[Nfbmo] Transit issues expansion

DanFlasar at aol.com DanFlasar at aol.com
Sat Feb 16 01:52:43 UTC 2013


Dick,
    I've spent a lot of time in Seattle, located right on  Puget - which is 
an inland 'peninsula' of the Pacific Ocean.     There are cities - and 
military bases - all around Puget Sound.   Too  far across for bridges, ferries 
solved the problem of crossing the Sound.   And initially, there were many 
competing ferry companies.  They weren't  regulated, licensed or inspected.  
There are stories from the era of  sabotage to competitors vessels, wrecks, 
fires on board and volatility of  schedules. . Finally, the state had to 
intervene, at first awarding routes based  on inspections, licensing and 
safety, but eventually, it became clear that the  most effective and safe way to 
get people and cars around Puget Sound was for  Washington State to take it 
on - like a utility.
    In fact, there are no public transit systems anywhere in  the world 
that are self-sustaining.  It  has to be recognized as a  public good.  Maybe 
the poor and disabled are the only ones who ride in  Springfield (and St. 
Louis, except for MetroLink) but DC, Chicago, New York and  Boston all ave 
great systems.  Those cities would collapse without  them.
    Good luck!
Dan
 
 
 
In a message dated 2/15/2013 7:22:07 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
matt.sievert at gmail.com writes:

Yup, one of  the benefits of leaving Missouri, was being in a slightly
larger  metropolitan area. So air travel is more affordable, and  modern
conveniences such as stores, and services are plentiful. However  living out
in the suburbs is also difficult. Cabs are slow, and drivers are  not
trained to look out for pedestrians in suburbia. But my morning commute  to
work is a 1.1 mile walk in a straight line right down the sidewalk.  Walk
home deviates a little to the YMCA and a grocery store that is  half-way
between my home and work. I also got a post-office, public  library, drug
store, and several small restaurants.

A lot of work  went into deciding if I would take this job up in Metro
Detroit. So i  sacrificed a "downtown" and a lot of social interaction. In
return for a  compact area of all of my essentials and a move  up
professionally.

10 below and snow, or 80 degrees. I can walk to  work without any
assistance. I usually get to work when other's are stuck  in traffic or
decide to stay home. I slowly walk down the unshoveled  sidewalks and take
my time. Wearing the gear I have deemed necessary to  make the morning
commute to a job I am so grateful to have  obtained.

My next move will be to an urban environment. I will live in  big city.
Where cabs are plentiful, rent is high, and the airport is a  short train
ride away from my apartment.

The suburbs is not my final  destination. Although beneficial, I consider
this move a "stepping stone"  to bigger and better things.

As far as Springfield, Missouri, and their  public transit, which is
subsidized by the utility company customers, and  the crappy greyhound, and
the over priced airfare tickets out of the local  airport. It is not an
appealing community for a visually impaired  professional. Some folks do
thrive, but for me. I want a more equal playing  field.

Even if I had a significant other that could drive. I would not  rely on
them as my only means of getting anywhere I need to go, when I want  to go
there.

Matt Sievert.

On Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 6:16 PM,  Dick Morris <dickmorris at netzero.net> 
wrote:

> Hi,  Dan,
>
> As far as I know, most bus companies are monopolies. Even  back in the 
day,
> although the Delaware Coach Company was privately  owned, it had a 
franchise
> to run all bus service in Wilmington,  Delaware. Another company had the
> franchise to run buses out where I  lived. And of course, you couldn't
> transfer between bus lines (sigh).  So even back then, bus service was a
> monopoly. Of course now Delaware  has a transit authority: there was a
> three-month drivers' strike in  1967 (I don't recall the issue), and a 
year
> after it was settled,  Delaware Coach pulled out, and the city created a
> transit authority  which eventually became DART First State.
>
> I think you'd have  to go back to the early streetcar era to find a
> situation
> in  which multiple companies ran transit services in a particular city. I
>  don't know if there's a book that covers bus transit deregulation in  the
> way
> that Hard Landing did for airlines.
>
> I  guess it's obvious that transit and transit marketing are two of my
>  favorite subjects. And it's probably also obvious that I should let  this
> subject die until there's more action in  Springfield.
>
> Dick
>
>  --------------------------------------------------
> From:  <DanFlasar at aol.com>
> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2013 3:38  PM
> To: <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus  Saga Continues.
>
> So much for the idea that the Free Market  solves all problems.
>
>     Without intervention  by the will of the people   (ie, our 
government),
> free  market capitalism leads inexorably to monopoly -  which is why
>  government has had to intervene so continuously over the years  -  which
> leads to too
> much regulation which leads to too much  deregulation  which leads to...
> You'd think we'd remember  this.
> Dan
>
>
>
> In a message dated 2/15/2013  3:25:42 P.M. Central Standard Time,
> dickmorris at netzero.net  writes:
>
> Matt and  Gary,
>
> At least  Springfield and Columbia have bus stations in town!  Matt, I  
don't
> know about where you are. But here in Tahlequah, the bus   depot sits
> abandoned; I don't know when the last bus rolled through  here,  but it 
was
> before I came in 2004. Our closest bus station  is Muskogee,  about 25 
miles
> away, and taking a bus from there is  like flying out of  Springfield, in
> that
> you'll go to a  "hub" city like Tulsa or OKC and  change there. And Tulsa 
is
>  sixty miles from here.
>
> Isn't  deregulation wonderful?  Just for grins, if you want an analysis of
> what  deregulation has  done to the airline industry, read Thomas
> Petzinger's
> Hard  Landing. Petzinger writes for the Wall Street Journal, and the book
>  is
> both interesting and  readable.
>
>  Dick
>
>  --------------------------------------------------
> From:  "Matt  Sievert" <matt.sievert at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, February  15,  2013 3:10 PM
> To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List"   <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus Saga   Continues.
>
> Now,
>
> Megabus and the michigan flyer  have all been  successes.
>
> Matt
> -----Original  Message-----
> From: "Gary Wunder"   <gwunder at earthlink.net>
> Sender: "Nfbmo"   <nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2013  15:03:59
> To:  'NFB of Missouri Mailing  List'<nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Reply-To: NFB of  Missouri Mailing  List <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus  Saga  Continues.
>
> When I sometimes ride the bus I get the impression  they  will run their
> busses until they run no more and then  they'll stop serving  us all
> together.
> It is not the  service-oriented company I used to ride  regularly.
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfbmo   [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dick Morris
> Sent:  Friday,  February 15, 2013 12:59 PM
> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing  List
> Subject: Re:  [Nfbmo] The bus Saga  Continues.
>
> Matt, the big problem with Greyhound is  that  they have had no real
> competition ever since they acquired  Continental  Trailways in the early
> 90s,
> and thereby  gutted the Trailways network. It  reminds me of the old, 
before
>  the breakup, AT&T commercial slogan, "We  may be the only phone  company 
in
> town, but we try not to act like it." Epic  fail on  the parts of both 
AT&T
> and Greyhound.
>
> Speaking of  lack  of competition, think of what air travel will be like
>  once
> American and  USAir complete their   merger.
>
> Dick
>
>  --------------------------------------------------
> From:  "Matt  Sievert" <matt.sievert at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, February  15,  2013 7:40 AM
> To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List"   <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus Saga   Continues.
>
> Dick,
>
> Thank you for correcting me.  Mrs. Cruise did  the best she could with the
> bus
> system.  She even ran multiple buses on the  same route during holiday
>  weekends, because the mall was so backed up. I  never used access  
express,
> because I didn't qualify, so I can't speak for  that  service.
>
> As for Norna Champion. She has a school and a park  named  after her.
>
> Greyhound is horrible for everyone. For  blind people, for  
servicemen/women
> going to Fort Leonard, and  everyone in  between.
>
> Greyhound drives me to be a more  successful person. So I can  bypass that
> nastyness, by prtivate  leased car trips or airline  travel.
>
> I will NEVER  advocate greyhound to anyone. They really don't  care about
> their  customers.
>
>
>
> -----Original   Message-----
> From: "Dick Morris"  <dickmorris at netzero.net>
> Sender:  "Nfbmo"  <nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2013   03:45:09
> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing   List<nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Reply-To: NFB of Missouri Mailing  List  <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus  Saga  Continues.
>
> Matt, her name is Carol Cruise, and she  has retired--but she  was always
> willing to listen to her  customers. From what Gary tells me, the  buses 
are
> full now,  probably thanks to $3 gasoline.
>
> But...you are  absolutely  right about the "second class citizen" 
attitude.
> Maybe you   remember Dr. Norma Champion. I had her in several classes at
> Evangel  when I  got my communications degree back in the dark ages. As a
>  state senator,  well...I was at a Jeff City seminar, I forget which  
year,
> and
> of course I  met with her to push NFB issues.  One was a transit issue, 
and
> her response  was that public  transit was for "someone like you". I 
think I
> bit my tongue  till  it bled. She was losing her vision due to macular
> degeneration, but  I  never could get her to see our side of things. Sad 
but
>  true.
>
> And  which Greyhound station were you referring to?  The old one on St.
> Louis
> or  the new one on East Kearney?  My problems were more with rude  
Greyhound
> drivers than anything  else, but the last time I rode the bus,  about a 
year
> ago, I had  a good experience--except for a bus that was three  hours 
late.
>  Oh, well...can't have  everything.
>
> Dick
>  --------------------------------------------------
> From:  "Matt  Sievert" <matt.sievert at gmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, February  14,  2013 8:11 PM
> To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List"   <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus Saga   Continues.
>
> Sigh,
>
> I am glad I am not in   Springfield.
>
> Public Transportation in Springfield, Missouri  has always  been a
> "second-class" citizen issue. "only poor  people and the elderly ride  the
> bus." is what I heard from most  folks.
>
> Also seeing empty buses  driving around town  didn't help any either.
>
> Mary Cruse did a lot to  help out  the transit issue. I don't know where 
she
> went, but obviously by   Gary's, account, things have not improved.
>
> The only thing  worse in  Springfield, Mo than the public transit system, 
is
> the  Greyhound  station.
>
> My primary means of transportation in  Springfield, Mo was a  cab or
> walking.
> Only when I worked  at St. John's was the bus useful, that  is because the
> #2
>  S. National went past the hospital on weekdays, and the  #5 went by  on
> weekends. Besides that, the bus was a headache I did not   want.
>
> Matt Sievert
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb  14, 2013 at 9:02 PM, Dick  Morris <dickmorris at netzero.net>
>  wrote:
>
> > Good job, Erin and  Gary! I wish I were still  in Springfield so I could
> be
> > part of this.  You're  dooing the right thing in trying to garner
> publicity;
> >  sometimes  the only way to get action is to embarrass somebody. Go  for
> it!
> >
> > Dick
> >
> >   --------------------------------------------------
> > From: "Magoon  Erin"  <magoone at gary-springfield-mo.net>
> > Sent:  Thursday, February 14,  2013 6:11 PM
> > To:  <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> > Subject: [Nfbmo] The  bus Saga  Continues.
> >
> > The Bus Saga Continues.
>  >
> >  Gary and I went to the City Council meeting on  Monday.  He spoke about
> the
> > fixed route buses and I  spoke about Access Express.  Access  is the
> >  para-transit door to door service that I'm riding for now  because of  
my
> > surgery last October.
> >
> > It is  getting  pretty rediculous trying to get a ride on Access.   They
> will
> > only  let you schedule a ride up to one  week in advance and it's 
getting
> >  difficult to do so.   They also have a 20 minute window either side of
> your
> >  pick-up to come and get you.  I had a pickup at 6:00 pm and  they  
didn't
> > have
> > the person come on duty who was going to  get  me until 5:55 so he 
didn't
> > arrive until 6:20.
>  >
> > I had  another person drop me off at the wrong entrance  to my building 
in
> >  my
> > apaartment complex. I  couldn't get a ride home from my job  developer
> until
>  > two hours after the end of my appointment.  I  couldn't get a  ride 
home
> > from
> > the gym at all, I could get   there but not home.  I also called one 
week
> in
> >  advance of the  City Council meeting to schedule my ride.  I  
scheduled it
> >  for
> > 10:30 pm because I didn't  know how long the meeting would go and  they
> set
> >  it
> > up.  The lady called me back ten minutes  later and  said she looked at
> the
> > schedule wrong.  "It's  written  in military time and I have trouble
> reading
> >  and understanding  it.  The latest we can get you is 8:30 not  10:30."
> >
> > I told  the Council most of what I've  just told you and they sent the
> >  following questions to City  Utilities telling them they wanted answers
> by
> > Friday,  February 22.
> >
> > 1. Why did you make the bus  route  changes?
> > 2. Why didn't you have the schedules and maps  ready  before the changes
> > took
> > effect?
>  > 3. Why didn't you hold  a public hearing or have public comments  
before
> you
> > made the  changes?
> > 4. Why  did the routes change 3 and 4 times after you made the  original
>  > changes?
> > 5. Is it true that you didn't want the   passengers to know the changes
> were
> > coming? If so, why  not?
> > 6.  Why are people having so many difficulties  scheduling an Access
> Express
> > ride 6 and 7 days in  advance?
> >
> > I called the  City Council yesterday  to find out what was the next 
step,
> > that's when  I got told  those questions were sent to City Utilities and
> as
> > soon  as  they received a response they'd call me.
> >
> >  Today a reporter from  The Springfield Newsleader called.  He talked  
to
> > both
> > me  and Gary about what has been going  on.  I told him all about Access
> and
> > that some of  the buses arrive downtown five minutes early now  because 
of
> >  the
> > new schedule, and the bus route that was added  sits in  the Social
> Security
> > parking lot for 15 minutes.  No  one  has explained why this is.
> >
> > The paper got a  report from City  Utilities telling them that the 
number
>  of
> > riders on Access has  increased and that they have 5  buses.  I told the
> > reporter that  several people I have  spoken to said they are taking
> Access
> > because of   all the route changes.
> >
> > He said that City Utilities  has  responded to City Council and said: 
"We
> > should have had  the bus maps  and schedules available when we made the
> >  route
> > changes, we  will hold public hearings in the future  for any change we
> want
> > to make  whether it's small  or big."
> >
> > I noticed that they didn't answer  any  of the questions City Council
> asked.
> >
> > The  article is  supposed to run in tomorrow's paper.  I hope it makes  
a
> >  difference.
> >
> >   _______________________________________________
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> >
> >   _______________________________________________
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