Paul Bass Photo
Rush-hour B3: 20 minutes late, crammed, no word to riders.
Never mind the late and too-few buses. Why is it proving so hard for the state to put workable GPS systems on its buses to communicate with waiting riders?
Looney: City bus service neglected.
State Senate President Martin Looney posed that question Monday in a letter to state Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner James Redeker.
The letter follows this report last week in the Independent about the latest delay in a plan to make GPS operational on CT Transit buses in New Haven. The plan is over a year late, according to DOT’s original promises.
In the letter, Looney did also note that New Haven riders, with their 10 million annual trips, account for “almost 23 percent” of all state bus ridership, but the city gets only 7 percent of the routes (compared to 35 percent 28 percent, respectively, for Hartford).
The text of Looney’s letter follows:
Dear Commissioner Redeker:
I am writing with concerns regarding the most recent news that the project for providing GPS equipment on CT Transit buses in New Haven has been delayed yet again. While we are being assured that the system will be operational sometime in February of 2017, the repeated delays are causing unease over the situation.
As you are aware, a system to provide riders in New Haven with information on the location and potential arrival times of buses that are frequently late was promised for the end of 2015. It was then promised for early in 2016 and then again by the end of the year. All of those deadlines have come and gone and the people who depend on bus services to get to school, get to work, or bring their families to the doctor are stuck with a system that continues to be unreliable and unpredictable. Frankly, this is unacceptable.
While it is understandable that a new system would be piloted initially in one or two communities, it is unclear to me why this system has not made its way to New Haven as of yet. As you know, New Haven has the second highest bus ridership in the state with annual trips approaching 10 million. In fact, New Haven represents almost 23% of all bus ridership in Connecticut. However, New Haven also represents only 7% of the bus routes in the state. Hartford accounts for 35% of the ridership but has 28% of the routes. These statistics add up to an overburdened system in New Haven. Buses are crowded and too often significantly late.
As the debut of the New Haven Hartford Springfield Rail Line approaches, it is critical that our bus operations in New Haven be efficient and integrated with this system. A well operated bus system is critical to the economic well-being of New Haven and the well-being of New Haven residents.
Any light you can shed on when we can finally see this system operational and what are the obstacles to implementing the system would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely
Martin M. Looney
Senate President Pro Tempore
Thank you, Sen. Looney. I gave up my car last June. I have used the bus system in New Haven extensively, even going up to my hometown of Cheshire occasionally.
The ONLY way you'll get more riders, reducing car traffic, is if riders can count on public transportation. A GPS system that allows riders to see where their bus is (so they can step inside shelter if needed) would go a loooooong way to getting us to that goal.