Olean is doing away with its public transit system after nearly 40 years.
The City announced Thursday morning that the “Olean Area Transit System will cease service operation on May 31, 2024, because of a proposed 26 percent increase in third-party contractor hourly rates for the operation of OATS services on June 1, 2024.”
Begun in the mid 80’s by Blue Bird Bus lines as “the Bona Bus,” the original service ran regular lines between the St. Bonaventure campus, the Village of Allegany, and what was then the University Fitness Center. It expanded over the decades to include multiple lines serving most of the City, and between Olean and Cuba and Salamanca.
There are so many who use this service, those without any transportation & on a limited income & the elderly. This is how they get to Dr appointments & Walmart to get the items they need such as prescriptions. It would be a shame not to continue this service, even if it were through another provider. I hope the city will reconsider.
I agree that those least able to afford taxis will have no other choices. I have a family member who depends on the bus for so many faces of his daily life, allowing him to live independently. Will the other bus lines still be running, the so-called circular bus?
That’s unfortunate for those that this is their only form of transportation.
*** olean then elist bitches
I use the bus to get from Salamanca to Olean. I am disabled and definitely don’t have a minimum of 50 dollars to take a cab. What are people supposed to do now?
This is a bunch of @#$%!! What are people suppose to do? People depend on these buses for getting to and from work, Dr appointments shopping etc. I think this is a real shitty thing that the city is doing to its residents. I hope the ones doing this will rot.
Like it says it was done privately. Then it stopped because every changed hands and other after the “county” stopped running it after awhile the city decided to take over so get the facts straight
If the rich can not get richer, out with the small guy. I only hear someone wanting a wage to supplement there family, and because of this they shut it down. Shame on that persons that only want to fill there pocket with more than they can spend in the first place.
Totally disappointing that this city’s mayor’s decision to putting a million dollars into roundabouts just so that people have to travel the entire length of a declining business district Street but cannot afford or be bothered to ensure that public transportation will continue, knowing that there are many citizens who are struggling to make ends meet and can’t afford a vehicle of their own choosing or afford to pay higher prices for the non existent taxi transportation system that is currently here. Literally makes no sense whatsoever. As a lifelong resident born and raised here I have seen a huge decline in governmental support for the citizens and their needs. We didn’t need the roundabout approach here that idea was adopted under pretense that it would bring about positive change in the business district by luring businesses to come here from other cities 🏙️ Where are they now? Where’s the operational impact on the shuttered store frontage of businesses that have already closed down and left the city behind because they couldn’t operate properly without The City Council and The Mayor incentivizing their businesses ? It’s getting worse every day of every year because those who have the money are in power and they have squandered the government grant money on their own disastrous economic collapse policies, despite resources given them by government grants to invest in improving infrastructure and businesses, we have rounded downwards, all talking points and no real progress is made. Shameful that this is where our taxpayer dollars go to get told they can’t afford xyz for their salaries are top priority and the citizens needs are too costly?
Seriously why did people vote for them again and again when they didn’t even bother to do anything they were supposed to be doing to protect and improve our economy by doing what they did? Disgusting Behavior of our city government 🤮
I think it is insane to cut out the buses people need to get from point a to point b around the city of Olean especially the elderly with walkers and people with disabilities people can’t afford care or walk far
Can’t afford cab fare