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| Volume 18, Issue 3 | Summer 2006 |
Prairie Hills Transit Barb Cline, DirectorSpearfish, SD West River Transit Authority, Inc., doing business as Prairie Hills Transit (PHT), has been providing service in western South Dakota since 1989. The agency began as Spearfish Senior Transportation using a 1979 "old green van from the back parking lot" and operating four hours a day in Spearfish. The service has grown to cover 9,818 square miles in six counties with a fleet of 24 vehicles. By August, Prairie Hills Transit will be adding a Supreme Classic American Trolley to its fleet. The service area covered by PHT is more than six times larger than the state of Rhode Island and almost as large as the country of Italy. It is 95% rural and includes twelve communities. The administrative offices and major service locations are in Spearfish. Spearfish was officially incorporated in 1888 and derived its name from Native Americans, fur traders and trappers who considered the clear and tumbling stream through the canyon a good place to spear fish. At the present time, the 28 people employed by the PHT system operate from bus garages in Belle Fourche, Sturgis and Spearfish. Custer is slated to begin construction, and plans are underway to construct a new facility in Spearfish to replace the existing facility, which is bursting at the seams. In a partnership with Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), Pass Lite, a new computerized dispatch software, was installed and implemented in the Spearfish administrative offices. All incoming calls for rides or cancellations are managed by two full-time dispatchers and one part-time dispatcher. Calls for rides within at least 12 communities, and between communities are all scheduled by these three. Routine scheduling for all contracts, nutrition rides and special events are scheduled using the same new software. PHT was one of five agencies nationwide selected from 50 interviews done by the Beverly Foundation in partnership with CTAA. The five agencies were selected based on recommendations by many of their interviewees including researchers, professionals and policy makers. Helen Kerschner, president and CEO of the Beverly Foundation, and Jane Hardin, Community Transportation Association of America, both visited Spearfish as part of the case study. The case study entitled Innovation for Seniors in Rural America Case Studies will be published in 2006. PHT was also successful in its application to the Project ACTION Easter Seals Institute. A coordinated team consisting of human service agencies, Black Hills Special Services, Northern Hills Training Center, a disabled senior with multiple sclerosis and two PHT staff was assembled to address transportation issues. As a result, planning is underway for the development of a travel trainer program to help new riders become accustomed to use of the bus services. A Joblinks grant is currently in its fifth month with completion scheduled for November. Forty applicants vied for seven grants to develop transportation access between communities with a high priority placed on employment of low income persons. Prairie Hills Transit is in the process of identifying and assessing the need for transportation between communities and developing services to assist in meeting those. PHT recognizes that the transportation must be reliable and affordable. Through coordinated efforts with faith based organizations, Prairie Hills Transit will be able to have sufficient data to justify new routes for services. Development of a new website will also benefit the marketing piece of this application, and also give each community its own identity. Sponsorship for the new Spearfish Trolley by Premier Bank has already been sold, which will provide an excellent source of financial support. The trolley is an exciting addition to the community and anticipation of its arrival is building rapidly. Prairie Hills Transit has been fortunate in its 15 year history to have three South Dakota Drivers of the Year, and it received DTA's Innovative Agency of the Year in 2005. The PHT team not only works hard to achieve standards of excellence but also understand that there is no "I" in team.
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