Under normal circumstances I’m generally inclined to keep my mouth shut and not bitch about stuff like this. But I find myself annoyed right now so I find myself with a desire to let it out.
In Whatcom county we have a bus system that goes by the name Whatcom Transit Authority or WTA. They’ve been around since the early to mid-nineties at least. I remember riding them in 1993 for 5 or 10 cents. Their prices remained significantly lower than any of the other systems I’d ridden for quite some time. In fact it’s only within the last 4 years or so that the price has reached $1. That said, WTA also has historically had some of the worst coverage of any of the busses I’ve ridden. In ’93 my bus ran every 2 hours. The frequency of the busses has improved but overall it’s still one of the worst, if not THE worst system I’ve ridden. The cause of this failure I place squarely on the shoulders of those In charge. I’ll break it down for you.
As the price of fuel rose rapidly in the mid ots the ridership increased drastically resulting in fuller busses, and in short order more busses and routes. They instigated transfer passes with a fare of 50-75 cents. Great for the riders. In time fuel prices came down ridership decreased and with that decrease came the decrease in routes and an increase in fare. So far all this is pretty standard.
A couple years ago WTA put into motion a vote for a Tax Increase to further subsidize the busses. When that was voted down they responded by cutting back on their services further.
When all is said and done my real complaint stems from the greed inherent in the system. I think an aspect of this greed is reflected in some of WTA’s policies. As I understand it the company gives their drivers little authority with regards to the busses they’re driving. The result is that on a regular basis I see people hopping busses and not paying simply because the driver can’t throw them off. WTA won’t allow them to.
My mind isn’t able to focus on this fully anymore. I’m gonna finish this with some solutions I can see.
1. Increase the ridership in the following ways:
A. Offer discounted passes to people with low income and family passes to families. (Like a bus pass that for twice the price will pay for 2 adults and 3 children.)
B. Offer pro rated passes for as long as that months passes are available. Regular price right now is $25/mo, reduce that price by $5 each week starting the second 8th of the month. This would also ensure all the cards get sold and that some of the 10,000 possible cards aren’t produced for no reason.
C. Analyze ridership each quarter including population analytics and increase routes to areas that could best use them and times they could best be used. (Currently we have 6 lines that run after 6-7pm and primarily along the main business corridors of town and only until 10. Extending the service by 1.5 hours and adding an alternating route to the more densely housed areas could be highly beneficial.)
2. Alter company policies that allow for theft to flourish:
A. Drivers should be permitted to kick off passengers that do not pay or passengers that make the ride unpleasant for other riders. (ie: loud music, swearing, aggressive behavior, etc)
B. The bus system is a public service that is privately owned, because of it’s public status and the fact that it receives subsidies from the city/county a cap should be placed on the salaries of executives and any year end bonus should be split between the staff and possibly any registered passholder.