Wow! We're almost at 1,000 signatures! Last night, representatives from Dutchess County came to the Beacon City Courthouse to hear our concerns about the cuts to the bus. The turnout was great! Dozens of you came out to say things such as: 

• The mountain stop gets use by both residents and tourists and should remain.
• The residents of Forrestal Heights depend on the Loop Bus to get to the train station.
• The Loop Bus makes parts of the city accessible to individuals who cannot drive. This includes seniors, young adults, and people without cars.
• The new schedule absolutely needs to go until at least 8pm when the train commuters are coming home.
• The schedule could be improved by being set to standardized times. 
• As a community, we are grateful for the service that the city has subsidized for us with the Loop Bus, and we want it to continue to serve as many residents as possible. 

There were more great comments and questions, but most of all the room had LOVE FOR THE LOOP! The county reps told us they would take our comments into consideration as they amend and finalize the schedules they drafted. 

However...

As the meeting ended, the county representative threw out this line, "we are not looking to hurt anyone with the new schedules, but not everyone is going to be happy with the changes we are planning."

He very much left the door open to keeping the proposed cuts. But, they welcomed more feedback and we need to keep the pressure on. If you have signed this petition,  follow up by writing the county an email. We need to reach them soon and stay on their radar. Send your message to: PublicTransit@dutchessny.gov

All the details of the proposed route changes are on the Public Transit webpage here.

Share this petition with others. If we can get to 1,500 signatures, that will send a loud and clear message! See you on the bus!