Editor,
As a sometime rider of the little blue buses, I was surprised to learn that our city fathers have joined the ranks of bosses who sport top hats and spats, and smoke big cigars (figuratively, at least).
Apparently there are now only two drivers who are full-time. All the rest are hired for just 20 hours a week. Few people who earn that level of wage can afford to live in Laguna Beach, and so they must travel from afar. At 20 hours per week, they are denied benefits, including health insurance.
The wet-behind-the-ears MBA’s who seem to be running the show have no conception of how people who subsist on bus driver wages have to live. Like their MBA counterparts in the fast-food world, they don’t know, and if they did know, they probably wouldn’t care.
As for the riders, we note that the new crew doesn’t know the routes. They actually get lost and sometimes refuse to stop at places the buses traditionally stopped.
Someone in City Hall probably thinks she is very clever. The drivers and the passengers be damned.
David G. Epstein, Laguna Beach
i do believe most new employees follow the rules. Once more comfortable and with the knowledge bosses can’t count the number of stops and where, the bus drivers will be more inclined to stop a hundred feet or so before the bus stop bench to let riders out where the other drivers did. Time will tell. But kudos to you for taking the bus down the hill to the office Mr. Epstein.
I wonder why the bus doesn’t run on Sunday. There are many locals up the hills who would likely take the bus down to town, rather than finding a place to park. Imagine freeing up spaces for tourists who will pay to park. Most locals with cars have parking stickers, don’t feed the meters, but the option to ride the bus and leave the car home is something to consider. A couple adult beverages with brunch, some shopping, a walk on the beach, gallery hopping. Then just a bus ride home.