To the editor: During my first year at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts while serving on the Pittsfield School Committee, I routinely took the bus to get back and forth between North Adams and Pittsfield, as I did not have a car.
Riding on the bus helped me better appreciate the public bus system here in Berkshire County. While I now have a car and can drive between both places, I still know many people who rely on the bus to get around the county. This is why I am concerned by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority’s proposal to reduce bus service on its most important routes. (“BRTA considers reducing frequency of bus routes as driver shortage persists,” Eagle, Feb. 1.)
If this proposal was in place when I still took the bus, it would have been a major inconvenience for me. When I had School Committee meetings in Pittsfield, I would try to take either the 3:30 p.m. or the 4:30 p.m. bus that left from Walmart in North Adams, with a preference for the earlier departure to have a buffer in case of a missed transfer or a last-minute cancellation. Under the new proposal, only the 3:30 p.m. bus would be available. If I had something going on that would require me to take the 4:30 p.m. bus, which often happened as I had a class that ended at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesdays, then I would have to look for other ride options to get to Pittsfield in time for my meeting.
Additionally, a fear of mine and other students on campus was failing to flag down the bus from MCLA to Walmart and having to wait an hour for the next bus. If this happened to me under the new proposal, I would not be able to get down to Pittsfield for another two hours, causing me to be late to my meeting.
This proposal will require many people to change their schedules and spend a longer time trying to get around the county. Effective public transportation should run frequently to ensure that it can fit into people’s schedules, not when there is the most ridership. I hope the BRTA and the BRTA Advisory Board does not approve of this plan and instead look at alternative ways of addressing the diver shortage that does not reduce runs on its most important routes connecting the county.
William Garrity, Pittsfield