Bus Route Changes Won’t Help Riders

* Re “Overhauling Bus Routes Would Be Time-Saver for Most, Officials Say,” Feb. 15:

While pretending to collect feedback from riders, the Orange County Transportation Authority is planning to go ahead with its proposed route changes in June that are just plain user-unfriendly.

These changes do not benefit the riders, they benefit people who like to draw grids on maps.

OCTA officials concede that the proposed changes are not geared to riders’ convenience but to increased transfers among routes.

Presently several bus routes serve the colleges and universities in Orange County. Cal State Fullerton is served by the 25, 41 and 69 routes. The 25 route also serves Golden West and Fullerton colleges.

The changes will limit access to each campus to one bus only, a policy of “one route to one place.” Riders using, say, route 25 to get to Cal State Fullerton from Buena Park will have to transfer between two routes and walk an extra quarter-mile at the change.

I wonder how some administrators at the colleges and the university who have encouraged students to use the bus will react to the news that the bus system is now deliberately unfriendly to campus access.

I also wonder how businesses such as the Buena Park Mall will react when access by bus to their establishments is severely curtailed.

This plan is also unfriendly to the disabled.

DAVID G. PORTER

Anaheim