[Mt-blind] Mt-blind Digest, Vol 17, Issue 4

[lindazh2 at juno.com]

On the transportation issue:

I have been noticing how the buses are getting worse and worse. The reason? Lack of use. Buses can't afford to run if they have no riders and too many people in Montana refuse to use the bus. For myself, I much prefer the bus over messing with a car.

I personally have noticed this since I've been taking Brian to Utica the past 2 years for Trek for Light--the bus from Billings to Great Falls was discontinued. I asked the driver once why the bus no longer went to Havre. He said there were .8 people riding the last week it was in service.

What can we do to improve the situation? Use mass transit as much as possible, encourage everyone to do likewise. After all, it's a lot cheaper than gas is now! If people used mass transit like they do in Denver and New York and Baltimore--we would have buses running more often to more places. I know they tried an experiment with the commuters from Butte to Helena when gas got over $3.00 a gallon a couple years ago. The largest number of people that took advantage of this service was 12! And there are over 75 people who live in Butte and work in Helena. The service only ran for about 6 weeks--the bus company couldn't afford it.

I'm taking the bus to Great Falls tomorrow to see my folks-then I'll be able to knit while travelling!

Linda