Capital Region Transportation Authority leaders held a public information session this week to answer questions about coming service changes in Saratoga Springs, as regular bus service within the city is set to be suspended by the end of the month.
For a Wednesday night, the Saratoga Springs Public Library is buzzing.
Dozens of concerned residents have packed in, waiting to have their questions answered about how their daily travel needs will be met in the near future.
In October, CDTA announced it would eliminate the 451 and 452 bus lines — the only two routes that run exclusively within the Spa City.
CDTA says the two lines have fewer than 100 daily riders combined in a city of 30,000, so the transportation authority is instead opting for microtransit: on-demand FLEX service will begin on Nov. 30.
Jonathan Scherzer, CDTA’s business development director, explained the new service.
“That’s one of the challenges: How do you best serve everybody? You take the data you have, you take the information you’ve piled up over the 20 years we’ve been here trying to fine-tune the network. Speaking to the business community and elected officials, they’ve seen FLEX in other communities. They see how it works. And will there be a learning curve for some people? Of course there will. But at the end of the day, if you had the ability to go to new streets, new locations, for the same price, in a more intimate setting, at your choosing, I think if I position that to you about any other product outside of transit, you’d want to take a look at it,” Scherzer said.
Riders will be able to call or order a FLEX van through an app, and within 30 minutes, CDTA says they’ll be on their way to their destination.
Republican Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford, who was just re-elected to a second term in November, says he’s working directly with CDTA leadership to ensure locals who rely on regular service will still be able to navigate the city.
“They don’t have to have all of these people here tonight. They are showing a lot of interest in making this work. And I think what’s important about what they said is they’re trying to increase ridership. And that’s been the experience. A lot of people in the city who take Ubers now, once they learn about this for, what, $1.50 instead of $11 or $12? I’m not saying they should fully compete with that, but it gives people an option that I’m excited about. I think this is going to increase ridership,” Safford said.
But there were plenty of skeptics at Wednesday’s meeting.
“They keep telling us how great it’s going to be, but it doesn’t sound that great diving in,” said John Wise.
Wise moved to Saratoga Springs in July. He’s not convinced CDTA’s new system will hold up.
“This is real life. This is not an algorithm. You’ve got a real driver in real traffic in real weather conditions. An algorithm is perfect, but that’s in a system. Life is not a system. Life is life. Like I’ve said, you’ve got weather, you’ve got people. Who knows whether these drivers are going to be as professional and polite and respectful as the existing drivers that are there now?” Wise said.
Skidmore students, faculty and staff currently ride CDTA buses for free. To get from campus to the Wilton Mall, where many students shop and work, they’ll now have to take a FLEX van to downtown and then another bus to the mall.
Sasha Stern, a sophomore, is worried students who rely on public transit will be hurt by the changes.
“A lot of our students work downtown or volunteer downtown, or just frequently do things downtown. They engage with the Saratoga Springs community, and a number of students have raised concerns that the bus may not get them to their place of employment or where they want to be on time,” Stern said.
Lawrence Barisic, service coordinator at the Embury senior living facility about a mile from downtown, is optimistic the new service will actually benefit his residents.
“They’ll have to give it a chance. No one trusted Uber or Lyft when they started. The world is changing. The cars and the transportation, the buses, aren’t what they were 40 years ago when some of my seniors were riding them. It’s an entirely different thing. They’ve adapted; they’ll adapt to this. The service they’re offering is going to be much easier for the seniors,” Barisic said.
The cost per ride will match a standard bus fare, and CDTA says it will honor reduced-fare passes for FLEX service.
CDTA is planning to have two vans operate the new service in the city but tells WAMC it remains open to adding additional vehicles if demand rises.
