Transit Troubles: A D​ryden Woman's Six-Hour Commute

On a cold, rainy October afternoon, Uraina Bellamy waits at the bus stop in Dryden. Bellamy is headed to Ithaca.

On a rainy day in Dryden, Uraina Bellamy waits an hour for a bus to bring her into Ithaca. Photo by Kristen Mirand

At this time of day, it takes roughly 20 minutes to drive from Dryden to Ithaca, but for Bellamy, who just got out of an appointment, it’s an hour wait for the bus, and another hour ride to get into the city.

“So, I had to get rid of my car in March. I’m waiting to get another car, so I’ve been taking the bus,” she said.

From running errands to doctor appointments, she is in and out of Ithaca nearly every day. The commute is anything but a quick trip.

“Just to go to Walmart and back it takes me six hours. I have to take three different buses to get to Walmart and three buses to get home,” she said.

Bellamy’s transportation challenge is a story shared by other car-free residents who have difficulty getting from rural areas to the city Ithaca.

Despite transportation challenges outside of the city, under the small metro category, City Lab just ranked Ithaca as the best city to live in car-free.

Although TCAT General Manager Scot Vanderpool said he is proud of this ranking, he sees the difficulty that riders may face.

“You have people living in transit deserts. It’s really hard to try to provide transportation,” he said. “It’s a huge cost, and undertaking to get transportation to people in rural areas. It’s an equity issue.”

This is the app TCAT commuters can use to request a ride to a bus stop. Photo Courtesy of TCAT

Vanderpool announced that TCAT is launching a new program launching in the spring called First Mile, Last Mile.

“The perfect place for a pilot we thought was Dryden,” he added. “Dryden has a lot of pockets of people that are really close to our main line, but they’re a mile to five miles away.”

TCAT will use Getabouts, a smaller bus, to bring people from their homes, to the bus stop and back. This can be scheduled through an app on iPhones and Androids or by phone call.

“It’s pretty much door-to-door service. People can call very close to the last minute to set up a ride with us and make it happen,” Vanderpool said.

Fernando de Aragón, the executive director of Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council said, “We know that folks in rural areas have a tough time moving around, so I’m hoping it works.”

De Aragón said the City Lab ranking is a “compliment,” but notices there is still a lot of work to do.

“It validates the work we’ve been doing because it’s our aim to create and lead an environment where people can be less car dependent,” he said.

Over the past several years, Ithaca has made improvements with different transportation methods, such as LimeBikes.

TCAT will be using Gadabout buses to transport commuters to and from major bus stops.

A bigger problem, de Aragón explained, is that residents have to move out of Ithaca to find affordable housing, but then find themselves with transportation problems. He added that, for residents who move out of the area without a car or have their car breakdown, it can be difficult to get into the city.

That’s exactly what happened to Bellamy. Her car broke down in March, and it’s only a matter of time until she gets it replaced. Until then, she's relying on the TCAT.

“I’ve wasted so much time waiting for the buses, don’t get me wrong I’m grateful, but I could be doing other things than sitting at a bus stop for three or four hours a day waiting.”