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Elsie Foley (left) and Shawana Hairston, both of Martinsville, discuss their first ride aboard the Piedmont Area Regional Transit bus on Thursday. (Bulletin photo by Mickey Powell) |
Friday, June 5, 2009
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
The number of Piedmont Area Regional Transit (PART) riders has increased this week following changes in bus routes and a suspension of the fare.
A total of 29 people rode the bus on Monday and Tuesday, said Martinsville Public Works Director Leon Towarnicki. That number is about “what we were seeing in a week” previously, so it is “absolutely an improvement,” he said.
Towarnicki said when he passed the bus along local roads in recent weeks, he looked over and “seldom would I see more than one person on the bus.” So 29 riders over two days is “a great sign,” he said.
James Brim, who was driving the bus early Thursday afternoon, said the number of riders at any time varies. But it usually is four or fewer, and sometimes there have been periods without any riders, he noted.
This week’s increase in riders is “a good start” toward a permanent increase, said Henry County Planning Director Lee Clark.
“If we can take that momentum and build upon it,” he said, “hopefully it will be a turning point for the service becoming more utilized.”
More riders are needed if the county and city are going to continue funding PART, officials have said.
The experimental bus service started in January. The two localities each are paying RADAR, a Roanoke-based nonprofit agency, $3,000 to run PART until June 30. The rest of the $120,000 cost is being paid by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB).
By May 20, the bus had made only about 300 passenger trips — fewer than officials expected, considering they launched the service after hearing county and city residents say a public transportation system is needed locally.
So officials made some route changes — taking the bus into, or closer to, some residential areas — and are waiving the $1-per-trip fare this week in hopes of increasing the number of riders.
Ridership figures for Wednesday and Thursday were not available.
In the new fiscal year that will start July 1, the county and city each plan to spend $22,800 toward the bus service. Figures on how much CTB funding might be provided are not available.
At some point in the coming months, though, the Henry County Board of Supervisors and Martinsville City Council will have to decide how long they actually want to continue funding PART, Clark said. That decision largely will be based on how many people have used the service, he said.
In the meantime, “we’re going to give this thing every opportunity to succeed” because it is what residents have said they wanted, he added.
The bus runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and has alternating routes through the Martinsville and Collinsville areas. Each hour-long route begins and ends at Lowes on Commonwealth Boulevard.
Go online at www.henrycountyva. gov or www.martinsville-va.gov for a list of the stops and their times. Copies also are available at the Martinsville Municipal Building uptown and at the Henry County Administration Building on Kings Mountain Road.
RIDER REACTIONS
Four people rode the bus on the Martinsville route between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Elsie Foley and her assistant, Shawana Hairston, both of Martinsville, were riding the bus for the first time.
Foley said she cannot drive due to a medical condition, so she has been wanting to try the bus to help her get around town.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “You don’t have to fight the traffic.”
And, “the space is great” inside the bus, Hairston said.
The bus, which is about half the size of a regular bus, has cushioned seats.
“It’s not as expensive as taxis,” said Nancy Cox of Martinsville, a frequent rider.
Cox wondered if the bus could accommodate people who leave the grocery store with large parcels, such as jugs of water. Brim said he thinks so.
Sherlynn Easley of Martinsville said she has ridden the bus since the service began in January, including three times this week alone. She does not have a car, and the bus helps her get to “places I normally don’t get to go,” she said.
“I just love the air conditioning,” she said. “It’s nice and cool” in the bus.
Easley recalled that the most riders she ever has seen on the bus at one time was five. She said the bus may be able to attract more riders if signs were installed at bus stops so people know where to wait.
While there are various stops in the Martinsville and Collinsville areas, Brim said that “anywhere along the route, we’ll pick you up” — just wave as the bus is approaching.
Some of the riders said they would like to see the bus travel into residential areas more.
While stops have been placed in or near some neighborhoods, Clark said having stops in all neighborhoods would not be feasible.
“This is a public transit system, not a taxi service,” he said. The bus is “not designed to go door to door.”
Easley said she would like to see the localities sell bus passes that people could buy periodically so they do not have to pay each time they ride. Clark and Towarnicki said they will present that idea to RADAR.
The small number of passengers at a particular time makes it easy for riders to have conversations. For example, after Cox boarded the bus in front of the Blue Ridge Regional Library in Martinsville, Foley and Hairston asked her about how library cards are issued.
Clark mentioned the possibility of a second bus being added to PART later this year if officials determine the number of riders makes it worthwhile.
If that bus is added, one bus will travel through the Martinsville area and the other will travel through the Collinsville area, with a transfer point near Lowes and Walmart, said Clark.
That would enable each bus to make its route through its locality each hour, which would result in shorter waits for a bus, he reasoned. |
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