The People on the Bus

Richard Gardner knows as well as anyone the complaints and frustrations of people who use public buses. He drives for the PVTA, on a route that passes through the center of Springfield into Indian Orchard and then Ludlow.

Bus drivers are on the front line in mass transit battles, the foot soldiers who bear the brunt of riders' grievances. "We get attacked a lot," Gardner said—by riders upset about the cost of their fare ($1.25 for teens and adults), about overcrowded buses, about limited routes and schedules (Gardner's own route, the Blue 6, doesn't run on Sundays or holidays). 

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=14181 

Thursday, October 13, 2011