Southeast : BUS CONTROVERSY
The last thing Long Beach transit officials say they want to do is alienate some of their most dependable passengers--disabled people and the elderly.
That’s why the busing authority is reconsidering whether to cut short a bus line that runs from Long Beach’s east end to a Blue Line station on the city’s west side.
Scores of passengers--many of them either disabled or elderly--showed up at a hearing last week to protest the change. They said it would cause too much inconvenience as they try to make their way from a marketplace at Pacific Coast Highway and 2nd Street to the Wardlow Station near Pacific Avenue.
Transit workers have proposed halting the westbound ride at Cherry Avenue and Spring Street. They say that would allow them to run more buses along Anaheim Street, where more people use public transportation.
“We’ve only got so many buses,” said Guy Heston, assistant general manager of the transit agency. He added that riders would still be able to get to the Wardlow Station, but would have to change buses.
Transit officials plan to review the change again at a meeting of the agency’s governing board on Dec. 11 at Long Beach City Hall.
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