A new policy from the Western Reserve Transit Authority will mean some changes for riders who want to get on and off buses at places other than established bus stops.

For a long time people who rode WRTA buses could flag down a driver and get picked up and dropped off just about anywhere on the WRTA route.
Well, those days are over.
WRTA officials have decided to change their policy so buses will now only pick up and drop off passengers at officially designated bus stops along each WRTA's fixed routes.

The executive director of the WRTA says the change was made primarily due to safety concerns.

"We need to make sure we are picking up our passengers where they are safe to pick them up at we don't want them in an unsafe location plus it's safer for our drivers. We don't want our driver to pull off in an unsafe location. It also makes our buses run on time so we aren't stopping every ten feet to pick people up," said WRTA Executive Director, Dean Harris.

21 News spoke with some passengers who routinely ride the bus. Many say they are disappointed in the change because it will mean having to walk out of their way to get to one of the designated stops.

"There's people our there who can't walk like that, can't walk that far. They need to look at it like that, the people who can't do it," said Lee Brooks of Youngstown.

The new pick up and drop off policy officially takes effect on April 5th.