Why Don't the Buses Go Everywhere, All the Time?

So I got a promotion and am now working in a different part of town. There is no bus service near where I work. The closest stop is nearly a mile away and the road I'd have to walk up to get to work from the bus stop has no sidewalks. Also the times, even if I decided to walk the mile, would be pretty inconvenient.

So I'm wondering why the bus doesn't go down Long Shoals Road. Someone came into the library yesterday and said that her friends had told her that it did indeed stop at the Ingles on Long Shoals, but looking on the route maps, I couldn't find any evidence of that. The library is at the convergence of an elementary school, a middle school and a high school (I'm thinking staff here--teachers, cafeteria workers, custodians.) Long Shoals is a busy, busy road. A hotbed of activity and people going to jobs. All the new businesses in Biltmore Park, also the YMCA is out there. The Waffle House, Ingles...Surely it's just a matter of time...On the other hand, it's quite upper middle class out there...

If I'm wrong and a route has been added I will be very very happy. I'd still have to walk a little ways from the corner of Overlook and Longshoals, but it wouldn't be bad. If I'm wrong, someone out there let me know!

I want to go downtown today. I would ride the bus today if I could, but, alas, it's Sunday and there is no service. Do buses run on Sundays in other cities the size of Asheville?

contain yourself

I rode the 10:35 #1 in from Ffax/Hay. today, and if the ride was uneventful from a logistical standpoint, it was made interesting through a nice conversation I had with Ron. Thanks, Ron. I'm glad you were on the bus today.

Otherwise we just were a metal box full of people, shoulder to shoulder, jerking and bumping our way into downtown.

Word on the streets is that Asheville Transit buses stopped running early on the day before Thanksgiving, with no posting. Some riders reported that drivers told them on the way into town that service would end early. Another rider told Sherry that he had no idea that service would end early, and he arrived at the bus station late Wednesday and had to call someone for a ride. That is messed up.

Here's a rip-- the Brevard Road bridge over I-240 is closed. Yep, closed. It's been half-closed for two weeks now, and the A C-T reports that the bridge is completely closed but will reopen soon. This is my usual bridge for car access to I-240. While I don't travel over the bridge on a bus route, likely #9 will avoid my neighborhood entirely (both incoming and outgoing) because the bridge is part of the quickest route between my area and the Biltmore Square Mall. That means I will ride #1, and walk half a mile to get to a bus stop. So be it.

A great day for a drive

We walked outside to meet the bus this morning, in the snow and cold. Cars were creeping along Brevard Road. That was for the best-- the road was almost covered with ice. When we reached the stop, a nice pedestrian woman asked us if we were planning to catch the bus. We admitted to that, and she told us that she called Asheville Transit to find out that the buses were not running. We went back to the house. I phoned them twice (busy signals both times). We got into my car, and I drove downtown.

The roads were indeed slippery, particularly Brevard and Haywood Roads. I-240 was not so bad. I expected the streets downtown to be worse, but the few that I used were safe. I did not see any wrecks.

Oh, and I saw an older guy standing near the corner of Haywood and Brevard Road. He was hoping to go south on Bre., which was not my direction. This fellow put out a hitchhiker's thumb when he saw a Mountain Mobility van coming his way. The van just kept going.

To quote the Mountain Mobility website: "Our mission is to provide transportation services responsive to the needs of Buncombe County residents."

Ouch.

All this leaves me wondering about Asheville Transit's inclement weather policy.