‘It’s a hassle for me’: Tournament traffic impacts Augusta bus riders

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Tournament week traffic has some Augusta neighbors worrying about how to get around town.

One route is not running this week, and for others, commute times have tripled. When it comes to public transportation, prayers begin on Washington Road.

“It’s a hassle for me. I’m glad that Augusta has something going on here. But it’s a hassle for me to get to where I need to get to taking public transportation,” said Roxanne Culbreth.

She rides Augusta Transit “basically almost every day,” she said.

A ride that usually takes 30 minutes to get to Kroger on Washington Road now takes hours.

“It was just the agony, the pain of waiting for a bus, no place to sit while you’re waiting for a bus. If you miss a bus, you got to wait a whole hour for that bus to come back. It really could wear you out,” she said.

And if she has an appointment, her day is gone.

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“If you have an appointment at 12 o’clock, you need to leave at eight o’clock just so you could get to your appointment on time. And that’s really ridiculous, but that’s what you have to do,” said Culbreth.

Augusta Transit says around 9,000 people rely on this system weekly, and they are aware of the traffic issue.

Oliver Page with Augusta Transit said: “We just had a bus that’s just left here, the Broad Street transit facility. It was already behind, and it will be impossible to catch up to the schedule. Route five travels right outside the Masters golf tournament.”

Page says it’s an issue that can’t be solved overnight, but they are working with city leaders until the new busses come.

“We are working to improve our bus service. And so next year, with our new diesel buses, and potential electric buses, we will be able to put more buses on route five,” he said.

For now, they are suggesting riders leave early and assure them that they will make sure everyone gets home.

“They will not be left stranded here at Broad Street. We will get them home,” said Page.

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