Getting fannies on the bus

I sat in on a fascinating panel discussion last Friday at the University of Vermont (jointly hosted by the University's Center for Rural Studies & new Transportation Center). The focus, public transit in suburban and rural areas. On the panel: Dale Marsico, Director of the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), Dan Dirks, CTAA's President, and Charles Carr, the organization's Vice-President.

Several quite interesting points were made:

1. Rural & suburban transit needs to be much more than a social services provider.

Yes, public transit is vitally important in transporting low-income folks and others with medical needs, disabilities, and without access to (or the ability to drive) a car. But, as Charles Carr -- who is also Director of the Mississippi DOT Public Transit Division -- pointed out, "transit is an important public service, not just a social service ... we have to build the image of transit as a service everyone can use."

2. The local funding match is a hurdle.

As Carr noted, "in Mississippi, we literally have more federal transit money than we can spend, because we can't match it with local funds." He added, "we have 27 operating casinos in the state, but not one penny goes to transit."

Why is it difficult to raise the local match? In part, transit operating funds are at a disadvantage in federal funding formulas, with a 50-50 federal/state-local match, instead of the 80-20 match common to road and bridge projects. It's easier to make the case for spending local dollars when the share is lower.

Perhaps of even greater importance, in my opinion, is that many of those who use and depend on public transit in rural and suburban areas simply don't have much political clout. So there's another reason why public transit needs to broaden its market.

2. Rising gas prices will lead to explosive growth in public transit use.

I know this is something we've heard before, but CTAA Director Dale Marsico is a firm believer. Here's what he had to say:

"There will be a dramatic increase in demand for public transit from excruciatingly high prices people will have to pay for gas. ... The market is so potentially large, public transit alone won't be able to meet the demand."

Above left: Dale Marsico; above right: Dan Dirks. Speaking at the University of Vermont in Burlington on September 21, 2007.

3. Transit providers need to be responsive to riders.

As Dan Dirks, who for thirty years managed SMART, a large public transit provider serving suburban Detroit, put it, "listen to the folks who need your service and provide what they want ... not what you want.

Dirks noted, by way of example, that "some of the biggest needs are nights and weekends, when entry-level workers need transit." For SMART, the most important service has been getting people to their jobs.

One creative idea Dirks pointed to: "get a job, get a ride" -- that is, provide a free month's bus pass to people in their first month at a new job. As Dirks explained, that covers the period before the first paycheck comes in, when many young workers can't afford the bus fare. But it's more than doing a good deed. It also helps convert these workers into permanent riders. And it's a program SMART has embraced.

Transporting bikes is also essential. In Dirks' experience, the heaviest demand for putting bikes on buses comes not from recreational users, but from people commuting to work. How's that? Because bus routes often can't get everyone to the front door of their place of employment. But if you can cover, say, 90 percent of the distance by bus, it's easy to bike the remaining distance.

The bottom line for Dirks is simple: "we have to put fannies on the bus."