For Immediate Release

          Date: 8/25/2008

 Backus For Senate

                                                                             Contact: Bob Backus

                                                                             Phone: 668-7272

Gatsas Drops The Ball On Manchester's Inter-City Bus Service

            Today, at City Hall, Mayor Guita and Alderman and State Senator Ted Gatsas claimed success in regard to the near loss of Manchester's downtown access to inter-city bus transit.

            Starting in November, Manchester will be reduced to almost half the round trip service to Boston that now operates from the downtown terminal.

            State Senate Candidate Bob Backus calls the Guinta/Gatsas plan "inadequate."  He went on to say, "Sen. Gatsas and Mayor Guinta have managed to dig a deep hole for the citizens of Manchester.  Now they are tossing in a few spade-fulls of dirt and are trying to claim victory.  This is no victory."

            The facts are clear: 

• The number of round trips available from downtown are being drastically cut in half.
• There is still no assurance that riders will have an operating bus terminal to use the reduced service.
• The downtown bus terminal may yet close at the very time when the massive multi-year Granite Street Gateway project is to be completed, with seven lanes of traffic leading directly to the facility.

            "In this time of high gas prices and environmental concerns, to have such a drastically reduced schedule for inter-city bus service is unacceptable," said Backus. 

"The time to have addressed this issue goes back at least two years.  It would have been nice if Sen. Gatsas would have cared about this when he wasn't just in an election."