[Nfbmdtlc-chapter] Reminder About Giving Feedback To MTA Bus Changes – Monday Deadline – Please give Feedback on Reduced Bus Service to NFB from Points North of Downtown

[Ringlein, Ellen]

Dear Federation Colleagues,

In addition to any personal comments you have, please also register your concern about the negative effect the BaltimoreLink plan will have on bus service to the National Federation of the Blind headquarters. In the proposed plan riders coming from north of downtown, say from Penn Station, will no longer have direct bus service to the NFB. They will take the Silver CityLink route downtown, where they will transfer to LocalLink 71. While the CityLink bus is supposed to come every ten minutes during peak hours, the LocalLink bus will only come every thirty minutes during peak hours and every sixty minutes during non-rush hour times. These changes will make it harder for visitors and members to come to the NFB headquarters at 200 East Wells Street.

Again, here are the ways you can give your feedback to MTA:
Online: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TransitImprovement.
Phone: 410-454-1998

It is critical the MTA hear from our membership about this important issue.

For more information about how to access details about the proposed changes to bus service in the greater Baltimore area, please see my email below.

Cordially,

Ellen Ringlein, President
Greater Baltimore Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
From: Ringlein, Ellen
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2016 6:31 PM
To: 'NFB of Maryland Baltimore Chapter Discussion List'; nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org; nfbmd at nfbnet.org
Subject: Important Opportunity to Give Input to MTA BaltimoreLink Bus Plan - Public Comment Period Ends January 11 at 5 p.m.
Importance: High

Dear Federation colleagues,

As you may be aware, the MTA plans to overhaul the bus system serving the greater Baltimore area. I attended one of the informational meetings yesterday. The MTA is looking for input and feedback from the public. But the chance to give our opinion at this stage ends by the close of business on Monday, January 11.

If you are a bus rider in the Baltimore area, I strongly urge you to review the information about the proposed bus plan, which is not written in stone yet. We as users of the public transportation system can still raise concerns about how the proposed changes would affect us individually.

You can review general information about BaltimoreLink at http://mta.maryland.gov/baltimorelink. Much of the information is accessible, but not all. Fellow Federationist, David Bouchard, was largely responsible for making sure that the descriptions of all the proposed routes are accessible. You can review those at http://mta.maryland.gov/baltimorelink-bus-routes. There are three types of routes listed on this page: LocalLink, CityLink, and ExpressLink routes. Under each of these headings is a link that takes you to the accessible descriptions of each group of routes.

In addition to voicing your individual concerns, you should consider commenting on the MTA’s responsibility to maintain and enhance accessibility to online information and bus signage. We want to be sure that we as blind bus riders have access to information about bus routes, schedules, and location of bus stops. Much of this could be done online. We also want to make sure that the new buses have talking stop announcements and signage that is readable by riders with low vision.

You may also want to know and comment on that the current proposed plan no longer provides direct access from Penn Station to the Riverside neighborhood, where NFB headquarters is located. One would have to transfer downtown from a CityLink bus which should run fairly frequently to a LocalLink bus, which will run less often to get to NFB.

You can give your input to the MTA online at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TransitImprovement.

You can also Call the BaltimoreLink hotline at 410-454-1998 and leave a message.


Please take the time and give your feedback. Whatever the new bus plan turns out to be, it will affect blind bus riders for many years to come. Your observations will carry more weight and potentially make a greater impact, if you give specific and detailed information rather than just making general comments.
Cordially,

Ellen Ringlein, President
Greater Baltimore Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

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