This Wednesday, the UW graduate student went to the same Fordem Street spot for his daily trip to campus and found a hole in the ground where the bus stop sign used to be.

"The driver told me they wouldn't be stopping there anymore," he said. "They'll still drive by, but won't hit the brakes."

The stop was one of 20 eliminated under a new schedule that took effect Monday and caught some riders unaware. Metro Transit spokesman Mick Rusch said the changes were made to improve wheelchair accessibility, line up with pedestrian crosswalks and be closer to sidewalks.

He said transit staff meet with traffic and road construction companies and adjust stop locations to improve traffic flow and rider access. They try to ensure a changed stop won't mean a walk longer than a quarter-mile for any riders.

But people in the densely packed apartments near Fordem — who will have to travel an extra two to three blocks — expressed surprise at the change, which they said came without warning.

"It's amazing they would do this, unannounced, right before school starts," said Kris Hughes, in his fifth year managing the 135-unit Briar Wood apartments. The eliminated stop was at the entrance to the complex and was where journeys to downtown and campus began for many of the residents who rely on the bus.

During morning and evening rush times, the Nos. 2 and 28 buses, which both stopped at the complex, are packed "like a Tokyo subway," Neumaier said.

Rusch said the stop was closed because it doesn't meet accessibility guidelines required by the Americans with Disabilities Act; it sits on a small patch of grass instead of the necessary concrete boarding area. Stops 700 feet south at Lakewood Gardens Lane and 1,000 feet north at East Johnson Street do meet the accessibility requirements, he said.

Hughes bikes to and from work but said bus accessibility is the third most-asked question by prospective tenants.

UW undergraduate student Saythala Thao moved in last week and relies on the bus to get to and from campus every day. She chose the apartment complex partly because of the stop and had no idea it would be gone within a week of arrival.

"It's kind of a bummer," she said when informed it was no longer there. "It certainly was going to be convenient to get to campus."

Hughes said the moved stop means residents will have to travel a couple extra blocks either way to get to another stop, an especially difficult burden for residents with disabilities. During winter, they'll have to navigate streets and sidewalks that aren't always plowed by the time school or work begin in the morning, he said.

Neumaier, a doctoral student in psychology, faulted Metro Transit for not making the change known more in advance.

"They didn't post flyers or any notice," he said. "It was just, one day, the pole's gone."

So he has posted his own flyers seeking signatures to petition Metro Transit to bring back the stop.

"We apologize that this was not communicated to these students," Rusch said. "I'm not sure if we would have been able to predict the exact nature of these moves before these projects got under way and before these students signed on to their leases."

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