BUFFALO, N.Y. — Higher gas prices have more people thinking of alternatives including public transportation.
The Erie County Legislature and members of the community had tough questions Wednesday for the NFTA after it recently cut several bus routes.
The Economic Development Committee at the county legislature heard from a lot of people who are upset about the cuts, even people who have been stranded because of late buses.
In January, the NFTA announced it would be cutting eight of its 12 express routes starting in mid-February. That means longer waits especially after 6 at night and on weekends. And the NFTA says it made the temporary cuts because of a staffing shortage. It also suspended buses for extracurricular activities for BPS students.
This has impacted a lot of people who don't have cars or bikes and rely on the bus to get to work.
One Buffalo Common councilmember said he thinks the NFTA downplayed the severity of the changes by being vague about the longer wait times.
"Over and over again, we keep hearing what the NFTA can't do. They can't expand transit, they can't maintain their current services, they can't offer better pay and benefits to drivers and mechanics, they can't clear inside their bus shelters. My question Mr. Chair is what can the NFTA do?" asked Buffalo Common Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski.
Councilmember Nowakowski wants an update from the NFTA after the state budget is released, within 60 to 90 days.
And one faith leader says people need to be paid more - paid what they're worth - and asked the NFTA to figure this out and restore the routes now.
"They cut routes that are critically important to get people to and from work. The reduction of service times is a whole other issue, but the elimination of a way for people who don't have transportation to get to work has ripple impacts that will negatively impact us entirely as a community. We can't stand for that or stomach that," said Pastor Kinzer Pointer from Liberty Missionary Baptist Church.
The NFTA said on Wednesday that it is training 15 new people this week, that it lowered the age requirement for drivers, and that it got rid of the high school diploma or GED requirement. It also reiterated that the service changes related to staffing shortages are not permanent, but it did not give a timeline to restore those bus routes.
The Erie County Clerk also spoke at Wednesday's meeting and said he is forming an NFTA task force, and he hopes the NFTA is part of it.
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