40-thousand SMART riders will see a reduction in their services beginning in December. WDET’s Erica Murphy has more.
SOQ:
SMART officials say declining tax revenue…a decrease in federal funding and a failure to come to an agreement with union member are contributing to the decrease in services and job cuts. Beth Gibbons is a spokesperson for SMART. She says the changes will affect businesses…seniors and the disabled.
“People who normally don’t have access to a car will look to a bus to get to those places… and without that access…it will make it very difficult on them. In addition people with disabilities and senior citizens are gonna have a difficult time trying to get to their medical appointments…even just grocery shopping to do things in their daily lives.”
123…SMART employees will lose their jobs as part of the streamlining effort. Specialized bus services will be cut by 10 percent and regular service by just over 30 percent. Gibbons says SMART riders can view the details of bus route changes on the company’s website. A series of public hearings will be held in November to allow the public to weigh in on the cuts.
