Editor, Times-Union: There are many sides to every story. As someone who has ridden KABS buses for about 11 years, I would like to share my point of view of the funding cuts they face. But first I must correct some misinformation that was provided to the public by someone who had spent only a few minutes on a website.
While there is always room for improvement, KABS has been operating in this area for over 20 years. They use to have circular routes but those have been discontinued for door-to-door service.
While it is true that circular routes work for other cities in other states, KABS provides bus service for this community. They do this well and yet continue to look for ways to improve. I certainly have no idea where this notion of having a two-week request to ride comes from. They only require a 24-hour notice. They also have a posted “same day” rate because even with short notice they will accommodate you if they can.
I have even, on many rides, heard them provide “same hour” service as the call comes over the radio, “Metro, I have a pickup at ...” with a driver responding, “I can get that in about 10 to 20 minutes.”
I am also wondering where this one passenger at a time idea was arrived at. Apparently this person has never ridden a KABS bus. Very rarely am I the only passenger on the bus. If I am, it is because they just dropped off the last person before picking me up, then pick up several more on their way to getting me to my destination. Most times when I ride the bus there are anywhere from 3 to 8 other passengers on the bus, being picked up, or being dropped off. With those misconception cleared up, I now present my point of view.
As I stated earlier, I have ridden KABS buses for about 11 years now. My main purpose is transportation to and from work but have also used them to get from Winona Lake to Pierceton to visit my mother when her health issues got bad and I wanted to spend extra time with her. Some of the other places the KABS buses have taken people when I was riding are schools, public, private and secondary; doctor’s offices, general, OB/Gyn, dentist, eye doctor, orthopedic, dialysis, Beyer building, KCH, Wellness Center; work, shops, restaurants, factories (including one of the largest employers in Warsaw), county offices, city offices; shopping, Wal-Mart, Owens/Krogers, Martins, Marsh. They have taken school children to daycare and to the kid’s after-school clubs around town. There use to be an older gentleman who would take a KABS bus to Mason Health care everyday to sit with his dying wife. And I’m sure I’m forgetting some.
The services provided to the residents of Kosciusko County are many and varied. Cuts in services will mean cuts in people’s day-to-day lives. If you have a business in Warsaw and surrounding communities, and see a KABS bus pull up to your door, a reduction in service will result in reduction of your customer counts and maybe your employees attendance. If that concerns you, would you think about making a donation to KABS? If you are a resident and see a KABS bus pick up your neighbor, would you think about how a reduction in services would effect their lives? Would you think about filling in the gap by offering to provide them a ride to where they may need to go?
If there are KABS services cut in 2012, you will probably see a 54-year-old man walking in all kinds of weather from Winona Lake to Wal-Mart and back again. Smile and wave. It’s just me, one of many faces of a budget cut, trying to make a living.
