Thanks to government watchdog Thomas Reynolds for raising public consciousness of this issue. I've spoken out about it at Commission. The lack of transit is part of the hostile working environment for working people to exist in St. Johns County. Developer-driven government officials: repent now.
The headline for this story is weak in the print edition:
but spot on in the online edition, viz:
Sunshine Bus riders complain about service; system managers say funding is one problem
By Sheldon Gardner
Posted Dec 8, 2018 at 6:45 PM
Updated Dec 8, 2018 at 6:45 PM
When asked what it’s like to ride the Sunshine Bus, the public transit system in St. Johns County, St. Augustine South resident Paul Katz launched into complaints.
“They’re never on time,” Katz said.
Katz said he relies on the bus system to get to work in Vilano Beach, and he wakes up a few hours early on work days to accommodate the bus schedule.
He recalled one time that he was left stranded on Vilano Beach when a bus didn’t show up. When he called the number to reach the Sunshine Bus, he couldn’t get an answer. He had to call a friend to get him, he said.
“I waited for five and a half hours,” he said. “The bus never came.”
A few other people who spoke with The Record shared similar comments about the service. Complaints included late buses or those that don’t show up, rude drivers, the time it takes to get from one place to another and not getting an answer when calling for help.
Operators of the bus system acknowledged there are some problems, but funding to correct those issues isn’t available.
Alicia Hanson rested at a bus stop near Flagler College on Monday. Like Katz, she relies on the Sunshine Bus to get to work.
“They’re always late,” she said, adding that she texts her boss when that happens. “I’ve got a good boss. She understands.”
Hanson said she’s complained a couple of times to Sunshine Bus management about the lateness, but nothing has changed.
She said some of the drivers and buses are good, but the route itself is a challenge. Her workplace is about a 10-minute drive away, yet returning home from work takes more than an hour, she said.
Similar complaints have come to the Council on Aging, which operates the Sunshine Bus.
Becky Yanni, executive director of the COA, and Sunshine Bus Manager George Hesson recently talked with The Record about the bus system and complaints.
Hesson said the target is for drivers to arrive no more than five minutes late, and Yanni said the only reason drivers would be late would be because of traffic or accidents. Hesson said that while the bus system’s organization has largely stayed the same in more than 10 years, the county’s population and traffic levels have grown.
Both Hesson and Yanni said that safety is the No. 1 priority, which means timeliness takes a backseat if need be. He said the traffic has increased in St. Johns County while the system has largely stayed the same.
“We try our best to maintain a schedule, and I think for the most part we do,” Yanni said.
When the Sunshine Bus began operating in 2,000, it provided about 400 rides a month, Yanni said. Now, the system provides 24,000-26,000 a month, Yanni said.
The system has 32 drivers, whose starting pay is $13.50, and eight routes, Hesson said, adding that its 15 buses are aging.
The budget for the system is $3.5 million from a mix of local, state and federal dollars, Yanni said. St. Johns County pays more than $270,000 of that, and the Council on Aging uses that money to draw the rest of the funding from other sources. The regular fare for the bus is $1 per one-way trip and $2 for a daily pass.
Yanni said the organization would like to increase the hours of operation and the number of times buses arrive at stops, but that depends on more funding becoming available.
She also said the organization is working at improving customer service at the office, including with how calls to the Sunshine Bus phone number are handled.
Because the call volume has “increased dramatically,” and because the organization can’t afford to hire more staff members, the Council on Aging is looking for volunteers to train who can help answer the calls.
Still, she said, “Most most of the challenges that we face we would be in a better position with better funding.”
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