Well, you had to see it coming. In homage to the discontinued Altamont bus route, Spokesman-Review humor writer Doug Clark rode the fated route to work one last time and wrote about his trip. Legal disclaimer: we don’t condone the use of the term ‘STA-holes’ or referring to the STA Plaza as a ‘money pit.’ And I was wondering; Clark states he was headed to work but he didn’t head out to catch the bus until 11:43 a.m. Wow, I want those working hours.
Well he did state why it is being dropped, only one other rider on the bus. I also know during the daytime a lot of the buses are not very well used, more riders use them during the rush hours.
As for the Plaza not being worth the money it cost, join me in front of the Bank of America building on a cold winter night when the snow is swirling around like a mini tornado where the buses stopped before the Plaza, and then step into the nice warm Plaza and you too will agree the money was well spent.
A lot of communities have discussed going to smaller 'feeder' vehicles for the daytime hours when ridership is low. That's come up here too but we're not in a position to implement it right now. And there's still discussion of closing off the top floor of the Plaza to use for private offices or businesses and only making the first floor available for STA purposes, but last I heard that was on hold.