News
RIDERS, FAMILIES SPEAK OUT AGAINST SARTA’S PROPOSED TRANSPORTATION CUTS
November 22, 2024
CANTON ‒ Abby Gassman, 26, uses ProLine to get to her job at McDonald’s in Minerva.
That option might not be available in February for the Paris Township resident and others due to budget cuts by the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority in response to deteriorating sales-tax revenue.
Abby’s mother, Charlotte Gassman, attended a public meeting Thursday held by SARTA at the Stark County District Library’s main library. SARTA’s director of development Clayton Popik explained the proposed service changes to about two dozen people.
Gassman expressed dismay at the scope of the service cuts that could affect more than a 1,000 riders with disabilities, including her daughter. Gassman said she hasn’t yet told her daughter about the changes because her daughter would excessively worry about the situation.
Complaints about SARTA communication
Some attendees said that SARTA could have done better communicating the changes to the community that serves people with disabilities.
Bill Green, superintendent of the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities, asked why SARTA did not contact his agency directly, causing distress to families of people with disabilities who had no advance word. And why did SARTA not work with Stark DD to minimize the impact?
“We could have been partners,” Green said. “We weren’t brought into the conversation. That’s really hurt the relationship. And that has hurt families.”
Green asked if the cuts in service could be postponed until the end of the school year in May because many students with disabilities served by Stark DD and Stark County’s school districts use ProLine to get to job sites as part of a work study program.
Details of the cuts
SARTA is planning to stop providing ride-by-appointment service to any area of Stark County beyond three quarters of a mile from any of SARTA’s fixed bus routes except its routes for its buses to Akron and Cleveland, said Clayton Popik, director of development.
Latrice Virola, SARTA’s director of customer relations, said SARTA is still working on what kind of service would replace it.
SARTA also plans to eliminate Feb. 10 its Route 151, north late night loop; Route 152, west late night loop; Route 153, east late night loop; Route 157 Success Express and Route 158 community circulator. Service hours for paratransit and fixed-route bus service would be 5:45 a.m. to 9:40 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
SARTA’s CEO, Kirt Conrad, has said such a new service would likely be more limited in the distance it could transport a rider, be less frequent, cost more than the current ProLine fare and once booked to capacity would be unable to serve anyone else needing a ride. He has said he hopes to announce details by Jan. 10.
The problem is SARTA has no fixed-bus route that goes near Paris Township or Minerva, said Gassman.
Gassman said her daughter has a cognitive delay, and having access to ProLine gives her a feeling of independence
One woman in the audience was incredulous that such a drastic cut in ProLine services could take place out of the blue. She asked how the fiscal situation could have gotten so bad so quickly.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
Popik said he was not prepared to talk about SARTA’s finances.
“If it’s affecting our loved ones, why can’t we be allowed to know a little more about it,” the woman said. “Somebody should be here to address it. … How did the (SARTA) board allow this to happen?”
One man asked why alternatives weren’t apparently considered.
Another woman said, “This impact is catastrophic.”
Some attendees said they would attend a public SARTA board meeting at 5 p.m. Dec. 11 at 1600 Gateway Blvd. SE in the new office wing at the back of the complex. Board members may vote then on approving the service cuts.
Gassman said, “I came to this meeting because I came to be my daughter’s voice. She wants to be independent. And so that’s why I came.”
SARTA will hold more public meetings on the service cuts. One meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday at SARTA’s Massillon Transit Center at 227 Tommy Heinrich Dr. NW in Massillon. Another will be at 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at SARTA’s Phyllis Beyers Alliance Transit Center at 10 Prospect St. in Alliance.
Reach Robert at [email protected]. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.