[Nfbmt] FW: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second Request
d m gina
dmgina at samobile.net
Tue Oct 25 22:05:39 UTC 2016
My question would be, how does the rest of the public feel about this.
I know one guy shared he took the van back and forth to get to his job
that wasn't in Great falls don't remember where it was.
I have to say I am sick and tired of being told we have to accept it
for what it is.
I was told this last year in question with traveling.
It seems to me it will get worse instead of better.
Just my thoughts
Do I know how to change it, no, I don't.
I also don't have the money to travel all of the time back and forth.
What I am proud of though, is not only we are stuck in one place so it
anyone else unless they drive.
Just my thoughts.
Original message:
> Here is a response I received from my inquiry about transportation options in
> Montana and how to improve them. Joy
> From: Sanders, Patrick [mailto:PSanders at mt.gov]
> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 10:30 AM
> To: President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana
> Cc: Sanders, Patrick
> Subject: RE: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual
> Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second
> Request
> Joy, and Bruce
> Good morning and sorry for the delay in responding to your first and other
> emails.
> At all staff in Bozeman 2016 I visited with Bruce for a few minutes
> explaining why I had not responded to your email. However while waiting for
> some response myself that I still have not received I thought I better send
> you a response.
> Here is my thoughts of why intercity transportation (greyhound) has changed
> in Montana.
> . In the 80's intercity bus was still very popular in all areas of
> Montana. (Greyhound, Trailways, and others)
> . These providers covered a lot of areas in Montana currently not
> receiving any regular intercity transit.
> . These providers also carried not just passengers but packages. By
> doing this made it feasible for them to provide intercity service
> . However with UPS and FED EX expanding and providing door to door
> service for the customers. The change started to happen.
> . Intercity bus service now was seeing a decline in package delivery
> which was not really delivery but drop off at the bus station and the
> customer would pick up.
> . So intercity bus started increasing the fares for passengers because
> of the decrease of packages being shipped.
> . Greyhound and other providers were still providing service.
> . However the providers started scaling back on routes because of
> ridership was decreasing.
> . So the providers saw it was not feasible to provide service for
> example across the hi-line when a third of the bus was full which meant out
> of 40 passenger bus there were only 13 riders.
> . Providers started changing routes and then scaled back to major
> routes between urban communities.
> . Greyhound backed out of the State of Montana sometime in 2000-2006.
> Greyhound only came into Montana to Missoula.
> . That is when Rimrock started providing more service
> . Missoula to Billings two times a day
> . Missoula to Helena to Billings once a day
> . Great Falls to Butte and south on I-15 twice a day
> . They also provided service from Kalispell to Missoula twice a day.
> . Rimrock had studies done saying that this is what was needed. They
> also applied for a grant through MDT asking for operating and capital funds.
> . At this time MDT had other providers doing intercity service but
> routes being ran was once a week or maybe twice a week. The reason for
> those types of intercity service was because the demand for service was not
> high.
> . In 2013 Rimrock Stages was shut down by the Federal Motor Carriers.
> . MDT worked hard on trying to get agencies to start providing
> intercity service where Rimrock had provided.
> . Jefferson Bus lines expanded service and provides two routes from
> Missoula to North Dakota however they don't travel through Helena on either
> of the routes.
> . Salt Lake express has expanded its service from Butte to Great
> Falls.
> . No other providers stepped forward or wanted to do this.
> . Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe (CSKT) started the Flathead
> Transit and runs from Kalispell to Missoula to provide intercity service.
> . Other providers that provide transit in the communities still
> provide some intercity service but not a regular daily scheduled service.
> I do understand that when traveling a person wants to get from point A to
> point B the fastest way. However when using any train, airplane, and
> intercity bus service there are delays on all transportation. Which is very
> frustrating but in my opinion we are very fortune to have what we have
> currently. We could have a lot less.
> Montana Department of Transportation Transit Section has worked very hard
> with different providers trying to get them to provide more service.
> However all grants money (Federal Transit dollars) that transit agencies
> receive they have to match with local money. Local agencies have hard time
> trying to come up with match. So then if the rider wanted to go from Great
> Falls to Lewistown and it was in a small bus that ride might cost one person
> $100.00 one way or even more. IF visited with one agency and the cost to
> run a bus is roughly $4.25 per mile. Which means that ride to Great Fall to
> Lewistown would be much more.
> Hope this all made sense. If you would like to visit please let me know.
> Thanks
> Patrick Sanders
> Transportation Coordinator
> Disability Employment and Transitions
> Department of Public Health and Human Services
> 406-496-4933
> Monday-Friday- Butte Office 700 Casey Street (Voc Rehab)
> From: President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana
> [mailto:breslauerj at gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2016 4:36 AM
> To: Pavao, John; Sanders, Patrick; Bushman, Kirk; Berg, Beverly; Marks, James
> Cc: jka; jeff ; linda ; bruce&Joy; dan ; Julie Deden; nfbmt
> Subject: RE: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual
> Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second
> Request
> Hello, everyone.
> At our convention in Billings last week end, we approved the following
> resolution. It had been approved in prior years as well, so in that case it
> is still in effect, but we brought it up to date for this year.
> I am including it below, but I also want to know if there is a more
> meaningful way in which we can facilitate the improvement of transportation
> options for the blind in Montana. Is there a task force that we can be a
> member of, a discussion in which we can partake? I don't want our concern to
> languish in a drawer somewhere without any meaningful action being taken.
> Resolution 2016-01 Regarding Intercity Ground and Air Transportation in
> Montana
> WHEREAS The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shut down
> Rimrock Stages on March 22, 2013, leaving Montana intercity bus service in
> shambles; and,
> WHEREAS Blind citizens of Montana, along with other nondrivers, have long
> relied on intercity bus transportation to travel the great distances between
> Montana cities; and,
> WHEREAS Jefferson Lines is currently providing intercity bus service, routing
> passengers through Butte, Montana, with long layovers in Billings, Butte, and
> Missoula, making convenient travel throughout the state virtually impossible;
> and,
> WHEREAS This lack of intercity bus service has a serious significant negative
> economic impact on the citizens of and the visitors to our state; and,
> WHEREAS Jefferson Lines monopolizes Montana's intercity bus transportation,
> leaving the nondriver with only one choice for intercity travel: NOW,
> THEREFORE,
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
> convention assembled this Ninth Day of October, 2016, in the city of
> Billings, Montana, that this organization call upon Governor Steve Bullock to
> bring the full resources of his office to bear on restoring safe, reliable,
> and affordable intercity ground and air transportation to Montana.
> From: Bruce&Joy Breslauer [mailto:breslauerj at gmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2016 2:40 AM
> To: jpavao at mt.gov; psanders at mt.gov; kbushman at mt.gov
> Cc: breslauerj at gmail.com
> Subject: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual
> Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second
> Request
> Hello.
> My name is Joy Breslauer, and I am the President of the National Federation
> of the Blind of Montana.
> We are having our fourth annual Treasure State convention at the Billings
> Hotel and Convention Center October 7-9, 2016. If you are interested in
> seeing the agenda, please go to www.nfbofmt.org and click on the 2016
> Treasure State Convention Agenda link.
> 2016 TREASURE STATE CONVENTION AGENDA
> On Saturday, October 8, we are having a panel discussion about transportation
> options in Montana for the blind and visually impaired and other nondrivers,
> and how good they are in some places and instances (Uber, city busses,
> special transportation vans for the elderly or disabled), and how abysmal in
> others (intercity bus or airline travel), and how changes might be made. If
> you would be interested in participating in this discussion, either in person
> or off site, please let me know. I would appreciate any input you can
> provide.
> On a personal note regarding transportation, I live in Great Falls and my
> daughter, who lives in Billings and has an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old, and a
> 13-year-old, just had twins on September 23. I would have loved to have been
> there, but the decision to take the twins early was a sudden one, and I had
> no way to get there in time. The bus would have left Great Falls at
> something like 2:50 P.M., I would have gone to Helena and then Butte, and had
> an eight-hour layover in Butte, then caught a bus to Billings, arriving at
> 5:30 A.M. I think the cost of a round trip bus ticket is close to two
> hundred dollars. The price is not so much the concern as is the
> inconvenience of the scheduling.
> I realize times have changed, but I remember the days when Great Falls had a
> bus that would leave in the evening for Missoula, and one that would leave in
> the evening for Billings either fifteen minutes earlier or later. I could
> take a bus to Missoula after work on a Friday afternoon, be dropped off at
> Clearwater Junction where I would meet a family member by prearrangement, and
> drive the 18 miles to the family cabin, arriving at around nine in the
> evening, and spend the week end, arriving in Great Falls on the return bus
> around 6:30 in the evening. A perfect week end. Or I could take the bus to
> Billings after work, arriving at 11:30 or so Friday evening, spend the week
> end with family and friends, catch the bus at around 1:15 Sunday afternoon,
> and arrive back in Great Falls around 9:30 or 10:00 in the evening. Maybe
> not as good, but still definitely doable.
> Another time when I had wanted to go to Billings, I checked out the airline
> transportation just for fun. I remember flying down to college in Billings
> in the early 1970s for ten or fifteen dollars during the price wars. I knew
> I wouldn't find anything like that again, but what I did find is that I would
> have had to catch an early morning plane out of Great Falls to Seattle, have
> an almost all day layover there, and then fly to Billings, arriving there at
> something like eleven in the evening, at a cost of over nine hundred dollars.
> I could theoretically take Uber to Billings at a cost of over four hundred
> dollars. If I had lived in Havre, I could have caught a plane to Billings
> that leaves twice a day for fifty dollars. To me, this is totally
> unacceptable, and directly impacts whether or how often I can see my daughter
> and grandkids, or visit friends. I may move down there some day, which will
> reverse the situation for me, since I have a son and grandkids here in Great
> Falls that I would then not see very often for the same reasons.
> I know we live in a large state with a relatively small population, and it is
> not economically feasible to provide many transportation options for those of
> us who do not drive. We are in a minority and thus have a smaller voice that
> may go unheard. Can you suggest any realistic ways for us to advocate for
> the improvement of transportation options for us and other nondrivers in
> Montana?
> Thank you for any thoughts you might have to contribute to our discussion of
> transportation at our upcoming convention. This is a real hot button for
> those of us who do not drive.
> Cordially,
> Joy Breslauer, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Montana
> Address: P.O. Box 1325, Great Falls, MT 59403
> Phone: (406) 454-3096
> Email: president at nfbofmt.org
> Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/>
> Live the life you want
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
> blindness is not what holds you back.
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--Dar
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