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| - I first took this city bus way back when I was in college (1980s) when I didn't have a car yet. As a full-time student on aid, I was able to ride the bus for free to/from campuses (Phoenix College & ASU) by my apartment, where it was much easier than driving and finding parking / parking fees, which can cause tardiness. Of course, time was different and the riders then were "normal" and tolerable.
Fast-forward to today. Hoo! What has happened? I usually use the Light Rail to events but sometimes I'd have to also take the bus to sometimes transfer because the Rail doesn't take you all over metro Phoenix. Let's just say I'm glad I am not in college today.
Based upon my observation as a non-regular rider, Valley Metro is still stuck with their so-so service: drivers either late or slow, air cond either not on or freezing, dingy & smelly, on-board fare box reading the passes that slow everything down with the bus stalling on a busy road because the passes are being read, lots of wheelchair users / bike riders / people begging drivers to get on for free or asking drivers too many questions about destinations on-board instead of getting info from a book or online before boarding...all causing people to be late to class or work (mostly because they'd have to transfer to another bus). I like it better when you could pay change and get a transfer which was speedier (and better for the landfill) than the passes. And, I prefer to ride the long bus. The freezing air cond is a heath issue because it's not good to go from extreme heat to extreme cold back to extreme heat. And, if it's 100 degrees out, who wants to carry a sweater? I had to remind a couple drivers to turn down the a/c a notch- one complied, the other said he couldn't do it (right). Also, what's with the obsessive new rule with dropping riders off at bus stops only? I like it when they used to drop off at intersections. The driver refused to pick up a guy who signaled that since the bus was at a stop light if he can be picked up right there at the corner on the sidewalk but the driver pointed him to run to the stop. The poor guy ran huffing & puffing, and when he boarded the bus at a bus stop, he had to catch his breath. He was a grown man and not at risk of being hit by a vehicle if the driver had opened the door for him at the intersection(!)
On the plus side, a couple times when I took the Rail & bus recently, the fare kiosks @ 19th Ave / Camelback were down for card users and would only accept cash. I have an all-day card to use public transit for free once per month, typically for events. The Rail security ticket checker saw that I was seemingly having trouble using the kiosk and used his walkie-talkie to find out, and when he was not getting a reply, he went ahead and paid my fare. I called Valley Metro about this and the agent contacted some dept and got a message that it was fixed- they had no idea why it was down and not sure whether it's that one kiosk or every one of them all over Phx. The 2nd time I had to use public transit another day was the bus and that same kiosk location was still down (fixed or not, fixed and broken again?), and when the bus arrived as I was still trying to get the kiosk to process my card, I went over to the driver and motioned that the kiosk wasn't working for card users, and he gave me an all-day courtesy pass. Just want to give kudos for the services I received from the 2 Valley Metro workers. Just thank-you again! Oh, and another kudos to an agent over the phone last Christmas, when I called them about the bus route / alternate stops for Glendale Glitters. The agent was very personable! When I told her why I inquired about this route, she quickly told me she was just at Glendale Glitters after I asked whether she'd heard of it or were there. She even guided me where I could find that giant ornament ;)
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