I am writing to complain about the changes to the bus routes that Sudbury Transit made a little while ago, mainly in the area of York and Regent and the surrounding area.
I have found that the new routes do not accommodated the community and has left many at a loss to why it was changed.
The 182, for example, was a simple way to get to the four corners and covered those with disabilities and vision loss to get to CNIB at York and Regent streets. It also went to the memorial site without needing to transfer.
The same example goes in the direction of the Four Corners where now you need to transfer to another bus in order to reach that area. This has not worked out, as I have actually had my transfer expire while waiting for the bus as they are not timed correctly and the wait times can been long.
Many areas along that route require people to walk 25 minutes to the nearest bus stop. Boland, for example, has many residential houses and there is no bus stops in range to cover them. This is true for many other areas of the city where you have to walk 10 to 15 minutes during the summer, spring and fall months.
This brings me to another topic that the city has not thought of — winter. Where the bus stops are, the city does a very poor job at clearing the sidewalks, and in many areas they are not done at all. How is someone to get to a bus stop if some walk times to the bus are already long walks when the sidewalks are clear?
As a disabled person, and living with a person who is aging, I find it unacceptable that a route stop should be more than five to 10 minutes at most to reach.
I also would like the routes reviewed in terms of timing. You claim the city will follow a weekday schedule, yet many routes still have you waiting an hour between buses. Take, for example, York and Regent to St. Patrick Church on 39 Walford Rd. On Sunday, I try to make the service for 10 a.m., yet my only option is take the No. 3 bus an hour early and wait outside for 50 minutes or walk 35 minutes to catch another bus.
If you could add a bus or review routes to have them every 30 minutes instead, that would be great.
I am not trying to be negative, but I don’t know if the routes were made by someone with a car or thinking only of university routes.
Marlon Kowalski
Sudbury