People Mover’s new system leaves too many out in the cold

The new bus system is an utter failure, not only in my neighborhood but all over the city. The city has eliminated all the bus stops in my Airport Heights neighborhood, and now my son (and others in the neighborhood) have to walk more than a half-mile to reach the nearest bus stop, catch a bus, then catch a second bus to go to school and to work. That means waiting in the cold, which recently was single digits. As the snow gets deeper, it will be impossible to reach that bus stop safely because the sidewalk along DeBarr Road is used for snow storage, which forces pedestrians to walk in the street.

Additionally, the city has removed the only bus stop at his school — Alaska Pacific University — as well as the bus stops at the edge of the campus near the Alaska Spine Institute.

Until October, my son had used the bus for years to go to school and to work, giving him (and others like him) independence. Now that has ended.

[New map for Anchorage buses has few neighborhood stops but more frequent service on major roads]

Now — because of this sham of a bus system — I have to take off from work to take my son to school and to work every day. I have talked to neighbors and people I know across town, and they are facing the same dilemma, frustration and sense of failure from the city.

I gave my son's friend a ride home from APU last night because of the reduction in bus service in his part of town, South Anchorage. Before the bus change in October, he picked up the bus on campus or at the edge of campus near the Alaska Spine Institute, but that is no longer an option. I gave him a ride to his home in South Anchorage, where previously he walked a half-mile to catch the bus near a Tesoro station. Under the new system, that bus stop has been closed and he now has to walk a half-mile farther — in the cold and dark — and catch the bus there.

Additionally, the city has removed the bus stop at Loussac Library! How can there be no bus service to the city library? The Listening Post was moved last year from the downtown transit system to Loussac Library, and now the city has eliminated transportation to the library. Ironically, that means no bus service to Anchorage Assembly meetings as well.

A good public transit system that serves the needs of its riders is an essential city service. It does not balance the budget on the backs of bus riders. Please restore the bus stops.

Sharon Stockard is a longtime Anchorage resident and a former editor at ADN.

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