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| Volume 16, Issue 2 | Summer 2004 |
Bismarck Celebrates a Fixed-Route Bus ServiceCAT is roaming the streets of Bismarck-Mandan. After more than three years of planning, Capital Area Transit (CAT) fixed-route bus service launched with a grand opening and ribbon cutting May 6.
"Everything is going smoothly. After we started charging a fare, ridership dropped in half which is about what we expected," said Robin Werre, executive director of Bis-Man Transit. The months of May and June were free for the benefit of riders wanting to experience the fixed-route system. The number of phone calls has dropped significantly, and the maps are still going fast. We have printed about 28,000 maps and there is still strong demand. Werre says Bis-Man Transit has operated a demand/response transit service for 13 years. "As studies indicated a need for a fixed-route service, we've worked on planning and funding. The funding is a mix of federal and local dollars including a one mill increase in local property taxes." The agency is hoping for additional funding when the federal transportation bill is approved. CAT operates out of a central transit center in Bismarck that also serves as the headquarters for the demandresponse system and the rural transit system. Bis-Man Transit contracts with Taxi 9000 to operate both the demand response system and CAT. Rural transit is provided by West River Transportation Council. The Bismarck depot for Greyhound is also located in the building. The building, built in 1998, includes maintenance bays, wash bays and a bus storage area. The storage area was expanded to accommodate CAT's new buses. "The facility works great for us. It puts all of our transit-related operations for the area in one spot," Werre says. The Fruits of Cooperation and CoordinationThrough the cooperative effort of the South Dakota Department of Transportation's Air, Rail and Transit office with Oahe Child Development and River Cities Transportation, a new bus for River Cities Transit and Head Start was procured for Hughes and Stanley counties. The effort is the first of its kind nationally and could become a model for other similar cooperative efforts. The coordinated effort is an answer to the federal government's increasing demands that transportation resources be shared as much as possible. "There is a big push on the national level to share these vehicles. Every year, the FTA becomes more and more serious about what they call 'coordinated transportation,'" said Bruce Lindholm, program manager for the South Dakota Department of Transportation's Air, Rail and Transit office. River Cities Transit was the facilitator of the $84,000 grant that purchased the dual purpose bus. River Cities will be able to use the bus for transit when it is not needed by Head Start. "All transit operations are working to do more coordinated, community-type transportation," said Ron Baumgart, River Cities executive director.
This presents a win-win situation for both Head Start and River Cities Transit. Funding for Head Start is dependent on the number of students attending. With the new transportation, more students will be able to attend. River Cities Transit will also be able to count Head Start riders, about 18,000 rides a year, when it applies for funding and grants. The consortium is already at work applying for funds for the purchase of a second bus for Head Start. It is expected to arrive within the next year.
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CAT has six buses operating on 11 routes: six main routes, four alternates and a circulator that runs between Bismarck's two malls. For the rest of May and June, CAT did not charge fares to encourage ridership and help residents become familiar with the service.
"I was concerned about not being able to purchase a bus," said Mary Kirk, director of the Head Start program. New federal regulations made the organization's present buses obsolete. This new bus complies with the new regulations. Head Start contributed about $17,000 matching funds toward the bus.