Platteville Public Transportation Update

Platteville Public Transportation Update

The first week of October was Public Transportation Week. Common Council President Eileen Nickels and I celebrated by trying out the new Platteville bus system. We picked up the bus (right on time!) across from the public library. The library stop is the staging area and you will often see buses pausing there before they begin their route. The photo below shows one of our cheerful bus drivers.

At our October 12 work session, Public Works Director Howard Crofoot shared operating results for the public transportation system through the end of September. Our system includes both the bus (fixed routes) and the shared ride taxi (door to door).

The bus system costs $1 per ride or $25 for a monthly pass. UWP will contribute $150,000 annually to the operation and students ride for free. The bus service started in May and had a slow summer. Ridership picked up significantly in September when the students returned. In the period from May to September, there were 5717 rides. 5139 of those rides occurred in September.

The City does not contribute financially to the operations of the bus. Costs are covered through federal and state grants (57%), the contribution from UWP (38%) and fares (5%). With the projected fare revenue of $10,000 (which may be a little ambitious), bus revenues will exceed expenses by $28,737.

The extra revenue on the bus side is good news because it helps offset costs associated with the shared taxi. The shared taxi costs $2.75 for each trip. Seniors and handicapped riders get a slightly reduced rate of $2.50. In 2014, the shared taxi made 29,838 trips. We believe that the trips will be higher this year. The shared taxi is funded through federal and state grants (57%), fares ($27%) and a contribution by the City (16%). In 2015, expenses for the taxi will be higher than revenues by approximately $23,135. Because of the surplus on the bus side of the operations, the City does not have to cover this deficit with further contributions from the general fund.

Platteville’s public transportation system reflects the spirit of one the Common Council’s Guiding Principles for 2016: Incentivize private efforts that support long range City goals. While the transportation system isn’t private, the City was able to use a contribution of about $46,000 to leverage $282,000 in state and federal grants. And rather than UWP and the City having separate systems, a unified system was created to enhance service for everyone.

So why should Platteville residents care about the addition of the bus system if they aren’t going to be riders? There are three reasons why I am excited about the bus service from a City Manager’s perspective:

1. It is a competitive advantage. As a City, we compete for employers and residents. Our transportation system is a service that other similarly-sized communities generally don’t have. And while baby boomers like me may not think beyond cars very often, we know that the generations following us are very interested in more transportation choices (transit, biking, walking).
2. With the transportation system, more students are likely to leave their cars at home. Fewer cars means less traffic, less need for parking, less air pollution and less wear and tear on our roads. Perhaps some families may even find that they are able to forgo a second or third car because of the enhanced service.
3. The bus and shared ride taxi make Platteville even more family- friendly by providing mobility options to those who are too young or too old to drive safely.

If you haven’t tried the bus or shared ride taxi system, I encourage you and your family to take a ride. As Council Member Barb Stockhausen reminded us after her recent foot surgery, “you never know when you made need this service to get around town…”