Residents of Gastonia, particularly those at Village Square Apartments, are voicing frustration with glitches in the city's new microtransit system, GoGastonia. Among the most pressing concerns is the apparent unreliability of the service, which recently left multiple individuals with mobility disabilities stranded after their attempts to secure a ride home were unsuccessful.
Rose Ruiz-Ocana, 68, a user of said system, shared her ordeal with The Gaston Gazette, stating, “I’m frustrated. I feel horrible for the people in my complex here because we’ve got a lot of people that won’t ride now because they don’t know if they’ll be picked up. Somebody doesn’t realize the anxiety of getting in a vehicle, going somewhere, and realizing, ‘Oh, I can’t get home.’" After experiencing difficulties with the GoGastonia app and helpline, Ruiz-Ocana was unable to schedule a return trip from Walmart, ending up reliant on her daughter for a ride.
While GoGastonia provides an alternative phone number for scheduling rides, many, like Ruiz-Ocana and another resident who was stranded at Target, have found this service to be insufficient. Reported by WCNC, the transportation department acknowledges the demand being so high that there are instances of the system showing no seats available, leading to residents, especially those with wheelchairs, being left with no means to return.
City officials, in dialogue with transportation partners, are working toward ameliorating these service gaps. Gastonia Spokeswoman Mary Elliott confirmed collaboration with Via Transportation, the contractor for GoGastonia, to address these concerns. As a potential fix, Ruiz-Ocana has suggested enabling riders to pre-schedule return trips to prevent future incidents of stranding and to rectify the issues plaguing the call center support.
