Local News
City Link Ridership Grows
Annual ridership on City Link has more than doubled since the fixed-route bus system first went into operation in late 2007.
Date: 1/7/2010
Posted by Finney County Transit on 1/18/2010
By SHAJIA AHMAD
In 2008, City Link carried 28,455 passengers, and last year, the bus system serviced 45,485 individuals, according to Bonnie Burgardt, the director of Finney County Transit, better known as FIT. That's almost a 60-percent increase.
(Brad Nading/Telegram Faith Lee boards one of the City Link buses Tuesday at the Finney County Transit Center building, 1008 N. 11th St.)
State officials -- optimistic that the growing numbers in Finney County are a sign rural transportation demand is high and that its needs are slowly being met -- hope now to coordinate efforts with FIT to use the local transportation center as a hub for movement for individuals between surrounding southwest Kansas counties. And they hope to begin as early as this spring.
"We all knew there was transit demand with the population out there and its workforce needs," said Lisa Koch, a public transportation manager at the Kansas Department of Transportation in Topeka. "(The numbers) really exceed our expectations."
Few communities in the state other than urban cities have fixed-route bus systems like in Finney County, Koch said, and less than 10 of 19 southwest counties -- a group of counties representing one of 15 districts of the Kansas Rural Transit Assistance Program -- have call-and-demand bus transportation available to the public.
By creating a local dispatch center in Finney County, state officials hope to not only save operating costs for a southwest Kansas bus system, but coordinate rides between counties, as well, Koch said.
"If we can create one number where people can call, (dispatchers) can make that ride happen because they knows what's accessible, what's available and where all the vehicles are," she said.
A regional bus system would be a challenge, and surrounding counties would be phased incrementally. For example, Koch said, the system would begin by servicing rides between Kearny County and Finney County, and then Hamilton, Kearny and Finney counties, as routes and rides expand.
A similar pilot system has taken foot in the Salina area, Koch said, where transportation officials hope to eventually coordinate service between 10 rural counties.
Burgardt said she is optimistic that the level of fiscal commitment at both the local and state levels is strong. She also said both City Link and FIT's Mini Bus, open to individuals with physical limitations, and demand-response service, for those who live three-quarters of a mile away from a fixed route, will continue to grow alongside the state's more regional efforts. For the 2010 fiscal year, the city and county funded FIT at $240,000, about 30 percent of its yearly operating budget. The rest is covered through state and federal dollars funneled through KDOT.
Burgardt said the majority of City Link passengers are members of the general public.
In December, of a total of 3,564 City Link passengers, only 970 were elderly and 297 were individuals with disabilities.
The Mini Bus service was retained after City Link first began running its fixed routes in September 2007 because the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that a para-transit bus system be offered anytime a fixed-route service is established.
Some local residents have expressed interest in a City Link route between Holcomb and Garden City.
During a September Holcomb City Council meeting, the transit director told council members a route could cost about $165,000 annually, including personnel, fuel, maintenance of the buses, communications, utilities, advertising/marketing, office supplies, uniforms, staff training and insurance. With matching state and federal funding, Burgardt estimated the city could incur about $50,000 in costs annually.
Holcomb officials have yet to take any action on the matter and are collecting more feedback about the possible project from residents.
Discounts for low-income individuals and students recently were added to the fare schedule, at a cost of 50 cents per passenger, per ride.
Prior to the additions, only people older than 60 and disabled individuals received a reduced fare cost of 50 cents.
All other members of the general public pay $1 per ride.
Bicycle racks also were added to the city buses, Burgardt said, enabling passengers to bike part or all of one way of their trip, if they choose.