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The current reductions will be followed by longer-term, more strategic reductionst will be in effect from Sun., Oct. 22, through the remainder of the fall service period ending, Sat., Jan. 20. Details are now scheduled to be announced the week of Oct. 9.
TCAT implemented Mon.-Fri. temporary service cuts effective Thurs., Sept. 14 through Sat. Oct. 21, due to a lack of road-ready buses that have been causing disruptions to a system already jeopardized by chronic driver shortages.
Please note: Weekend service will operate as scheduled for the fall service period.
Routes 14S (the West Hill shopper) Mon.-Fri. and the weekday-only 83 (Cornell-Cayuga Heights shuttle) will not run and reductions to five other routes, the 10, 13, 21, 40 and 81, will be in effect until further notice. (Details outlined below.)
These adjustments are part of a short-term strategy to help free up some buses for higher-demand trips whose riders have suffered last-minute service cuts ever since TCAT’s fall service went into effect Aug. 21. A pre-planned set of service changes will at least give riders more time to plan accordingly. According to TCAT’s service reductions policy, which adheres to federal regulations, “temporary” service change means short term changes to fixed-route bus and paratransit services caused by road construction and maintenance, road closures, emergency road conditions, fiscal crisis, civil (and labor) disputes, any other uncontrollable circumstances and seasonal service (e.g., summer service) that last for 180 days or less.
Missed trips have been hitting morning riders especially hard, causing many to be late to school and work and/or being forced to walk long distances after being bypassed by full buses. Dispatchers typically eliminate trips on high-frequency routes, such as route 10, 30 and 81, because those riders have less wait time before the next bus comes along. But continuous last-minute cuts to these higher-performing routes threaten a downward spiral of lost ridership with discouraged riders looking to drive their own vehicles or find more reliable transportation.
“These service changes are an unfortunate trade-off – a choice between potentially losing a substantial number of customers or lessening the impact by spreading the inconvenience among several routes,” said TCAT General Manager Scot Vanderpool. “The entire system relies on high ridership routes to bring in revenue. If we continue to leave hundreds of people on the curb every day we risk the health of all routes.”
Not knowing what buses were repaired or maintained overnight until an early-morning fleet evaluation, dispatchers in recent weeks have been forced to make early morning decisions about what trips to cut. This gives them little time to adequately notify riders. In turn, riders are not alerted in time to make alternative plans. In the meantime, TCAT has been making every effort to improve maintenance processes to get buses repaired and back in service quicker. Additionally, TCAT continues to emphasize driver recruitment and retention to rebuild the ranks of drivers.
Service changes in effect Thurs., Sept. 14, through Sat., Oct. 21 are:
Routes that are eliminated:
- 14S (West Hill shopper) West Hill riders needing to travel to southwest shopping centers Mon.-Fri. are advised to use route 14 to travel downtown, and transfer to a route 15 that serves southwest retailers. TCAT will continue to run weekend 14S service.
- 83 (Cornell Campus) Riders are urged to use route 31 for alternative service..
Routes and adjustments are as follows:
- Route 10 (Commons-Cornell) Eliminates 7:11a.m.; 7:33 a.m.; 7:55 a.m. and 8:17 a.m. trips starting from Seneca St. Station.
- Route 13 (Commons/Fall Creek/Aldi/Ithaca High School) Eliminates the 10:15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. outbound trips starting from Green St. and the 4:35 p.m. outbound trip starting from Seneca St. Station. Eliminates the 10:35 a.m. and the 11:20 a.m. inbound from Stewart Park. The 6:53 a.m.. inbound trip from TCAT to downtown is also cut.
- Route 21 (Trumansburg/ Commons): Eliminates the 7:42 a.m. outbound trip starting from Green St. Station and the 8:15 a.m. inbound trip starting from Compass Manufactured Home Community.
- Route 40 (Groton/Cornell/Commons): Cuts the 8:40 a.m. outbound trip starting from Green St. Station, and the 9:15 a.m. inbound starting from Groton Speedway.
- Route 81 (Cornell Campus) Eliminates the 8:25 a.m. from A-Lot and the 8:43 a.m. from Boyce Thompson Institute.
Though TCAT is striving to keep customers informed with pre-planned service reductions, there remains the chance that unforeseen circumstances can affect service. TCAT asks riders to please check its Bus Tracker for the status of their routes. The Bus Tracker also includes passenger alerts, which are also streamed on the red banner across TCAT’s home page. Riders are also encouraged to download real-time information apps, to include the Transit app, which is now connected to data platform creator, Swiftly. See TCAT’s app page for a list of apps available.