GREYHOUND TO OPEN TEMPORARILY

 With an extreme storm headed our way, EMTA and the county have made arrangements to open the  Greyhound terminal temporarily. The county will provide security while it is open.

Greyhound's new management shut down the terminal earlier this year and since they are still paying on the lease EMTA (which owns the property) has been unable to access the lobby. 

Below is the press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Chris Carroll December 22, 2022 Phone: (814) -860-0794 Email: ccarroll@eriecountypa.gov

 

ERIE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND EMTA STRIKE DEAL TO TEMPORARILY REOPEN GREYHOUND BUS TICKET OFFICE 

ERIE, PA – Erie County Executive Brenton Davis and EMTA CEO Jeremy Peterson have reached an agreement that will temporarily reopen the Greyhound bus ticket office.

 Ahead of the winter storms and the holiday season, neither the County nor EMTA wanted to see anyone stuck out in inclement weather waiting for a bus. The County has offered to lend its security service from the Blasco Memorial Library to provide regular security patrols during business hours. 

Greyhound's local office has remained locked and closed because Greyhound no longer has a ticket agent in the office. Greyhound Lines is currently a tenant in the Intermodal Transportation Center.

 “This is something we needed to get done. We simply cannot have our residents sitting outside in below freezing temperatures with no access to facilities. I commend EMTA for their efforts in helping to solve this problem,” said Erie County Executive Brenton Davis. 

“Due to the unfortunate condition that Greyhound has left us, EMTA and Erie County Executive Davis have collaborated on an idea that will help Greyhound customers utilize the existing Greyhound station and it’s facility starting Friday morning. Facility hours will be announced today,” said EMTA CEO Jeremy Peterson. 

The agreement is currently only temporary and there is no timeframe as to how long this will last. Talks are still ongoing about how to solve this problem permanently.

 Any questions regarding the material in the release can be directed to Chris Carroll at ccarroll@eriecoutypa.gov or Sarah Morrison at smorrison@ride-the-e.com

Text/Email alerts from peer agencies

Text and email alerts provide one of the best methods to reach transit riders concerning changes in service. And yet there are still many agencies that aren't using them. More mystifying is why some of those who have the alerts do not use them to go directly to riders' devices, even when they have alerts posted on their homepage and/or tracking app. 

I decided to look over the text/email alerts performance of peer agencies of Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) (When PennDOT is doing evaluations of PA transit agencies, it uses peer agencies for comparison. PennDOT and EMTA agree on peer agencies used for this comparison). 

The most recent EMTA evaluation I'm aware of is from 2020. That means the pandemic could have changed things after the evaluation. I'm going with what I have available to me.

 
There were 14 EMTA peer agencies listed in the 2020 evaluation of EMTA. Of those, I found six that offer rider alerts via text and/or email.

 
I subscribed to alerts offered by all six of those agencies that offered them. I was surprised to find such variation in quality. Obviously, I cannot evaluate them as accurately as if I were a rider living in any of these locales. This is what I observed from my subscriptions to these agencies' alerts: 

 

Chatham Area Transit Authority (CAT) Text alerts. Savannah GA area. 

Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) Text alerts Doesn't seem very active except for system-wide alerts. Chattanooga TN.

Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) Email alerts Duluth MN.They seem to keep up with their alerts

Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) Text alerts. Knoxville TN Seems to have stopped maintaining the alerts, but their format is still worth checking out. Especially like that previous alerts are archived so that you can pull them up in the event they caused a problem. They apparently have an ongoing workforce shortage, so that may be why text alerts are not being maintained? Worth finding out why.

 

Municipality of Anchorage - Public Transportation Department (People Mover)    Text alerts Anchorage AK. I've only started receiving these, so I don't know how well-maintained they are

Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK) Text alerts and email alerts Serves Illinois Quad Cities region. Seems to be very well-maintained.

Below: Recent screenshots of text and email alerts from transit agencies that PennDOT considers "peers" of EMTA. 

Chatham (CAT)

Chattanooga TN (CARTA)

Duluth (DTA)

Knoxville TN (KAT)

Anchorage (People Mover) 

Quad Cities (MetroLINK)

Hurricane Ian rider alerts for one Georgia transit agency

Chatham Area Transit  (CAT) in Savannah GA has been texting its riders with helpful service information related to Hurricane Ian.

The messages come right to riders' phones, helping to ensure most will see them. 

I'm thinking these text alerts would be very helpful during Erie's snow emergencies. 

  

New shelter schedules easier to read

 The printing on the new shelter schedules is a lot clearer.

Routes that were out of order have been corrected as well.

These schedules are helpful, especially for people who might not be familiar with how the buses run, so making them easier to use is very important. 

A city and county schedules from 2004.

 A city and county schedule from 2004.

The city schedule had city routes in one schedule and the county schedule had all the county routes together. 

You will notice that the city schedule used red ink. For a few years they would change the ink color when the schedule had changed, so that passengers would know to pick up a new one and discard the old. Schedules were mainly distributed through the racks behind the driver. Riders would see the change of color and know to pick up a new schedule. 

EMTA Bus schedule from 1986

Here is an EMTA bus schedule from 1986. 

Hope you can read it, I had a problem scanning the images. 

Click on each image to enlarge. 

For as far back as I can remember, EMTA had put all the city routes together in a foldable 20x24 thing. Then in 2005/2006, when they overhauled the routes, they gave each route a separate schedule, and took some of the route details off. The Executive Director at the time said this is how they do it in big cities, which he seemed to think was a good thing. 

Anyway, regardless, this is how they were doing it in 1986, and I thought it was interesting. 

A couple things worth noting. 

The fares shown are in 1986 dollars obviously. According to a dollar converter I used, the 75 cents fare people were paying back then is equal to $2.03 on the day I compared it (8/8/2022). So if that's correct, it means the fare really hasn't actually gone up. 

 

Also, it looks like there were more trips back then. But then, our population has gone down and we've lost some workplaces. 

I noticed that an ad says "Compliments of Mellon Bank." So I guess they paid for the printing in exchange for the ad.

I made a point of captioning each one "SCHEDULE FROM 1986" just to avoid possible confusion.

SCHEDULE FROM 1986 - All city routes put together on one foldable map-size sheet. 

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

SCHEDULE FROM 1986

Fares - FROM 1986

Accessibility of Waterworks area at Presque Isle

The Waterworks area is the most accessible area of Presque Isle.

It doesn't really have a lot to do with bus service, but I figured since this is a stop used by the Presque Isle Express, I would share some basic information about accessibility. I will follow up with more specific information especially about the accessible beach area and the restrooms, but I wanted to at least get this started. Comments encouraged and appreciated. 

The Waterworks area has a network of paved paths that allow you to move around most of the area without leaving a paved surface. Within the area are a multi-purpose trail, a bayside dock, two sets of accessible restrooms and an accessible porta-john, an accessible  lakeside beach deck with a wide ramp, floating dock on a pond, smooth path to playground area and accessible picnic areas. 

Click photos to enlarge

Map is from Google maps, I did add some things to it specific to this article. 

CROSSWALK - If you require a smooth surface at all times, ask the bus driver to leave you off at the crosswalk. Although the area is well-paved, this is the only place where the road connects to the paths.  The surrounding area is packed dirt and grass, so if you don't require a flat surface you can still get around, but this is the spot for "smooth landing."

Crosswalk on bay side

Crosswalk looking toward lake side 

RESTROOMS - All restrooms are accessible. The Rotary Pavilion restroom area path is smooth. In addition to a men's and women's room, it also has a single, straight-entrance restroom in the middle. Also water fountains at two heights. The other rest area is in an unpaved parking area on the bayside, and. the surface of the parking area there is packed dirt and small stones. There was an accessible porta-john by Cabin #1, but I don't know if it is removed in off-seasons.

Restrooms in Rotary Pavilion area

MULTI-PURPOSE TRAIL is an ADA accessible 13+ mile loop around the park, and is used by people using mobility devices as well as hikers, runners, cyclists, skateboards and others. Generally people are respectful of each other; etiquette tip: stay on the right side and leave room on the left for oncoming and people wanting to pass. Although the map calls it a bike trail and there are some cyclists who would like a dedicated trail, this one is called multi-purpose and it is for all manner of moving around.

Multi-Purpose Trail used by everyone

FLOATING DOCK extends into the eastern pond. There is a smooth bridge connecting it to the dock, and a wide deck.with benches. Fishing is allowed from the floating dock. Note: I don't know why the bridge leading to the dock was crooked on this visit. But it is still wide enough to accommodate anyone who wanted to travel on it.

LAKESIDE BEACH DECK AREA - There is a large accessible deck on Beach 7. There is a wide ramp area that leads to the deck. If you travel by private vehicle, there are about six spaces reserved on either side of the entrance to the deck. 

In years past there has been a mat leading from the deck to the water's edge, but it was gone this year. I called the park office about the mat, and they said although it was removed from Beach 7, there are mats on Beaches 8 and 11. I don't know how long these are left in place, and would recommend checking ahead ( 814-833-7424 ) if you plan to use them.

PLAYGROUND AREA PATH Playground itself has sandy floor but there is a smooth pank path and bench so one can watch and supervise. 

PICNIC AREAS - The cabins #2 and #3 and pavilion are accessible inside but only open to parties who have reserved them. Cabin area path is an unpaved road. Cookhouse shelter (bayside)  is often reserved but when it isn't, people who want to eat or take a rest will sit down at the tables. Cookhouse shelter is paved and has wide aisles but sometimes tables block the way from the path. Individual tables are up for grabs but usually on the grass. 

WHEELCHAIR RENTALS? unfortunately the bike rental business does not rent mobility devices like beach wheelchairs or even the garden variety mobility devices. I guess they have their reasons, but it seems like an odd omission since they rent all kinds of other wheelie things. Presque Isle Partnership is working on making beach wheelchairs available though... check it out

BUS STOP INBOUND - The inbound bus (heading back into town)  is located a little to the east of the paved crosswalk. The berm is pretty solid, but if you need to stay on a solid surface, I guess stay on the outbound crosswalk and wave the driver down? Perhaps this could be addressed by drivers and those who would be affected by an unpaved surface. 

Surface at inbound bus stop is packed dirt 

Presque Isle Park Office  814-833-7424

Park and accessibility information 

Mobi-Mats - Presque Isle Partnership 

Presque Isle Partnership Projects (Past and Present) 

Comments sent to EMTA board about Greyhound closing and restroom access

I just sent this comment to the EMTA board to be read at their monthly meeting. EMTA owns the Intermodal Center that housed the Greyhound station:


Hi I know the Greyhound issue is being addressed but i want to implore you to take some sort of action yesterday regarding bathroom issues
Yesterday as I was taking photos in that area a middle aged man arrived to catch his bus to NYC. His face expressed alarm when he saw that it was closed. I told him he could accompany me to the library and I would show him the restroom area. He was very grateful.
There are apparently some instances that are a little more problematic. I will spare the details.
️Immediately there should be noticeable signs directing persons to the library next door.
Also well-maintained porta john or two is absolutely called for.
These are not controversial measures, and could have and should have been enacted
This is in the interest of EMTA, Greyhound customers, the City of Erie and all other tenants of the building. Please act immediately.
Thank you.
Deb Spilko

Erie Greyhound station update

The Greyhound station is still closed, though still served by Greyhound buses.. At least to the best of my knowledge, Greyhound has not communicated their plans in Erie, or if they have any plans to speak of.  

Efforts to address situation

At June EMTA board meeting Dave Robinson EMTA (Community & Governmental Relations) said he was working on the issue with with City Council President Liz Allen, and City Councilwoman Jasmine Flores, city council liaison to EMTA.

Haven't heard if Visit Erie has been involved, but they should be. Not a good first experience for visitors or newcomers. 

Change in status

The Greyhound site now describes the Erie stop as a "Curbside stop" and carries the message "Effective May 1, 2022 this location will no longer have local staff available. If you need to purchase a ticket via Credit Card or Cash, go to Greyhound.com" Here is the Greyhound Erie PA page. The page  states that the stop is open 24 hours a day, which is a tad misleading. 

Shelter, restrooms and safety

Several local people have suggested at least at this point the need for porta john and some sort of shelter for passengers waiting for buses. This was also discussed at last month's EMTA board meeting.

Also, it seems to me that if Greyhound has no intention of returning to the Intermodal Center, it would be worth considering moving the stop elsewhere. As pleasant as a bayside stop is in the warm weather, that will soon change. Also there might be other locales that could provide shelter, restrooms and safety ... all of which are problematic at the present location. 

Customers also need to know how to buy tickets without having to go online. I see the info sheet inside the Intermodal door says you can buy tickets at: CVS, Family Dollar and Walmart (local stores) and others that are not available locally are 7-Eleven, Ace Cash Express, and Casey's. I also saw cash pay info on their website, but it flashed so quickly (literally a fraction of a second) that I had to video it to get a screenshot (see below). The cash pay information flashed after I clicked on "Buy Tickets" After some very specific searches I did find the info online here ... dated March 3 of his year, so I guess this move away from staffed locations goes beyond our local situation. 

Backgrounder:

Greyhound bus ticket office closed in Erie; buses are still running

Greyhound's Erie PA page 

Photos of building are from June 23, 2022 and July 5, 2022. Greyhound website screenshots from June 28, 2022. Click to enlarge

Editing notes:

Slightly edited for clarity 7/23/2022

CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Current waiting area. Two benches, some rain protection, pay phone removed long ago. 

Looking through window, east wall, signs still up

Looking through the locked doors from inside the west side of the building. 

Information from website could be confusing. "Open 24 hours"?

Notice on Greyhound website 

Company website offers where to buy tickets with CASH, but it literally flashes so fast (literally a fraction of a second) I had to video it to be able to get a screenshot.

Buses still arrive and depart but station now considered "curbside" 

I am assuming it was EMTA who had to post these notices advising Greyhound's confused customers

One letter sized notice on back door. Tinted glass makes it hard to see, easy to miss 

Not much of a welcome.