[Nfbmo] The bus Saga Continues.

Matt Sievert matt.sievert at gmail.com
Sun Feb 17 03:21:05 UTC 2013


Happy trees, let's all think about happy trees,

and talk to Bryan via his private email address.


On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 at 9:32 PM, Bryan Schulz <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> fyi,
> i haven't said anything for at least 6 months so go rip on someone else.
> Bryan Schulz
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
>
> To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2013 5:24 PM
>
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus Saga Continues.
>
>
>  Bryan:
>>
>> I for one am getting tired of your constant stream of messages, on many
>> of our lists, about how the big bad rehab agency in Missouri favors others
>> and picks on you.  I am not from Missouri, so have no way of knowing what
>> happened, but your harping about it here isn't going to change anything.
>> Further, if you got a bum deal, maybe it is because of your constant
>> negative attitude.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> At 11:39 PM 2/15/2013, you wrote:
>>
>>> hi,
>>>
>>> if you want an example of a monopoly, a familiar state agency which uses
>>> a certain vendor 90% of the time, has put other vendors out of business,
>>> and sent one back to his original state is a monopoly!
>>> Bryan Schulz
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <DanFlasar at aol.com>
>>> To: <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2013 11:26 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] The bus Saga Continues.
>>>
>>>
>>>  Strictly speaking, a municipal or state or  federal public service is
>>>> not
>>>> a monopoly since these are not   for-profit organizations.  If all the
>>>> airlines combined into one big  private or publicly (in the sense of
>>>> stock
>>>> availability) -ownership, then that  would be a monopoly.   Or if
>>>> Comcast finally
>>>> owns all the cable   networks, then they would be monopoly.
>>>>  Classically, a
>>>> monopoly restricts  competition.  A government-managed utility or
>>>> transit
>>>> system is a different  category.  The big difference - we have a way to
>>>> change or modify a  government utility - we have no way to do so with a
>>>> private
>>>> company.
>>>>   And yes, this all gets very complicated  and far from  clear.
>>>> Dan
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In a message dated 2/15/2013 5:18:59 P.M. Central Standard Time,
>>>> dickmorris at netzero.net writes:
>>>>
>>>> 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<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<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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