of Chartiers Township, it also added service during the two August Saturdays that are part of the activities schedule for the Washington County Fair.
Sheila Gombita, transportation authority executive director, said Wednesday, “We really didn’t see much success for that, but we’ll probably continue it. It takes time for people to recognize it and get used to it.”
Kate Blaker of Washington, an independent living specialist for the Transitional Paths to Independent Living agency, said she takes a bus to work, but when she’s required to attend evening meetings, she has to pay for private transportation for her trip home.
“You can’t get anything after 7 o’clock,” she said.
Jon Wise of Washington is a paratransit customer who yearns “not to get left at the doctor’s office for 2 ½ hours.”
He’s been using the service for seven years and said during that time, “I’d say it’s gotten worse.”
Wise said he’s been driven from Washington to the Cameron Wellness Center by way of Canonsburg, and at times he’s witnessed his sister, who will be headed to the same destination as he is, be passed by the vehicle in which he’s a passenger, only to be picked up after a circuitous route.
Gombita said she’s open to discussing the logistics of specific circumstances with Wise or anyone who perceives problems.
At least one patron had no complaints.
Richard Cahill of Washington has been using local bus service since “at least 2007. I had a stroke and lost my license,” he said.
He bought a cloth shopping bag to make lugging his groceries easier, and he has his route down to a science.
“I catch the 11:45 bus in and the 2:19 bus back,” he said from the lobby of the intermodal transit center. “Then I transfer back here and I get one to the hospital at 3:35.”
Some have complained about being caught out in the cold during winter holidays like Martin Luther King’s birthday or Presidents Day, but Cahill said, “I just watch the paper to see if it’s closed.”
David Totten, transportation planner with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, has provided technical assistance on transportation plans for the Mid-Mon Valley and Armstrong and Butler counties. Westmoreland County’s plan is soon to be completed.
It used an online survey similar to that of Washington County and had 1,400 participants, which Totten considered a “pretty good” response rate.
The public can also provide input through an interactive online survey at the link WashingtonTDP.metroquest.com through April 20.
Totten gave June 30 as the completion date for Washington County’s transportation plan, which will cost about $90,000. Freedom Transit is required to do a transportation development plan to receive state Department of Transportation funding.