A group of 30 frustrated Tempe residents gathered at the Tempe Transportation Center Wednesday to discuss proposed changes to the Bus and Orbit System routes.
The evening meeting was the first of three scheduled sessions to gauge how the public would be affected by the changes.
Tempe has proposed changes to 16 routes within the existing city transit system. The proposals call for some current bus routes to merge, while others would run less frequently.
Sue Taaffe, Tempe’s community outreach and marketing coordinator, said the changes are due to the sagging economy, as the transit system relies on a half-cent sales tax that recently decreased.
The transit system currently has a $7.4 million deficit. Taaffe said the bus service is the largest cost in the city’s transit system, so it is the main focus for changes to counteract the debt.
“We took the routes and reworked them to make them more efficient,” Taaffe said. “Everyone can still get where they want to go, the route just may change slightly.”
However, many Tempe residents at the meeting were concerned that the proposed changes would hamper their ability to get around.
Tempe resident MaryAnn Cahail, 65, said she rides the Route 62 Hardy Bus to work and is concerned she might not be able to get to work on time if the proposed changes occur.
“I would have to walk a mile and a half to get to work,” Cahail said. “I don’t walk that fast. I’d half to leave to catch the bus at 4:30 a.m. to get to work on time at 6 a.m.”
Alyson Star, a 58-year-old Tempe resident, said the transit system is vital to her ability to get around Tempe because three people share one car in her home.
“I love where I live because I have all these options on how to get around town,” Star said. “It’s important for Tempe to hear from everyone — the good, the bad and the ugly.”
Star said she thought the public meetings were a good way for the city to understand the concerns of riders.
“They are just crunching numbers, and they need to see how it’s affecting people,” she said. “I understand that the city is in debt, but I’m out of a job myself.”
Tempe officials emphasized in the meeting that it is their goal to maintain public accessibility and increase the efficiency of the bus routes.
Greg Jordan, transit administrator for the city of Tempe, said the city’s goal is to maintain availability but some changes will be necessary.
Some current routes, for example, would be changed to multiple buses, so riders would have to make connections.
Jordan also presented other changes such as decreasing some weekday routes to 30-minute intervals from the current 15-minute intervals, and to 60-minute intervals on weekends.
Jay Smyth, 70, of Tempe uses the Earth bus within the Orbit system and said he is strongly opposed to decreasing the frequency of the buses
.
“You’ve killed public transit if you get past 15 minutes,” Smyth said. “People aren’t just going to wait for 30 minutes, especially in the Phoenix sun.”
Jordan also presented the possibility that the Orbit bus system, which has been free to the public in the past, could charge its riders a fee.
As of now there is no plan to impose a fee, but it is open for discussion, he said.
“Given the situation, it is prudent to at least have a conversation about it and let the dialogue dictate where that decision goes,” Jordan said.
Taaffe urged people to let the city know how the proposed changes to the transit system will affect them.
“If you use transit, you should come to one of these meetings or get online [to comment] and let us know how it will affect you because there’s still time to tweak and rework things,” Taaffe said.
Reach the reporter at michelle.parks@asu.edu.
