#ratashasmith

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Population X: Transit injuries in CT's most populated cities

In 2012, injuries in CT Transit's New Haven division skyrocketed to 132, 97 of them being passenger related. Fast forward to 2014, while the injuries have dropped by 68.18 percent to 42 total injuries it still remains that New Haven has the most injuries n average in all of CT Transit’s divisions in Connecticut’s most populated cities for the last five years.

“New Haven is notorious around the state not just for us but just in general for being a litigious community where people are likely to…every little thing is likely to turn into a lawsuit,” said David Lee, the general manager for CT Transit.

New Haven is the second most populated city in Connecticut and first most populated city of CT Transit’s divisions with an estimate of 130,660 residents calculated by the State of Connecticut’s Department of Public Health in 2013. While CT Transit does not own a division in Bridgeport, it is Connecticut’s most populated city with 147,216 residents and its transit system, Greater Bridgeport Transit has had less injuries in the majority of the last five years with an exception of 2011 and 2013.

The Federal Transit Administration maintains a National Transit Database that tracks different data for transit systems across the nation. Under their injury category, they track passengers, revenue facility occupants, operators, other workers, bicyclists, pedestrians in crossing, pedestrians not in crossing, other vehicle occupant, trespasser, suicide, and other non-bus related injuries.

While the aforementioned claims are recorded, CT Transit is not necessarily at fault, every claim is reviewed before further action is taken.

“You do have to separate from claims that are clearly legitimate and we're going to pay, claims that are legitimate and someone else is going to pay because the car crashed into the bus, or claims we're going to dispute and where you may not know for years until the case is adjudicated, whether there's going to be a cost or not,” Lee said.

Although injuries may be plenty, fatalities across the divisions have been practically non-existent. In the last five years both New Haven and Hartford have seen one fatality each; New Haven in 2011 and Hartford in 2013.

January 12, 2011, West Haven resident, Pamela Caddell-Boyd lost her life in a three-car accident involving a CT Transit bus; CT Transit was not at fault.

April 11, 2013, Homer Bell Jr. was struck by a CT Transit bus in Hartford, it was ruled a suicide.

“Knock on wood there are very few serious injuries and in the last 30 years that I’ve been here,” Lee said.

“There’s been three fatalities and those are horrific but relatively speaking that's a good safety record.”

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The Oxymoronic Road to Nowhere

Today, I tried to use public transportation to get a meeting about public transportation and it was near impossible.

The meeting was a transit roundtable hosted by the Connecticut Association for Community Transportation. The panel, moderated by CACT executive director, Mary Tomolonius included Michael Sanders, a transit administrator for the Connecticut Department of Transportation; Joe Carbone, President and CEO The Workplace; Tony Rescigno, President of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce and more transportation heavyweights. The panel discussed accessibility, upgrades, budget, and the future of Connecticut transportation.

According to Google Maps, I live approximately 4.2 miles, a 15 minute drive from the Greater New Haven Transit District's garage in Hamden at 1014 Sherman Ave, where the meeting took place. Yet, for me to get back and forth from the meeting it took a $16 cab ride, a 2.2 mile walk, two relatively short bus rides and a piece of my sanity.

I don't drive. While I have a permit I have yet to take steps that will allow me that privilege because frankly driving scares the hell out of me. But, I must admit today's journey through the frigid fall air of 34 degrees might make me reconsider.

At first glance, the address seemed familiar and I recalled it being relatively close, so I presumed the cab ride would be $10 at most. Plus, with the time winding down, a cab was my quickest option.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Like myself, the cab driver recognized the address and presumed he knew what direction to go. What we soon learned, there is a difference between the familiar, Sherman Parkway and the great unknown, Sherman Avenue. So, this time with GPS in hand, we made a U-turn and headed in the right direction...30 minutes late.

Upon my arrival, the big wigs of Connecticut transportation debated the budget and had Sanders, "the money man" on the defensive. While, Sanders crunched numbers and crushed my hope for a more convenient bus system, I wondered how I was going to use that same bus system to return home from the middle of nowhere.

At the meetings end, while all the panelist drove away in their cars, I began my search on foot to find the nearest bus stop, which I eventually found, a half mile away.

I reached the random dilapidated bus stop, at 11 a.m. and attempted to read the weathered paper bus schedule in its yellowed display case. I had no idea where I was and with my phone service temporarily off for the moment, GPS was not an option.

So, I did what anyone in my situation would do...guess. I could at least make out that it was J-Bus schedule. Luckily, it was still morning because those times were the only times visible on the schedule. But, the fact still remained, I had no idea where I was, at least in correlation to the bus route. Therefore, using the process of elimination, I knew I wasn't in Cheshire nor was I at the Hamden Plaza, so I figured I was somewhere in between, which left the Hamden Hills. While, I have never heard of the Hamden Hills previous to reading the schedule, it sounded plausible. The schedule read that the bus would reach the Hamden Hills at 11:03 a.m., great I thought, only three more minutes.

Three more minutes passed and so did the J2 bus -- on the other side of the road. I ran like a crazy woman weaving through cars, waving my hands in the air trying to catch the bus driver’s attention across the street. No luck. I continued to chase the bus as it turned the corner and drove out of sight, as if I was going to catch-up to it and give that bus driver a piece of my mind. .

At that moment, I lost any hope of getting out of the cold anytime soon. I pulled out my hideous, but exceptionaly functional gloves put my earbuds in my ears and blasted A$AP Rocky's F**ckin' Problems because that is exactly what I had at the moment...problems minus the expletive. With no car, no phone, and no bus in sight, I continued to walk with no real destination.

But, after about a half hour of walking the sidewalk-less streets of Hamden there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I saw the IHOP sign, signaling that the Hamden Plaza was near. The plaza was a familar place, a familar place with plenty of bus stops where the D-bus comes every 10 minutes.While, I still had two bus rides before I was actually reached my front door, the plaza was familiar and although I have been there many time before, I've never been more happier to see it. p>

Watch an interview with Mike Sanders from the GNHTD roundtable below...

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Don't Get Between a Man and His Bus Driver

While many people tend to criticize CT Transit, from the service to the bus drivers, Robinson disagrees with the majority.

"The bus is alright, there's nothing wrong with the bus, it's the people that get on the bus," Robinson said.

"A lot of people are drinking and smoking weed and all that."

Robinson rides the D-bus, both inbound and outbound for the majority of his comings and goings. The D gets him to Walgreens, where he works on Dixwell Avenue to his home on Circular Avenue.

This Saturday, the D chauffeured him to the Hamden Plaza to run some errands.

Robinson is especially fond of the bus drivers on his routes that he interacts with regularly.

"My bus driver that comes down Circular, he is a great person," Robinson said.

"My bus driver is outstanding, there is no improvement, they're pretty good."

See full interview below.

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To Yale and Beyond

Yalie, Anna Lee trades in her Yale shuttle pass for a city bus pass and awaits the B4 on a windy November first Sunday.

"I use Yale shuttle buses quite infrequently because I feel like it only gets you to Yale buildings," Lee said.

"I like the public bus because they get you to pretty much anywhere you want."

According to Yale's transportation site, the shuttle only goes to multiple university stops, the East Rock neighborhood, and Union Station in comparison to CT Transit's 22 local routes around New Haven.

Lee, from Dallas, Texas started Yale in 2013 and spent the following summer in New Haven, where she used the buses often.

" I think over the summer they were the most punctual, I really liked them then. I used them a lot, like everyday basically," Lee said.

But according to Lee, with the end of the summer months, punctuality became a thing of the past, when school resumed in the fall.

"This year they seem a little bit late again. But, of course, you know there's not enough bus drivers, they're overworked, etcetera," she said.

"I think they can improve on just punctuality, maybe. I think the bus fare is a little high sometimes for those who have to use it all the time; $1.50 is kind of a lot. But, besides that it's pretty good."

Watch the full interview below.

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Every Penny Counts

For Joseph Kelley, every dollar earned is one dollar closer to a new car, but between student loans and bills the city bus will be the only thing pulling up anytime soon.

"I'm saving up to get a car, for now the bus is my way of getting around until I have enough money to save up to get a car." Kelley said.

He continued.

"I just started working recently, I started working in March but with all my school loans and bills in the house its kind of hard."

The 20-year-old studies computer network management at Branford Hall Career Institute and holds down a part-time job as a manager at Conway, a discount store.

Transferring between the B-Whalley Avenue, O-Winchester Avenue, and F3-Short Beach/ Branford buses, scheduling is near impossible, Kelley states his day never goes as planned.

"They need to make schedules that they can actually follow and actually have a timeframe to consider for traffic rather than just saying in the middle of the schedule, expect delays and stuff like that," Kelley said.

"There are times buses are late by more than 10 minutes, and when the bus comes it's not packed, the driver either just came from the store or something and their going 50, 60 miles an hour down the road trying to get downtown which is cautious, but hazardous to the public transportation [passengers] people," he said.

While the Branford route is the longest of the three routes he uses daily, it seems ro be the least of worries.

"Taking the bus to Branford at times is easy. There are times when I hate it because of the heavy traffic in east haven," he said.

The B bus is a different story. He said he just hates the B bus in general, not elaborating.

Kelley says the bus and it's schedule barely fits his needs, nor the needs of other passengers.

"I think they [passengers] actually became fed up with public transportation with the raising bus fare, the new drivers who are rude and inconsiderate and the buses are not even clean to the public."

Although Kelley may have his critisms of CT Transit, right now it is the best option for his budget. He said "budget-wise it is alright" and he pays $54 for a monthly pass, instead of paying daily, saving him $39 a month. As of now he has no money saved , but projects he will be able to puchase a car within six or seven months ,now that he has recieved a promotion at work.

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The Man Who Waits

A CT Transit bus stop is the epicenter of retiree Bob Bass' world.

"It depends upon my calendar for the day, sometimes I have other directions I go to because of my agenda," Bass said."Basically, I have more free time than I have business time so I come this direction most of the time."

Day in and day out, the 65-year-old spends hours at a Putnam Place bus stop bench. He estimates he spends about 20 hours a week in the area, between the bus stop and the McDonald's across the street.

This first Sunday of October was no different. Bass spent over three hours waiting for a 5:05 p.m. 02-Winchester Avenue bus, the only O bus to drop him off at his Sylvan Avenue apartment. The previous 02 bus left at 12:20 p.m., Bass reached the bus stop roughly around 1 p.m.

But, Bass doesn't mind the wait. While he's there to wait for the bus, he stays for the conversation.

"I know a lot of people and the chit-chats great and you always learn something from people." Bass said about the passengers he converses with.

While his wait for the bus was long, he's overall satisfied with the bus service.

"There is a few little other ons and offs that they could do to re-modify some changes and make them better," he said.

He continued.

"It has its flaws, but the majority of the time it's pretty good. It gets you from point A to point B and it's a pretty inexpensive way to travel, which is a good thing," Bass said.

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If you could ride the bus with anyone dead, alive or fictional who would it be and why?