LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Marsha Akuna's family car isn't the way she prefers to get to work. But right now, it's her only option to make occasional trips from her home in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, to her job in downtown Louisville.
The Transit Authority of River City cut Akuna's bus route, the Bullitt County Express, weeks ago. She's quick to point out she wasn't the only person who relied on the service.
"I am sure that there have been some people that have probably had to either give their job up or lost their job because they did not have transportation into work anymore," she said.
But Akuna hangs on, and she's hopeful that one day TARC might reconsider her route and the several others it recently cut, because the transit authority is transitioning to a new leader.
Carrie Butler, a Louisville native, will take the driver's seat of TARC in just days, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Thursday. Butler was once an administrator at TARC but more recently served as the general manager of Lextran, Lexington's transit service.
"Carrie Butler, welcome aboard," Akuna said. "Please take a look at what's going on. Please fix TARC."
Akuna is one of the loyal riders who's lost trust in the transit authority after its former director, Ferdinand Risco, resigned because of sexual harassment allegations. Akuna also said the service became unreliable during his tenure, even for riders with disabilities like Marcellus Mayes, who's depended on TARC3's paratransit service for 25 years.
"Just from a friend of mine — he was a veteran — he was left out there off of Taylorsville Road in the veteran center out there for six or seven hours," Mayes recalled.
Just like Akuna, he too is hopeful.
"The transit authority — even though it's a quasi-government entity — here in the City of Louisville, they forgot who they serve," Mayes said. "They serve the customers."
He said it's up to Butler to regain the trust of those customers.
Someone who's not as hopeful is a driver who spoke to WDRB News anonymously after the mayor announced Butler as the new director. She said Butler should provide hazard pay to drivers during the pandemic, and she said it's imperative that TARC brings riders and drivers to the table when it makes decisions. Members of TARC's union made similar demands during a picket line outside the transit authority's headquarters in August.
Related Stories:
- Citing, 'challenging budget climate' TARC will cut 15 routes in August
- Mayor Fischer announces new leadership for TARC
- Sexual harassment, misspending: TARC report details former director's alleged misconduct
- 124-page report outlines sexual harassment allegations against former TARC director
- Former TARC director could face criminal investigation for 'offensive' spending of taxpayer dollars
- TARC tells leaders it's back on track, but some disabled riders disagree
- TARC union members demand hazard pay, better COVID-19 safety measures during picket outside headquarters
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