Despite complaints, Malden bus only a Pleasant memory
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It has been more than a year since the Pleasant Street bus in Malden was canceled, but it is still missed.
"Bus riders now have to walk a couple of blocks to the Cross Street or Florence Street bus. It's particularly tough on senior citizens who used the bus to do their shopping and banking," said Joseph Panciotti, a retired Navy man who lives on Salem Street.
Panciotti said he used to take the bus regularly, though he said he preferred to walk when the weather was good. "There are at least six good restaurants on the line as well as my attorney's office, banks, a
A petition drive organized by the Massachusetts Senior Action Council presented 119 signatures to the Malden mayor and the MBTA on Sept. 29 asking that the bus route be revived.
"I think the mayor is very well intentioned," said Panciotti, "but he didn't ride the bus. He asked the T to cancel it so diners could sit at outside tables without smelling diesel fumes. But this is not Newbury Street or Newburyport. If diners don't like the smell of diesel fumes, they can always go inside."
Deborah Burke, project director for economic development in Mayor Richard C. Howard's office, said the elimination of the bus was part of the city's economic master plan. "The plan recommended improved signage in the area and the elimination of traffic congestion on Pleasant Street," Burke said.
"It's a one-way street and when the buses stopped, traffic backed up. The idea is to attract more restaurants and other businesses to the area."
She said the decision was not made lightly: "It was passed by the City Council, and there are several other buses a stone's throw from Pleasant Street."
Burke said the mayor is not in favor of the return of the bus line. "It's a quality-of-life issue."
Mass transit on coast booming
The Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation, whose bus and trolley lines connect 11 cities and town in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire, is having a boom in ridership. COAST buses' ridership increased from 212,000 in fiscal year 2002 to 400,000 in the last fiscal year.
"During the last seven years, we've experienced an 88 percent increase in ridership," said Rad Nichols, executive director of the alliance. "Some of the increase can be attributed to the addition of bus lines, but a lot can be attributed to the increase in gas prices, which makes public transportation a cheap alternative."
On. Oct. 7, the line celebrated its 10 millionth customer.
When she boarded a bus at the Dover (N.H.) Transportation Center, Tammy Thurlow of Dover, a student at Hesser College in Portsmouth who takes the bus five days a week, was awarded a free three-month pass, a jacket with the COAST logo on it, a scarf, and other goodies "All things that any rider of public transportation would love," said Nichols.
COAST began operating bus and trolley lines in the area in 1982. It operates daily trolley service from downtown Portsmouth to the Pease Tradeport.
During the summer, the line ran a daily "beach bus" from Epping and Exeter to Hampton Beach. Nichols said he was disappointed in the ridership on the beach bus, which attracted only 800 to 900 people all season, "but we had terrible weather this summer."
The alliance has received a $100,000 grant from the US government that Nichols hopes to use to improve service, including a daily route on the Spaulding Turnpike from Rochester to the Pease Tradeport.
Transportation comments and questions may be sent to starts@globe.com.
