Macon — Bus riders on Macon Transit Authority routes may have to adjust their plans after an open hearing from the MTA announced changes to bus routes, Thursday.
Macon Transit Authority President and CEO Craig Ross said that the MTA needed to adjust their bus routes after two consecutive years of cut funding from the county and federal government.
The MTA has received cuts of $300,000 from the county two years in a row. That money would have been matched with federal funds, Ross said. Now, they're making adjustments to make up the loss.
The MTA eliminated routes with low ridership and reduced the number of buses on certain routes. Ross said it could save the MTA somewhere $800,000.
"This is going to help us tremendously save money and some time. The time that we’re saving is roughly 50 hours a day, 250 hours a week and that equates to 12,000 hours a year," Ross said.
Four routes from the MTA, including Bellevue and the new West Macon/Macon Mall route, reduced the number of buses from two to one, while two others - Eisenhower Parkway/Chambers Road and Ocmulgee - reduced bus numbers from three to two.
The Ocmulgee route 5 received the most changes. The route will no longer pick up in from the the Kroger on Tom Hill Sr. Blvd and will instead pick up riders on Holiday Drive behind the Publix shopping center. The most notable change is the access to the Shoppes at River Crossing and Food Depot.
That's good news to bus rider Ethel Denson who attended the meeting.
"There’s a new stop to get picked up from Food Depot, so that’s a plus. I appreciate that," Denson said.
Ross said the adjustments will also help to reach businesses with higher paying jobs.
"We don't go to Kumho, we don't go to Irving, we don't go to Kohl's, we don't go to Amazon. We're not able to get people to the higher paying jobs," Ross said.
Denson said she appreciated the open forum to voice her concerns and get a preview of the changes.
"I appreciate knowing that someone really cares and is really concerned about the changes being made and the people who ride it," Denson said.
The MTA will have to present their proposed changes to their Board of Directors on Tuesday, December 18. Once approved, the new routes will take effect within 30 days.