I am appalled that Pierce Transit plans to eliminate bus Route 53 (TNT, 6-30).
This will leave West Tacoma and University Place with no public transportation. Schoolchildren in University Place need it for after-school activities. Like rider Doris Jairala featured in your article, I have no car and depend on 53 whenever I need to go downtown or to medical and dental appointments.
Elimination of 53 will leave me with no way to get to the Tacoma Community College transfer station to connect with other buses. It is particularly galling to note that just weeks ago the company installed a bus shelter for No. 53 across the street from my house.
At a time when we are urged to “get out of our cars and onto a bus,” this seems counterproductive to our economic needs. There must be a better way.
I think that more people who, unlike me, have a choice of car or bus, would be glad to ride the bus if service were more often. Could we give that a try? Could Pierce Transit consider mini-vans? Perhaps an initial capital cost, but if they ran more often and attracted more riders, it could help with that missing revenue.
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