| Posted: Tue Mar 16th, 2010 07:18 am |
|
1st Post |
suncityjoe
Member
| Joined: | Fri Sep 18th, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 25 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
On March 8 I received the following reply from Valley Metro which might be of interest to readers of this thread:
Thank you for your input. There are bus routes that are funded locally and bus routes that are funded regionally. The number of stops, the frequency of the busses and the length of the route is directly linked to the availability of funding. Although the valley has grown, the recent economic downturn has caused funding for future bus routes to be pushed back. Route 106 was scheduled for increased service but that has been postponed due to a lack of funding. Service improvements allong 83rd and 99th ave have also been postponed. However, it is assumed that once funding increases, these improvements will be reinstated.
I'd also like to suggest using Valley Metro's vanpool or carpool programs available at http://www.valleymetro.org.
Sincerely,
Janet Strauss
Planner II
Valley Metro RPTA
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 31st, 2010 04:02 am |
|
2nd Post |
jfforests
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 30th, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 1 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Yes, wouldn't it be great to have bullet trains to connect us; even Amtrak like Tucson would help, but I also wish the Grand Ave. rails could be used for passengers rather than just freight.
I've also suggested to Valley Metro that they just try some modifications to existing systems, back on 9/18/09, and although there was a computer generated response stating they'd get back to me regarding my suggestions, they never did. For what it is worth, here is the letter I sent:
Dear Friends at CSR Valley Metro,
We've been having running discussions in our Sun City Independent lately and since they echo my thoughts, I thought I would copy them here for you:
This is the first one I agree with:
“What we are missing is a decent bus service in Sun City and that connects with local businesses! That is one reason why there are so many cars on the roads and highways, but Arizona does not seem to get it!”
And this was a reply posted, but I will only excerpt the part that deals with Valley Metro and not the SCAT info. I think this letter is especially good since it suggests actual route possibilities and all I can say is "amen." This was posted today on the Public Issues Forum in response to the above:
"You are so right! But who will go to bat for us West Valley residents to get it for us?
We have no Route 106 service on weekends, so some people without vehicles are really trapped.
Other than expanded SCAT service, we need regular east/west bus service along Bell and along Grand. We need to easily get to Arrowhead and all the eateries along 83rd. without having to go on the 106 to 59th and then north. A route going north/south along 99th would connect us to Jobing Arena and all the Cardinals games and Westgate without parking hassles and night-driving woes. As it stands, Route 106 travelers have to go all the way to 67th, then the Glendale Ave. route to get to the stadium. Pretty arduous. Another north/south along 83rd would also make sense, as would a Thunderbird route."
I would like to also suggest a regular Surprise connection.
Thank you for your help and consideration.
I hope to receive a reply addressing these possibilities and suggestions as to what we Sun City residents might do to help bring them about.
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 31st, 2010 12:41 am |
|
3rd Post |
Say What
Member
| Joined: | Sat Mar 14th, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 346 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Light rail is a joke! This county needs a good service and a fast rail like the Bart in the San Francisco Bay area. Review the costs and accidents caused by this light rail system. Look at the cost!
This county is way behind times in establishing fast mass transit! When is the public going to wake up?
Light rail is an antique and a waste of tax $$$'s!Last edited on Sun Jan 31st, 2010 12:44 am by Say What
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 30th, 2010 02:58 am |
|
4th Post |
suncityjoe
Member
| Joined: | Fri Sep 18th, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 25 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
I agree that the hour window on both sides of an appointment have made me and others I know not want to bother with SCAT. The trouble is compounded when you have to transfer to Peoria Dial-a-Ride and have to wait for them too. Simple appointments become exhausting, anxiety-producing half-day affairs. This need not happen in an area 3x7 miles which can easily be divided into zones with designated buses and with reservations being called in sometime weeks in advance. I met a former SCAT dispatcher who claimed when she was on duty, she was able to dispatch buses easily within a 15 min. timeframe because she divided up the city into zones and kept track of the buses and where they were routed, so it can be done and it seems service is improving from what some users have been saying lately. Keep it up SCAT and your ridership should increase as confidence is regained.
Also, SCAT should advertise its Saturday shopping trips to Walmart, Sprouts, Arrowhead Mall,etc. I would not have known about them had a regular rider not told me she found a brochure on the bus. Also, the stores that SCAT is delivering shoppers too should consider contributing money to the service since they are having customers delivered to them, so maybe the SCAT charges could be lowered to make them more appealing. A round trip ticket for 5 bucks rather than 6 is just a little more appealing, and the lower it can go, the better....
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 31st, 2009 10:54 pm |
|
5th Post |
Sun City Watch
Member
| Joined: | Sun Nov 30th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 300 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
No buses are ever the good!
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 30th, 2009 09:55 pm |
|
6th Post |
RustyBradshaw
Member
| Joined: | Fri Jan 4th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 561 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Editor’s note: Copied below is a letter to the editor submitted to the Sun Cities Independent. You can post your opinions by clicking on "Reply."
Bus service improvements
In the past year I have seen may improvements in Sun City Area Transit.
I have taken SCAT for the past five years. My interest in the article of October 28, 2009 ("SCAT board hires new general manager," Sun City Independent) is the hour window. My doctors appointments were many this month. I have had seven doctors appointments that I did not take SCAT. My feelings are there is too much stress to wait one hour for SCAT to come and then wait in the doctor’s office (because of the one-hour window) until the doctor can see me.
I found someone to drive me to doctor’s appointments because of the hour window. The people that take me are paid. I would gladly take SCAT if the time frame were such as Mr. Budlong suggested in the article. I could have paid SCAT $56 instead of paying an individual to take me. However, when a person takes me to the doctor’s offices, they arrive 15 minutes before my appointment time, and I have never been late for my appointment.
I wish Mr. Budlong well and hope his good ideas work.
Janet Thompson
Sun City
|
|
