Transit panel proposes county bus system

Supporters to meet with commission

06/23/03

By GUY BUSBY

Staff Reporter

Baldwin Register

ROBERTSDALE -- If supporters of a mass transit proposal accomplish their goal, a worker in Bay Minette or retiree in Lillian could catch a daily bus to locations around Baldwin County.

Daily routes extending from Bay Minette in the north, Gulf Shores in the south, Lillian in the east and the Daphne-Spanish Fort area in the west, could be set up using buses from the Baldwin Rural Area Transportation Service, according to members of the Baldwin County Public Transit Coalition. The system would cost $80,000 for its first year of operation, they predicted.

Members of the coalition, a nonprofit organization set up to develop plans to meet area public transportation needs, are scheduled to meet with county commissioners Tuesday to discuss funding for the proposal.

Coalition member Stan Virden said a study by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission earlier this year indicated that many residents in Baldwin need and would use a mass transit system. He said the public transit needs assessment done by the SARPC indicated that 27 percent of county residents would, at some time, use a mass transit system if it were available.

"There is clearly a need," he said. "There is a need for more than just getting people to work. You have older people who are moving out of the county because they can't drive anymore, so they can't get around, and you have a lot of people who can't or don't drive for other reasons."

Virden said other reasons might include residents who cannot afford a car or who have lost their drivers' licenses because of legal violations.

Under the proposal, BRATS buses would leave from points at the end of the route at the start of the day. Buses would leave Bay Minette going south down Alabama 59, from Lillian going east on U.S. 98, from Spanish Fort going south on U.S. 98 and from the beach area going north on Alabama 59.

The routes would converge at a system hub in Robertsdale where passengers would change buses to continue their trips. The buses would then go back the way they had come, so that a person who got on in Bay Minette could board the Gulf Shores bus if he or she needed to reach a job in the beach area, according to plan organizers.

Supporters said the plan is still in the preliminary stages and some features, such as rates and schedules, have not yet been worked out.

Rosie Broadus, BRATS director, said she worked with coalition members in drawing up aspects of the plan. She said the proposal would not require additional BRATS buses. Vehicles used at other times of the day would be available for use on the routes.

"The plan would cover a large area," she said. "I think it's a good plan, but it will be up to the commission to decide if it should be done."

BRATS buses now carry passengers on set routes between specific locations, such as taking workers from one part of the county to a plant in another area. The buses will also pick up passengers, but riders must call in advance to set up transportation.

Commissioner Frank Burt said a public transportation system for Baldwin would be worth considering, but that he did not know if the buses would attract enough riders to make the plan work.

"If they've done a good study and know the clients will be there, then I'd be willing to consider it," he said. "It seems to me that if we can move people who need the service, then that makes sense to me."

He said, however, that some public transportation plans that seemed promising in the past did not work out, and that officials would need to study the proposal before committing funds.

"We've tried some things before that were very successful," he said. "On the other hand, we've had things like the beach shuttle that didn't work out at all. Orange Beach put a lot of money into it, but people just wouldn't ride it."

Burt said that with traffic increasing on Baldwin highways, public transportation might help relieve congestion as well as provide a way for residents who don't drive to reach their destination.  He said he could remember paid bus services between Bay Minette and Foley in the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, buses would take people from the Bay Minette railroad depot south to Foley and back each day.

"There was a demand for it then," he said. "I wonder if it's there now."