Two new electric Paratransit vans prep for the road, the Rapid Transit app-led ride service maps out new territory, and the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority plans a mini library and upcoming service fair.
Tuesday’s board meeting also brought news the authority might receive more federal funding to purchase six electric vans for its Rapid Transit program that offers an Uber-like service to catch a ride, said MBCTA Executive Director Craig Ross.
From a smart phone, riders can request a van to pick them up in designated zones that are expanding to two new areas on opposite sides of the county.
As of July 1, the colorful vans’ territory will include Macon’s northwest sector encompassing Lake Wildwood, and the East Macon Industrial Park and the Downtown Macon Airport.
Transit Planner Mark Strozier is making local industries and employment centers aware of the service that debuted its pilot program nearly a year ago.
Businesses near the Middle Georgia Regional Airport are interested in connecting their workers with the $5 a ride service that bumps up to $8 in the evenings.
“They’re really excited about the Rapid Transit and so is the folks over in east Bibb,” Ross told the board. “I think this is going to be a real gold mine for us, if you will.”
Increasing revenue from Rapid Transit could help offset rising costs of doing business that jumped 25% since last July, the authority’s executive vice president Lee Brown informed the board.
The increases come as the authority recently was down seven fulltime drivers on fixed routes, which raises overtime costs.
In the first 10 months of this fiscal year ending June 30, driver overtime exceeded $310K, which is about $123K more than budgeted.
“That’s large amounts that happen every pay period, and it’s something that’s driven by needing to keep the buses on the road and the lack of drivers,” Brown said. “Collectively, together, is what puts our budget over. We pull it back in by doing less travel and training, things like that, cutting other categories we can to make up for that 25%.”
For Paratransit, the authority is short three drivers, but its overtime expenses remain well within $70,000 budgeted with two months to go.
Board Chair Louis Tompkins said authorities all over the country are having trouble keeping drivers as those with commercial drivers licenses can make more money driving a big rig hauling freight.
“Think about the overtime that’s involved in that, and the difficulty it is in maintaining and keeping drivers, which has nothing to do with training, but people just seem to want to get ahead and move on,” Tompkins said.
The authority also announced a news subscription service Strozier recently launched where people can sign up for alerts to keep abreast of any changes in their specific routes, schedules or other general items of interest from the authority.
“Information is pushed to their email and cellphone and SMS text,” Strozier said.
To sign up for the service, go to myride.mbcta.net/signup.
Just last week, a call came from City Hall about a disruption in service and within minutes Strozier and the authority’s Public Information Officer Jami Gaudet pushed out that alert, specifically for riders on Route 1.
“It’s just another way for us to communicate,” Ross said.
Gaudet also reported MBCTA is effectively establishing a mini library at the downtown Transfer Station with book lockers funded by a state grant through the Middle Georgia Regional Library.
People can request a book from their smart phone, use a code to access that book from a locker, take it on the bus and return it later.
“This is bringing literacy to the masses. This is meeting people where they are,” Gaudet said. It’s such a simple process, but it’s a way to reach so many people, not only our ridership, but also people who live and work downtown.”
A ribbon cutting is expected in July after the lockers are installed in late June.
Around the same time, Gaudet is planning another summer Community Services Fair with a Celebrity Story Hour where community leaders read to children at Terminal Station.
Chairman Tompkins applauded the outreach efforts.
“I think this is tremendous,” Tompkins said. “It’s just a tribute to the understanding of what part of our focus is, and that is to provide the wherewithal for those persons who don’t necessarily have what it takes to get to a place to get things… and it’s like taking it to them, putting it right before them.”
The next DC Universe Superman movie has booked Terminal Station for about a month beginning mid-June to film “Man of Tomorrow.” Production crews will once again turn the lobby into the fictional Daily Planet newspaper where Clark Kent works.
Through a movie industry connection with the makers of that film, another producer is on the way to scout the old train station for another production.
“We have a really good rapport with the movie industry,” Ross said. “Even the one that’s was here lately, (Comeback King), rented our parking spot, so we get some kind of revenue from all of them one way or another. So that’s been gracious. So we’re digging out of this. There are over 4,000 transit systems in the country and they’re all struggling.”
— Peyton Anderson Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
