10-Trip Deal was for Real

In case you saw the post on AOA, and weren't sure whether or not to purchase yourself a 10-trip Swiper (or two...) prior to April 1 to perhaps save $3.50 per Swiper.

I tested it this morning.

It worked just fine.

My grandmother would be proud.

April Fool's Day Fare Hike Arrives

The day of the astronomical fare hike is upon us.

Ouch.

As mentioned elsewhere, I couldn't decide what I was going to do -- would I really continue to purchase a 7-day monthly bus pass when the retail price was going up a whopping 50%? (Woodruff's TU article states, "Increases in pre-paid Swiper cards and other fare payment methods also take effect, though those increases will generally be less than 50 percent." -- I think she might need a math tutor -- most fares, no matter how sliced are going up 50% or more.) That 50% increase really got me pondering the value of a 7-day pass, and in fact, the name itself, 7-day Swiper. C'mon CDTA, can you really call it a 7-day Swiper, when at my last count (and things have changed a bit) there were 35 "Albany" bus lines, and only 11 run on Sundays? Not to mention, some of the lines that do run stop service by 6 or 7 p.m. on a Sunday!

I live closest to the Number 3 and Number 4 lines -- no weekend 4 service at all and no 3 service on Sundays.

I spend a lot of time in the Delaware Avenue neighborhood, but ask anyone who lives in that neighborhood about bus service and you'll get an earful of complaints. no 18 or 9 service on Sundays.

I use the 13 a lot -- but on Sundays, the last 13 to leave downtown Albany is at 5p.m. - the last one to leave the Slingerlands Chopper, 5:40 p.m.!

The harsh reality of the fare hike makes me realize just how much Sunday service is the bare bones of CDTA. In this economy that $10 saved by purchasing a 5-day pass rather than a 7-day could go towards something of greater value.

Then there were these thoughts running through my brain:

• It is spring after all, and I have been talking about getting a bike for over a year now. Not to mention that my clothes are feeling a little too snug, so walking more on weekends would be good "for my figure," as my 97 year-old great Aunt Sylvia would say.

• My conversation with the teller at the downtown KeyBank on Monday as noted on AOA. The friendly bank teller tipped me off that by purchasing a 10-trip pass before April 1 at $9.50, I'd (hopefully) still be able to use that pass for 10-trips once the increase went effect.

It was evident, all roads were pointing me towards trying out the 5-day pass, good Monday thru Friday-- at least during this first month of the fare hike. I could put the unspent $10 in my not-yet-started "save for a bicycle" box.

At about noon on March 31, I decided it was time to search for some kind of a break on the retail price.

I work for an organization that's affiliated with Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home -- actually, my office is right next door. I recalled that the nursing home does a bulk purchase of Swipers for employees, and thought I'd walk over and see if I could get in on the deal.

When I arrived, I learned that I can indeed purchase my bus pass through them -- but, the woman in charge of selling passes told me she was completely out of 5-day passes. She only had 7-day passes left - she could put in an order for more of the 5-days, but it would take a few days for them to arrive. She showed me the thick bundle of green 7-day passes that were available for sale saying that usually, at this point in the month she's out of 7-day passes, not 5-days!

I wasn't surprised to learn that with the huge fare hike, 7-day passes were no longer the hot item for the car-less employees of Daughters of Sarah. My guess is that CDTA is seeing a drastic reduction in sales of the 7-day Swiper pass. I'm also thinking ridership is going to drop. The fare hike is simply not affordable for the average CDTA rider.

So, for April, I was a bit of a fool...using my Daughters of Sarah discount, I spent $61 on a 7-day swiper instead of the $65 retail price.

It's definitely time to make my way down to the Troy Bike Rescue and learn a thing or two so I'm equipped to get around during Bike Month!

Kissing 2008 Goodbye

Back in May 2007, when the car wouldn't start and I decided to make better use of my time than waiting around for AAA to show up, I never would have imagined that over a year and a 1/2 later, I'd be without a car -- on purpose. Yes, I often ask myself, "Why am I doing this completely insane and very time-consuming experiment??" The truth is that I'm having a whole lot of fun while doing it.

As 2008 comes to a close, it's time for me to jump on the year-end reflection bus... below are a few things TQL noted in 2008.

1. The CDTA Trip Planner seemed nifty when it was first introduced. On closer examination, I noticed it was rather clunky and didn't provide clear information on the shuttle stops.

2. The CDTA monthly pass (called the Swiper) could be a lot more consumer-friendly by (i) changing the valid dates to be good 30 days from the first day of use, rather than based on the calendar month, and (ii) offering refunds for lost or stolen cards. Both of these are standard over at the MTA.

3. My good friend took me grocery shopping at the Slingerlands Chopper. We noticed some major disparities in customer service between the city and the 'burbs. I've since traveled back there a few times via bus. The best thing about letting CDTA take me to the Slingerlands Price Chopper is that I don't have to get confused by the obtuse signage of the Slingerlands roundabouts.

4. I experienced the overcrowded Route 5 corridor first-hand one Sunday night when I was late picking my daughter up from a friend's house.

5. In the final days of my relationship with CDTA's Trip Planner, I noted that CDTA didn't program the Trip Planner with the holiday schedule over Memorial Day. I was thrilled to start something new with Google Transit which seemed to make my life easier. When Labor Day rolled around, I ran another test of inter-office communication, which yielded different results than the Memorial Day experiment.

6. I dreamt of light rail, contemplated car sharing, and kvetched about CDTA's circular reasoning (which they occasionally dismantle, but not consistently).

7. I'm not nearly as productive a blogger as I could be, and I've been happy to share info with the fab folks at AOA -- including CDTA's new jingle and the innovative partnership between the Affordable Housing Partnership and CDTA that my friend "Lucy" tipped me off about.

8. I highlighted a few bus adventures and encounters. Some fun. Some not so fun. I contemplated neighborhood planning and learned a bit of Albany's trolley history from my friends, Nancy and Gregg.

9. Gun violence surged in the city. The death of a 10-year old girl sixteen blocks from my home in May and the killing of a college student two blocks from home in October spoke volumes to me about how Albany's neighborhoods have been neglected.

10. I worked with a bunch of great people to fight CDTA's fare hike. The fun all started when I called my friend Roger November 30 to discuss taking action against the hike. I dragged an anti-automobile boy to the public hearing on December 4 (with the plan to get some Crisan gelato after the hearing no matter how cold it was outside), and we met a few people who were ready to work to Stop the Hike. Unfortunately, the board passed the revised fare increase without considering that they could have real options not far ahead if they would only push for them (yes, the 7th Avenue subway line needs help-- but Capital Region residents and visitors deserve affordable mass transit too!) ... still, I look forward to working with Ray Melleady and the CDTA crew in the future.

As for my thoughts for 2009 - check out what I told my friends at All Over Albany.

Happy New Year.

Capital Region Transit Advocates Launches Blog

Check it out.

There's a link to an online petition.

iRide Green when weStop the Hike

I've been busy pondering the fare hike - talking to friends, shooting emails back and forth, and trying to focus on the core issues that a broad coalition of transit supporters (with varying pet peeves) can agree upon when it comes to taking a position on CDTA's proposed fare increases and its impact on riders. (Yes, I wrote that article.)

We're getting a petition together (hoping to have it available in hard copy and online by the weekend) which we'll submit to CDTA on December 12 - the last day to submit written comments.

Here are the points we're focusing on:

1. The proposed 50% fare hike and service cuts are too steep and will hurt low income people who depend on CDTA as their primary mode of transportation.

2. The proposed 50% fare hike will likely send many of CDTA's new riders who take the bus by choice, right back to their cars.

3. CDTA argues that higher fuel costs are part of what is driving up operating costs, with the recent drastic drop in fuel costs, it doesn't appear that a 50% fare hike can be justified.

Our coalition understands that CDTA is under-funded, and we are calling for government to make an investment in mass transit so that fares stay affordable for those who depend on it, and attractive to those who might want to give the bus a whirl.

Public Hearings have started already -- they were held Monday in Saratoga County, yesterday in Rensselaer County... if you've got reports from either of those locations, send in comments. I'm eager to hear about the turnout and the fare increase feedback from the public.

Tomorrow is Albany County - 4:30 - 8 p.m. at the Main Branch of the Albany Public Library. Your so-called transit riding superhero will be there.

Monday, December 8 is Schenectady - 4:30 - 8 p.m. at the Schenectady County Public Library.

I was under the impression that the hearings would provide details on the proposed service cuts. But I've seen no reports, there's nothing about the specifics on the website, and when I asked a bus driver this morning if he'd heard about pending service cuts, he said he'd heard nothing. So... when are they going to tell us? If you know, please share.

Albany transit: present, past, future...

The fall conference of the New York Public Transportation Association (NYPTA) doesn't usually get mentioned in a New York Times op-ed. While reporters at the conference were hoping for info about Hillary's place on the Obama short list for Secretary of State, I'm more interested in the following:

• Where was my invitation to the affair? Lost in the mail, I assume. Actually, transit riders, including so-called superheroes, are not standard NYPTA members.



• CDTA's Executive Director, Ray Melleady's rise to the President of this organization. I hear before he came to our neck of the woods, Melleady started out as a mechanic for a Pennsylvania transit authority.



• Whether anyone from Rochester Transit shared their strategies for reducing bus fares to $1 per ride...looking at the program, the answer to that question would be, "Not this time around."
  

Can anyone tell me if the wonders of modern day trolleys were discussed at the meeting? I know trolley, train or other transit service that moves us along faster than our current system, is part of my hope for the future of public transportation for our region.

Speaking of trolleys, I learned some Albany history from my good friends Gregg and Nancy on a recent night out. They told me my favorite CDTA bus line, the Number 3, follows the route of one of Albany's original trolley lines - and I was totally unaware that I walk by one of the old electrical posts every day on Quail Street. [UPDATE: Greg's comment below reminded me that I neglected to mention the location on Quail Street where you can find the old trolley post - it's near the corner of Western Avenue - on the south west side of Quail Street. I also learned from the historically astute Nancy and Gregg that there's one other old trolley post still hanging around on Hamilton Street just off Lark, thanks to some vociferous neighborhood preservation folk.]

Meanwhile, in current local transit news, Roger Green tells us that Citizens for Public Transportation will hold their monthly meeting this Wednesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Public Library. Topic: Fare Hike.

Consider this your invitation to the meeting. I'll be there to put in my two cents about CDTA's proposed 50% fare hike -I hope you will too.

CDTA Posts Fare Hike Details

I popped over to CDTA's website this morning, and I see they've finally listed information about the proposed fare hike. The information is quite robust, and includes many more details than last week's TU article about fares on the rise. The article noted that over 50% of the boardings are pre-paid, and I'm assuming that includes the use of the $3 Day Card, which after the initial purchase becomes pre-paid media. It's important to remember that CDTA no longer offers transfers, while MTA does, and so if you plan on taking a bus more than 3 times in one day, it pays to purchase a Day Card. I'm interested in learning the breakdown in pre-paid fares by media type -- e.g. daily percentages of 7-day monthly swipers, 5-day monthly-swipers, Day Cards, etc.

I've got lots of opinions and ideas about this proposal, and as regular readers have probably picked up, I'm flat-out opposed to the fare hike. I think it's too steep and will hurt those who rely on CDTA the most, and I'm dumb-founded that Rochester (similar-sized fleet) was able to cut their base fare down to $1 per ride during the same month that CDTA decided they had no choice but to impose a whopping 50% base fare increase on its riders. How is that possible? What is CDTA not doing right?

If the proposed fare hike is implemented as planned, your local transit-riding superhero is urging CDTA to make the following adjustments to their fare sales (actually, these adjustments would be welcome regardless of a fare hike) :
1. Re-instate transfers to be distributed the same way MTA distributes transfers.
2. Change both types of monthly passes to be valid for 30 days from the time of first use so that bus riders can purchase the cards on whatever date is most convenient for them.

Meanwhile, if you believe the proposed fare hike goes overboard and would like to work for a more reasonable solution, send me a note via the email link on the "Contact" section on my profile.

Rochester: The Elephant in the Living Room

Has anyone in the local media asked CDTA executives, their board and government officials how it is possible that during the same month CDTA announced an upcoming 50% fare hike from $1 to $1.50, Rochester dropped its fare down to $1?

Rochester Transit's website might be so 1995, but hey now its bus fare is too. I happen to have an unabashed preference for CDTA's site, and for Rochester's bus fares.

The folks at CDTA might call my newfound fascination/nagging about Rochester an apples to oranges comparison, but is it? If so, please explain. I really want to know.

Thanks to NYC Cowboy, I noticed this editorial in last Sunday's Gazette calling for increased federal funding for public transit. Good. But no mention of Rochester.

I saw this article in the Business Review which I don't think gave me any information I didn't know 10 days earlier. Certainly no mention of Rochester.

The TU reporters have told us about the fare hike, and the TU's editorial board weighed in with an opinion. Yet, I haven't seen the words "Rochester," "CDTA," and "transit" in the same story in my daily local paper, have you?

A little hard to believe TU reporters don't read the NY Times, isn't it?

We know they read AOA -- which is how I found out about Rochester dropping fares to $1.

So c'mon, let's talk about that elephant.

Food and Neighborhood Planning

My all-time favorite cuisine is Indian food. Love it. Here's the back story:

My mother traveled to India a few times when I was a kid. They were business trips, so my sister and I didn't tag along. Nonetheless, the savory spices of India made their way into our home when I was young and impressionable. This was long before the explosion of inexpensive Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants along East 6th Street in Manhattan, though you could still find a spattering of Indian restaurants in the 1970's, and we did. I have recollections of attending outdoor Indian festivals with sitar music, bright colors everywhere, and the smells coriander and cumin wafting in the air. Visits to the homes of family friends usually included the staples of chapati and daal with samosas for fun and sweet, honey-laden desserts that I ate too quickly to ever learn what they were called. My mom seemed to be the only adult woman not clad in a sari, yet she dressed in silk-screens and batiks made in India, that reflected the fashions of our friends.

Looking back, it doesn't surprise me that Gopal, my very first boyfriend in high school, was from an Indian family. He was a total New York village kid just like me -- but a bit more traditional considering both parents were academics, and they were still together, unlike mine... and unlike about 80% of my friends' parents. We took the D train to school each day, yet our courtship did not begin on the train, but in 9th grade Social Studies class, where I found him irresistably funny - I'm a sucker for intelligent humor. Freshman year, Gope had these huge glasses that covered 1/2 his face, but I could tell hidden under the glasses was a really, really cute boy. On our first date he took me to see a pretty bad horror movie, while most time together was spent hanging out on Greenwich Village stoops, and eating felafel on MacDougal Street.

I was invited to spend a lot of time with Gopal's family. Somehow, it was his Hindu family that introduced this girl of eastern European Jewish stock to the 2nd Avenue Deli's fantastic pastrami -- only in New York. While getting invited to the boyfriend's house did sometimes include kosher food, more often than not, Gopal's disco-dancing mom found the time to cook delicious dishes from her home coastal city of Chennai, the thought of which still makes my mouth water a quarter of a century later.

I first came to Albany in 1986 for college, after graduating, I stayed in town for a while. During my early Albany years, there was only one Indian option in town -- and it was outrageously priced. I was living in Center Square when Shalimar, the first affordable-for-just-out-of-college-folk-without-a-real-job Indian restaurant opened, and I became an immediate regular customer.

Fast forward to the 2000's.

In 2001, I bought a house in Pine Hills. So, where do I find myself going whenever I can afford to soothe my craving for Indian? Most times -- Curry House, though I also love Tandoor Palace. Happily, I live just about 1/2 way between the two. When I sat down with the TU on Sunday, I thought about getting to both of these locations as I read this article about a great proposal to make Madison Avenue between South Allen and Lark Street more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly. Fantastic. From the article:

Now, some residents and business people in the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association want the road reduced from four to two traffic lanes from South Allen to Lark streets with a turning lane and a bicycle lane.
"It's been done in a lot of cities to great effect," said Virginia Hammer, a member of the subcommittee that made the recommendation. "It's time for Albany to get on board with some enlightened ideas. What we need is a more pedestrian-friendly and bicycle-friendly city."

Right on, Virginia Hammer! I walk up and down segments of this stretch of Madison at least twice a week, and I can attest that crossing at intersections is quite a challenge because there's always a turning car. My very unscientific observations also tell me that foot traffic along Madison is on the rise. And while I haven't worked up the guts to bike Albany yet, I recently saw a well-trained biking family I know riding along the sidewalk of Madison Avenue -- clearly because riding in the street is just not safe.

Meanwhile, Muddy Cup owner Jim Svetz, speaks to the frustration of trying to park on Madison in the article:

Jim Svetz has a bird's-eye view of the road from the Muddy Cup, his coffeehouse next to the Madison Theater.
"Everyone who has tried to drive on this road, park on this road, make a left-hand turn on this road, knows it's a good idea," he said. "When you park, you have to wait to get out of your car. You're trapped until all the cars go by. When you try to parallel park, you're doing it in the middle of a high-speed lane."

Exactly. Back in my larger-carbon-footprint-making everyday driving days, I often tried to park on Madison between South Allen and South Main usually to go to Curry House, Muddy Cup, or the CVS. Hard to find a spot. Hard to get out of the car when cars are whirring past you at 30 mph.

If you don't know which official Albany neighborhood you reside in, you can always check the Council of Neighborhood Association (CANA) map here. Pine Hills has this colorful map on their website:

The map doesn't quite match the boundaries on the CANA map, but you know... we're a big, happy family, and I think you can actually join a neighborhood association even if you don't live within its boundaries, but don't quote me on that one!

Come out to view the slide show announced in the TU article:

A slide show on the proposal will be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association meeting at the LaSalle School, 381 Western Ave. The association's members will decide whether to endorse the idea. If they do, the Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations will be asked to back the plan.

And, don't you go thinking that I've forgotten all about CDTA's steep fare hike. I completely agree with this article written by someone who ummm... rides the same bus I do.

Rochester's Transit System has Creative Minds

Thanks to chrisck's comment on AOA, I read this NY Times article about Rochester's Regional Transit Service (RGRTA), and how they implemented a plan to reduce fares to $1 per bus ride.

The article is interesting on multiple levels, and leaves me questioning more deeply whether CDTA is making the right move with the planned April Fool's fare hike.

In my transit-riding superhero mind, I dream of Plan B from the hardworking CDTA staff that explores some of the strategies used in Rochester, and leads to a decrease in the astronomical fare hike... or even scrapping a hike altogether. A girl can dream, right?

According to the article, Rochester's Transit Authority sees this as a great way to increase ridership:

“With gas prices at record highs, there is no better way to convince people who are beginning to look at public transportation,” said Mark R. Aesch, the chief executive of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, which runs the bus system.

And check out this interesting note in the article:

Just four years ago, the Rochester authority was in financial straits and facing large deficits. Since then, it has lobbied successfully for increases in state aid, receiving $32.8 million this year, up from $16 million four years ago. It helps that a local assemblyman, David F. Gantt, is chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Ahhh... so is RGRTA receiving significantly more aid per ride than other transit systems of comparable size? My guess is, probably not -- wouldn't the article have noted if aid was disproportionately distributed?

Then there's this deal with Rochester's school district from the article:

One of the most important is with the Rochester City School District, which uses the Regional Transit Service as the primary bus system for nearly all of its students in the 7th through 12th grades. Several years ago, the school district paid the equivalent of a regular fare for each student rider, according to Mr. Aesch. But about three years ago, with the transit system facing a financial crisis, he began discussions with the district about radically altering the arrangement.

Mr. Aesch told school officials that the money they were paying to transport students only partly covered the cost and that the system could no longer afford the service without a significant increase in payments. The school district agreed to an increase, and it now pays about $2.22 for each student ride.

I don't know what the current deal is between CDTA and Albany's school district, but I doubt an increase in transportation costs would fly in Albany where tax payers are already overburdened paying for all those charter schools.

The article mentions these partnerships which I think CDTA could do A LOT MORE OF:

In Rochester, the transit system has also formed agreements with private businesses and colleges. It runs shuttle buses on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology and provides special weekend service to the campus, for which it receives about $1 million a year. The developer of an apartment complex in suburban Brighton pays $1,200 a year to ensure that a bus line runs by the property.

And last week, the Rochester authority announced a new agreement with Bryant & Stratton College, which has two campuses in the area. Under the deal, the college will pay $17,700 in exchange for 350 bus passes that it can distribute at a discount to students. In exchange, transit officials have agreed to continue service on a little-used section of a bus route that goes to the college’s campus in the suburb of Greece, and to run a bus there later in the day for students taking evening classes.

Yes, CDTA does currently have arrangements with our local colleges and universities, I don't know the details, but my guess is there's room within this sector to pull in more bucks.

Rochester's plan does include some service cuts... but so does CDTA's.

And so it goes...the tale of two transit plans:

One includes a 50% increase per ride, bringing the fare well-above the $1 mark.

The other includes a 20% decrease per ride, bringing the fare down to the psychologically sound $1 mark.

Which plan would entice you to choose the bus?

A Frustrating Week in Local Transit

An old pet peeve of mine, that I was sure was taken care of, never to be seen again - has resurfaced recently.

While most people are panicked about Wall Street crumbling and immersed in the drama of a presidential race that should be a no-brainer, but is bringing our deeply-rooted racism to the surface; I've been stewing over CDTA's return to circular reasoning.

I'm not going to ask why it happened, but I am putting in this request:


Please, CDTA, I don't want to put any more energy into chasing my tail.

Look at your recent media releases, then check out the recent re-route posts on your website, next put on your thinking cap -- or simply copy what other transit systems are doing - like our good friends at Capital Metro!

Here's what you tell us:

Anyone needing more information on the reroutes or other CDTA services is encouraged to contact CDTA’s Customer Information Center at 482-8822 or visit www.cdta.org.

Well then, give us the re-route info someplace on the website, or if you're not going to do that -- stop sending us there for "more information".

In other CDTA news, fares are going up and service is being cut because current formulas for transportation funding are unstable and insufficient. The 50% fare hike likely to take effect on April Fool's Day 2009 will undoubtedly hurt those who depend on transit the most. I'm hoping some organization(s) out there will have the vision to get assistance to folks whose wallets need that money for rising food and home heating costs.

Who will be impacted by a Fare Hike?

I wasn't surprised to see this story in the TU. According to the article, CDTA hasn't raised their fares since 1995 -- wow! Of course, they restructured the fares not so long ago when they phased out oh-so-20th-century transfers in favor of the very cool $3 day cards. Apparently the revenue earned from that change isn't enough to cover increasing costs and demand for service.

Too bad it's not looking like service will be expanding soon, because there sure is a need. One recent Sunday evening at about 7:20, I was waiting for a bus by the
View Larger Map'>Hannaford on Central Avenue. As usual, I had given myself very little wiggle room, and I was supposed to be at my daughter's friend's house off of New Scotland Avenue near the intersection of View Larger Map'>Ontario St. and New Scotland Avenue by 8:00. The bus was late. I must say, I've found late buses to be unusual during my travels around Albany. Not that it doesn't happen -- it does. Finally, at about 7:35, a 55 came chugging down Central Avenue, I wasn't expecting a 1 since after 6:40 p.m. on Sundays, it's almost 5 hours before another bus is scheduled to get to the Northway Mall stop at 11:20!

The bus was PACKED.

I got on, but there was no room behind the "yellow" line. The bus just sat there. Those of us who had boarded at Hannaford were trying to squeeze in. Now, where I come from -- this is not an issue, as one of my fellow new passengers and I were telling the people, "I'm from New York, there's plenty of room." You see, in NYC, there's an understanding that sometimes you need to "make like sardines in a can and squish together", it's only temporary, and it will get you where you need to go. That's not the philosophy, however as you travel north along the Hudson. People on the bus started yelling at us, "Get off the bus, I need to go home!" I asked if the bus was always this crowded, simultaneously, I got 2 opposing answers. "No," said the bus driver, "Not my bus!" and "Yes," from a bus rider...I turned to the bus driver (who looked a wee bit stressed), and asked if I should get off the bus. She explained to me that, at this point the issue was that she couldn't leave the bus stop while there was a person in a wheel chair waiting to get on.

Yes, that's right. There was a woman in a wheel chair who had been waiting for the bus, but there was absolutely no room for her. The bus is not allowed to pull away while there's a wheel-chair bound person waiting to board. So the driver had called her supervisor and was waiting for instructions. That's why the bus wasn't moving. I asked if CDTA would send a STAR bus for her, the driver said that she didn't think so, but didn't know.

Feeling guilty about trying to squeeze myself onto the bus while someone waited in her wheel chair on the sidewalk, I got off, called to say I'd be a bit late, and waited on the sidewalk to see what happened. It wasn't too long before a supervisor showed up and told the bus driver to leave. It was already after 7:40 and another bus would be along "soon" to pick up the woman in the wheelchair. Soon, according to the schedule, meant departing Northway Mall at 8:03. Given that the bus that departs Northway Mall at 8:03 was scheduled to reach Central and Allen at 8:11 --it seemed to me that I'd be more productive walking. Since my friend in the wheel chair had the attention of the CDTA supervisor, I decided to get walking.

It was 8:06 when I got to the corner of View Larger Map'>Central Avenue and Ontario Street and turned to walk towards New Scotland Avenue. If I had waited for the bus... I'd still have been waiting for the bus! Saved time. Got some exercise. I hope that supervisor made sure my friend boarded the next bus, or gave her a ride if there wasn't room.