Riding the bus just stopped being an option

Posted on by David Hall

I can no longer ride the bus, because of Asheville Transit's recently implemented "master plan." For one thing, it concentrates more on taking away/consolidating routes than significantly improving them. For another, it has resulted in the quadrupling of monthly bus fares. I believe these decisions made by the city were not only poorly thought out, but represent yet another blow to the low-income citizens of Asheville.

This would have been a reasonable plan had the city just taken these simple measures: 1) offered monthly fare discounts to low-income citizens, as well as to disabled/seniors; 2) gradually raised monthly bus fare instead of suddenly increasing it by 300 percent; 3) used a smaller bus for route 54 rather than do away with this route entirely.

Considering this abomination, I don't understand how we can refer to Asheville as a "green" city. We spend millions on unnecessary roadwork and expensive parks; yet we do little to address alternative-transportation needs for low-income citizens.

— David Hall
Asheville

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2 thoughts on “Riding the bus just stopped being an option”

  1. travelah

    David, you live in a progressive town. Give one of the newly elected city council peeps a call!

  2. Josh O'Conner

    As a member of the City of Asheville Transit Commission, I wanted to point out that the City has not yet implemented it’s recently approved Transit Master Plan. These changes will be implemented over the coming months (and years for some changes).

    The recent changes in fares apply to Route 28 (which provides service between Asheville and Black Mountain). Removing Route 54 was not a a decision made as part of the master plan, but occurred as a result of funding issues (it is important to note that the Town of Weaverville decided to discontinue their funding contribution to this route). While these changes are certainly not the most desirable scenario, they were necessary due to funding issues at the state level.

    The Transit Commission encourages active public involvement in the decisions that effect the City of Asheville Transit Commission. Meeting minutes and upcoming meeting times can be found at:
    http://www.ashevillenc.gov/government/mayor_city_council/city_council/default.aspx?id=3012

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