Public Transportation in New York State, particularly busing, is a county-wide initiative. According to each respective municipality, the New York State Department of Transportation services many individuals, delineating the State by county lines of demarcation.
The United States Federal Government puts public busing policymaking in Albany’s hands, but the state ultimately grants the individual county autonomy for providing service to their constituents throughout New York. The Empire State’s busing is different from unilateral systems of transportation that blur county boundary lines in favor of a statewide initiative. Ultimately, unilateral systems generally operate along greater distances since they run across the state in totality.
Unfortunately, many customers in New York, above all the disabled and disadvantaged, are put at the disposal of autonomously run systems of transport. Many residents in New York wish to enjoy the safety other states are providing their residents with including but limited to: New Jersey a unilateral system and even Pennsylvania in which buses operate regionally within the state.
Ethel Benita Hill, a Binghamton, New York Resident and guest star on “County Speak,” 90.5 WHRW Radio, represents one problem faced by too many Broome County Transportation System riders and other autonomously county-run systems. Ethel suffers from Schizophrenia, amongst other debilitating illnesses. On several occasions, Ethel has asked me for a chance to ride the bus to my weekly radio program, and indeed, this will not be the last. Unfortunately, one bus ticket in New York will not get Mrs. Hill too far.
Movement, Public Transportation’s semiotic locus, is an undeniable human requirement for even remaining at the subsistence level. Deputy Mayor Tarik Abdelazism, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, and other officials working in the Southern Tier have all made promises to revamp the Broome Public Transportation on “County Speak” radio. Each politician hopes to link Binghamton with other metropolitan centers like New York City or Philadelphia. Be assured that officials in the Southern Tier mirror respective cities throughout New York State that suffer from autonomous county-run bus systems. Like other municipalities along New York’s periphery, Binghamton Transportation cannot help its citizens get from place to place unless they operate outside public transportation systems.
Ethel Hill, a self-proclaimed “Subsistence Level” candidate, can just about afford bus fare into the city. However, moving out of Binghamton is not an option for Benita, nor is visiting family and relatives in places distant from the Tier. Mrs. Hill’s illness limits her, but she should not be limited to services provided by her respective county of residence.
Mrs. Hill is no stranger to feeling helpless in an emergency. Unfortunately, she knows that navigating long distances in a psychiatric emergency is not an option she has in New York State. Promises are made by officials on County Speak to place fail-safe measures into transportation policies, but no definitive answers have been released describing the progress being made. Too many people like Benita cannot speak for themselves.
Author Info:
