My name is Talia Crawford, I am the Campaign Organizer for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in front of the Board at today’s meeting.
After surveying over 140 bus riders in the County, TSTC received some invaluable feedback about the rider experience–particularly some very insightful qualitative comments. I have been contacting all riders who have filled out our survey and setting up one on one calls with them to discuss their personal experiences, and we are excited to share these stories for you to see.
And last Thursday, TSTC held its very first Westchester Group Bus Rider meeting, where 10 riders joined us to discuss some of the issues they face with the Bee-Line. It was an open space to discuss experiences they encountered with the Bee-Line. And everyone in that meeting resonated with each story that was told because these are issues that every rider faces.
The main problems that riders discussed at the meeting were:
- Problems navigating Bee-Line Real Time as it’s embedded into Google Maps (maybe a video or instructions on how to access the routes, I walked a rider through how to find her bus the other day over the phone).
- Getting in contact with Bee-Line about buses that are late/never arrived outside the 9-4pm current customer service phone hours.
- Low frequency of service (buses not meeting the needs of essential workers and people’s lifestyles).
- Bus schedules are not being updated at bus stops.
We are hoping that through this County Mobility and Bus Redesign Study these issues are addressed. Riders are a major reason why the Bee-Line runs, so it’s important that their voices be heard. I am looking forward to working with the County in the coming year to ensure that public feedback is taken into serious consideration so the Bee-Line works for them. Thank you for your time.
