- Some Jackson buses that usually run every 30 minutes recently ran every hour instead.
- What riders are saying about waiting up to an hour for the bus.
- WATCH THE VIDEO for rider reactions.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"Definitely confusing when they have every hour," says Mary Sparkman.
Neighborhood bus riders like Sparkman are talking with me about a recent schedule shift that meant extending wait times for some Jackson Area Transportation Authority (JATA) buses.
Sparkman says she fully relies on JATA buses for transportation. She says a 30-minute wait is standard.
"The thirty minutes isn't that bad. That's typically normal," she says.
But for part of the day last Friday, JATA said some routes would run every 60 minutes instead of every 30 minutes.
There was no similar announcement posted on Monday.
"'Cause most of my day, when I have things to do, is riding the bus," says Sparkman.
Even if an announcement about a schedule change appeared on JATA's Facebook profile, Sparkman says it can still catch riders by surprise.
Cheryl Crim also relies on JATA for transportation.
"If I'm not going to get what I need from the store, like personal items, it's going to rehearsals and Bible study," explains Crim.
Crim says longer wait times cut into time she can spend where she needs to be.
"Well, it kind of makes my day kind of short," she says. "Half the time I get tired just standing there waiting on that bus."
Marquil Harrell rides the bus to pick up checks and says: "I just like riding around…to get out of the house."
Harrell says he hasn't noticed any service disruptions.
How he sees JATA buses? "They're good."
Another rider I talked to here at the Downtown Transit Center who did not wish to appear on camera said he is "grateful" for our City's bus service, but that "it's a long time to be waiting 45 minutes to an hour in the cold" for a bus.
We reached out to JATA for comments on the situation but did not hear back in time for this newscast.
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