LeeAnn's Lament

You really you can?t get there from here

So Bill Doherty asks, “who says you can’t get there from here?”
Getting from "here" to "there" is not a "Breeze"

Your answer is, “I cannot.” 

Last weekend I started noticing the Breeze and Flex buses be-bopping along Routes 28 and 137 in beautiful downtown East Harwich.  I became intrigued with the idea of taking the bus to my place of employment on Route 28 at Route 134 in West Dennis. 

With great expectations I searched the Breeze and Flex websites for schedules. 

The schedule started out promising; the Flex bus has a stop at the East Harwich Stop n’ Shop, a mere 1½ miles from my house, an easy bike ride.  It travels onto the Harwich Chamber of Commerce on Rt. 28.  Buses leave from S n’ S at 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM.

An hour's wait between buses 

I next went to the Breeze site, fully expecting to find a convenient connecting bus.  Well, there was a bus scheduled, but it is far from convenient.  The Breeze bus is schedule to go by the Harwich Chamber at 9:20 AM.  This means I would have to wait anywhere from a half hour to a full hour for the final bus that would deliver me to work, 40 minutes late.  Sure I could adjust my schedule and take the earlier buses, which would put me at my office at 7:40 AM.  And, being into work 1 hour and 20 minutes early could score me major points with the boss-man.  

Your experience may have confirmed the demographic analysis of potential rider-ship, but what it confirms to me is that these taxpayer-funded follies do nothing to reduce the congestion on the roads of Cape Cod, a stated primary goal of the Cape Cod Transit Task Force.

Based on your anecdotal survey it has only served to remove cyclists (the more traditional mode of transportation for summer workers), people who otherwise would be driving if given the opportunity and a sorry bastard whose wife can’t be bothered.  I will give you one point for the four revelers headed to P-Town.  Fewer drunks on the road are a benefit to everyone.

I did email the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority about my disappointment with the coordinated schedules of the Flex and Breeze buses.  A portion of the canned response I received from Paula Ainsworth is here:

“The Breeze is the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority's year-round service. Every effort was made to make the connections to the Flex as convenient as possible.  Unfortunately, we are not able to provide half hour service on the Breeze because of funding constraints”

This statement does not address my primary complaint about the Breeze schedule.  As is, the Breeze does not offer scheduled service that would allow someone to arrive in time for a 9:00 AM workday.

How long will the public support bad planning?
 
So, I will continue to commute the 26-mile round-trip to and from West Dennis.  Thankfully my ten year-old Honda still gets 37 miles to the gallon.  

I would like to know, for how much longer will the tax-payers continue to fund a transit system that does not serve the primary population of Cape Cod and does not directly address the increasing congestion of the Cape’s roadways?