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Date: 7/6/2017
WILBRAHAM – Only a handful of residents turned out for the public forum on a proposed cut to the PVTA bus service in Wilbraham.
According to Senior Center Director Paula Dubord, a total of seven people attended the 4 p.m. meeting at the center on June 28. Two of those attendees, both riders, spoke to how the change would adversely affect them.
At issue are proposed changes to PVTA Route #27, which, according to a route map on the PVTA website, originates at Eastfield Mall then continues with town stops at Fernbank Road, the Police Department, the corner of Tinkham and Stony Hill Roads, and the Fresh Acres plaza in 16 Acres. Connecting service several times a day allows riders to transfer to or from route B17 to continue down Wilbraham Road and State Street to Union Station, or return from the city.
“Josh Rickman [manager of Operations and Planning] explained the proposed cuts and why they were being proposed,” Dubord said, adding, “This is not a senior ridership issue, this is a fixed route that runs six times a day.”
The proposed changes to R27, Dubord explained, have been prompted by a combination of low ridership for this route and a projected $1.2 million deficit in the projected PVTA budget for the coming fiscal year. The Senior Dial-a Ride and at ADA ridership programs – both of which operate through a series of smaller vans – would not be affected by these proposed route changes, she added.
The Wilbraham meeting was one of 11 the PVTA has or is currently conducting throughout the Pioneer Valley to gauge public input on the elimination of or partial cuts to a total of 22 routes affecting riders in Holyoke, Springfield, Amherst, Longmeadow, Agawam, South Hadley, Northampton and Sunderland, as well as Wilbraham. Public input from these meetings will be presented before the PVTA Board of Advisors at its next meeting on July 19. Any changes or cuts to the routes in questions would go into effect Aug. 27 or Sept. 2, according to a PVTA press release.
Residents unable to attend the meeting who wish to comment on any proposed changes to the PVTA bus route in Wilbraham can do so by email at comments@pvta.com or by calling 732-6248 ext. 235.