Bus line 9 now takes the scenic route only

Palmetto Bay Transit has removed the direct service from bus line 9, which ran from the Plaza to the marina in eleven minutes, and replaced it with a single route along the entire coast road that takes, by the new timetable, one hour and forty minutes.

The authority said the change responds to "strong rider feedback." Wazel News has established that the feedback came from one rider, Dale Pruitt, 61, who is also the bus's driver.

The feedback

Pruitt told Wazel News he submitted a comment through the authority's website in June suggesting that line 9 "would be nicer if it went along the water." He said he did not expect it to be adopted, "or read."

The authority says it received 1 comment on line 9 in the consultation period, "which was 100% in favor," and that it "acts on the evidence."

"I've driven the direct route for nineteen years. It's a wall, then a car park, then another wall. Now I see the sea. The passengers see the sea. Some of them are late, but they see the sea."

— Dale Pruitt, driver, line 9

The passengers

Regular riders were surprised on Monday to find the 7:40 a.m. bus heading west, away from the marina, toward the lighthouse. Several got off at the first stop. Several did not, and arrived at work at 9:30 "with a tan," one said.

A commuters' group has asked the authority to restore the direct service "as a second option." The authority has said it will consider the request "in the next consultation period," which opens in June and, the group notes, will again be read by Pruitt.

City hall responds

The mayor's office said the change "supports the city's tourism goals" and that line 9 "is now, in effect, a sightseeing bus that costs a dollar fifty." Asked whether the mayor had ridden it, the office said the mayor "prefers to travel by water," then asked for that to be struck.

Pruitt says ridership is up. "People come to see what I'm doing," he said. "They're not going anywhere. But they're on the bus."