4 Months Later, Bus Kiosk Still Closed

“Closed” signs have been replaced with those reading ​“We’re Back & Better Than Ever!”

But the bus pass kiosk on the Green is still not open, four months after the state first shuttered the small sales outlet and info center for repairs.

That kiosk is located at the center of the city’s hub-and-spoke bus network, on the northern side of Chapel Street between Temple and Church. It’s been closed for repairs since May 7. 

In early July, the Independent spoke with two CTtransit workers who were busy installing new walls, lighting, heating, and air conditioning to the decades-old structure. They told this reporter then that they hoped to be done ​“in a couple weeks.”

As recently as Thursday, the kiosk was covered in signs reading, ​“Pardon our Progress! Our Sales Outlet Is Closed for renovation!”

As of Monday, those yellow-and-red signs have been taken down and replaced with a dozen posted gray pieces of paper reading, ​“We’re Back & Better Than Ever! Renovated Sales Outlet is Reopening!” Those new signs show the pledged reopen date of Sept. 23.

So. What’s going on?

“The sales outlet booth was temporarily closed earlier this spring for renovations and upgrades,” state Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesperson Josh Morgan told the Independent on Friday. ​“Those improvements were completed last month however, it has not yet reopened due to some lingering IT connection issues. CTtransit is working closely with vendors to resolve those, with the hope of reopening the booth soon. We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding while this project has been ongoing. We look forward to serving New Haven commuters in-person from The Green in the near future.”

He also pointed out that bus riders can pay for their fares with exact change on the bus itself, and they can use the Token Transit smartphone app, which allows for the purchase of multiple different types of bus passes.

Asked to confirm that the continued closure of this kiosk means there is no place downtown to buy a bus pass in person, Morgan replied with a link to this webpage, which includes a map of all retail locations and the types of passes sold. That page shows that the only official bus pass sales outlet in New Haven is the closed spot on the Green. It also shows that bus riders can reload their Go CT cards at the CVS on Church Street, buy or reload Go CT Cards at the Walgreens on York Street, or buy 10- or 31-day tickets at the Stop & Shop on Whalley.

Abdullah Livingston and Natalie Averill, meanwhile, waited by the closed kiosk on Monday afternoon for their buses — to Dixwell Avenue and Chapel Street, respectively — to come. Before these four months’ worth of repairs, there was an electronic screen posted on the side of the kiosk that provided real-time updates as to when different buses were going to arrive. That screen is no longer there.

“That shit is bullshit. It’s an inconvenience,” Livingston said about the four-month closure. He’s taken to buying bus passes online on his phone in the interim, he said. But he doesn’t like having to rely on an electronic device that might run out of battery; he also doesn’t like not having someone in person at the kiosk he can ask questions to about bus schedules.

Averill said the same. She’s a student at Gateway, and said she has a student bus pass that means she doesn’t have to worry about buying passes online or at the soon-to-reopen kiosk. But she does miss having a CTtransit employee present to ask questions to, especially as she suffers from a disability that can make it hard for her to remember bus times, or even to bring her phone with her.