BUS-ted SYSTEM: Disabled Augustans lack a reliable ride

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - An Augusta disabled veteran depends on paratransit to get around, but he says he’s been very disappointed with the service that’s gone downhill recently.

Richard Skuse is a blind veteran who moved here in 2009 to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I ended up here in Augusta,” he said. “The VA here has a blind rehab center. And I worked there for 15 years. And then retired last May.”

And he’s grown to rely on paratransit.

“Over the last year, it’s gone downhill, specifically in the last several months,” he said of the service.

He gave an example from around Christmas when he called paratransit and was told the service was booked up and he needed to call two weeks in advance.

“It used to be you called the day before, you know, 24 hours’ notice. And even maybe two days,” he said.

Having to schedule two weeks out is hard.

“I don’t know about everybody else, but I have no idea where I need to go, you know, two weeks in advance,” he said.

“If something comes up, you need to get to a doctor or you need to go get groceries ... I’m not sure how you’re supposed to do that,” he said.

He said the system is the worst he’s ever experienced right now.

He’s had drivers cancel on him and tell him that they can drop him off somewhere but they may not be able to pick him up.

He says he’s fortunate he can use Lyft at times, but that’s also a hefty price tag and not reliable.

“The city is paying somebody for a service that’s supposed to be provided. And it’s only – you know, it’s not being provided fully at all,” he said.

These complaints come after Augusta Transit shut down bus service during last month’s snowstorm, including halting a free shuttle service to help homeless people get to overnight shelters, although city officials said deputies were prepared to give rides.

It also comes after the transit system shut down in the days after Hurricane Helene, even though essential services – such as water when the city’s water system was shut down for days – were mainly offered at widely separated locations that were difficult and dangerous to reach on foot.

This week, Skuse aired his complaints to Augusta Commission , who asked the city and her team to work with transit officials and come up with a plan for improvements.

Commissioner Scott: “Are we having issues with scheduling or are we doing something different that we have to schedule two weeks out from previous years of service?”

Transit Director Sharon Dottery: “Yes. From my understanding, there are some issues that we do have.”

Dottery its shortages of drivers and vans, and she says the main issue is funding and staffing.

She says she is working on “finding a match” for a recent $12 million grant, and that there’s a need for more vehicles that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“G-DOT gives us trust fund dollars. So, I have requested some vans in that money that we can get for ADA,” said Dottery.

She says right now there are seven paratransit vans running.

“I feel like we need to increase our ADA to 10 vehicles and that’s really what I think we need to do to make that better,” she said.

Augusta Transit General Manager Mack Cornell says this is a seasonal service and blamed COVID – even though the outbreak was five years ago.

He says demand is increasing but the fleet and staff are not meeting the demand.

After being asked three times when Augusta Commission met this week what the solution is, Cornell said: “More vehicles.”

He says the agency is in the process of getting more vehicles and that staff turnover rates are “better” than they have been.

That’s not much comfort to Skuse, who said the problem is not just affecting him, but anyone living from check to check.

And it’s up to the city to meet demand.

“You know, they’ve had multiple, increased, ridership over the years,” he said, “and they haven’t made any changes to adjust it for that.”

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