Community Corner

Letter to the Editor: Local Public Transportation Subpar

These letter writers ask: When your bus is consistently about 20 minutes late, how reliable is it?

Dear Editor,
 
I'm so frustrated with being late for work all the time. What do you do when the bus you take to get to work every single day is consistently over a half-hour late from only one bus driver?

People will say, "Why don't you just walk?" Well, what if you walk 4.2 miles to your job and you already have to do that every single night coming back home because no buses in your area run that late? Is that really the best option? It's bad enough to be on your feet for eight-nine hours a day, plus the walk back home.

I would like to think not.

Over the past several months, Washington City Transit has been becoming consistently late with its Metro route, which travels from Washington through Meadowlands, Canonsburg and Houston, to Downtown Pittsburgh. Also, there is the inner-city routes within Washington (called the Hopper). Linked below are the different routes.

http://www.washingtoncitytransit.com/Default.aspx#

Time after time, riders such as ourselves and many others, have complained not only to the transit coordinator but also to GG&C Bus Company inc., which provides the buses and drivers.

Find out what's happening in Canon-Mcmillanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It's understandable for public transportation to be a few minutes late because of heavy traffic flow, holiday traffic, handicap or elderly passengers, or breakdowns, etc. However, when certain bus drivers are 20 minutes late almost every day and blame it on traffic flow every single time—something is up.

I am almost always late to work, which provides the money I need to be able to pay for my bills, and my (un)reliable transportation to get to work (not to single out the fact that NO buses run past 6:15 p.m., therefore, not providing public transportation late at night) doesn't help.

It is a smaller city, compared to, say, Port Authority buses in Pittsburgh, however, this transportation screws many people up for finding employment because they don't have reliable transportation back and forth.

When we have emailed and called Nancy Basile, who is the transit coordinator within Washington City Transit, she has been helpful and has shown genuine concern in regard to some safety concerns that have been previously addressed by current riders.

Find out what's happening in Canon-Mcmillanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She seems to have a vision for where she wants to see Washington City Transit go. If you ask us, the failure is on the end of GG&C. It has shown a lack of cooperation and caring. As addressed on its website, Washington City Transit's mission is "To provide safe and reliable transit services to area residents and to promote area revitalization by enhancing transit services and by offering more transit-friendly options to the community."

When you call having to walk more than 4 miles to get back home, or, end up walking to work or walking home with what you had as a cart full of groceries now hanging over your shoulder because your bus never shows up on a weekly basis—that's not reliable.

We write as concerned residents who want to see positive change in the future of the transit system within the area.

Signed,

Tara Smith and Scott Stillwell


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Canon-Mcmillan