Sun Tran looking for feedback on route adjustment

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Going the extra mile, those in charge of Tucson's bus service want to extend service to new stops.

These changes affect Route 15, which runs right through the heart of Tucson, including the University of Arizona.

Right now, Route 15 starts at the transit center off of Stone and Wetmore, and ends at Winsett. The new proposals would take it a step further, all the way out to 22nd and Country Club and to the Tucson Marketplace.

Every day Sun Tran riders know the ins and outs of the city, but they all have something they'd like to see change.

"I've seen buses just pass us by and then you have to wait for another hour," said Cynthia Phillips. She'd like to see more routes, which would lead to shorter wait times. Nathaniel Goed can relate.

Without a car, he knows what it's like to wait a while in the Tucson sun for his bus to show.

"It's hot as hell out. In the winter it can be an hour. But at night when they change they go from every thirty minutes to an hour," Goed said.

He uses the bus to get to work. When he wants to get to the Tucson Marketplace, he has to find a ride.

"It's a lot. People have to work and they don't have time to just pick someone up and take them somewhere. You've got to pay gas." He said it can be a hassle.

With Sun Tran making big changes like the Route 15 addition, it will affect people like him. The route would extend to 22nd and Country Club, in the area of the popular Quincie-Douglas Center.

Some people, like Suzanne Schaefer, say it doesn't go far enough south. "It should at least go to Ajo Way and connect with the 11. Are the people who live to the south going to need improved service to get there?"

That's why Sun Tran wants feedback from the public. They're hoping to improve the route before it would take effect in February of next year.

For Goed, it's good news and a hassle-free trip to the Bridges. "$1.75 goes a lot farther than ten dollars in gas for somebody, you know," he said.

Sun Tran said readjusting Route 15 would bump up the number of people who use this route and save $39,000 a year.

Sun Tran hosted an open house to hear what the public had to say at Quincie-Douglas Library on Thursday, but they have another one planned for next week.

It will be at the Ward 5 office (4300 S. Park Avenue) on Tuesday, Sept.11, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Can't make it - they're looking for comments via email at suntraninfo@tucsonaz.gov, or call 520-792-9222 (TDD: 628-1565).

Copyright 2018 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.