Demand for public transportation rises in correlation with gas prices, and with prices near $4 a gallon, Escambia County Area Transit is a cost-saving option for residents.
This pivotal time for ECAT coincides with the public transportation provider’s fixed-route redesign of its transit network. ECAT is surveying both existing transit riders and non-transit riders on how to improve service, coverage and reliability. Officials began handing out surveys at events this week, and the survey is available online.
- Background: Five years ago, the county had a public engagement process, branded “Your Service, Your Say,” that gathering input from current riders, potential riders, community stakeholders and ECAT’s own bus operators. Despite the challenges of conducting outreach during a pandemic and in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, the effort produced more than 1,100 survey responses and a clear picture of what Escambia County residents want from their transit system. The input was used to develop the 2022-2031 Transit Development Plan.
For Possible Expansion
“Routes have not been changed, but Escambia is growing by leaps and bounds, so we want to make sure we’re growing with the growth of the county, such as Nine Mile, Pine Forest, but also that we’re serving the less fortunate areas without transportation,” Mass Transit Director Thaddeus Davenport said.
- “We want to hear the feedback—the good, the bad, the worst. We want to see what we can improve on in the frequency and efficiency of the service. Now, with gas prices, how can we better serve the community?”
Poor Turnout: The County held a redesign open house on Monday at Brownsville Community Center. Only a few transit riders attended the open house and filled out the survey.
- “We need to hear from residents,” County Commissioner Lumon May said. “It’s great for policymakers to make policy, but to make policy without input is not good stewardship. I want to hear what the staff has. I’m hoping Mr. Davenport will get it and take the data seriously, critique it, analyze it and implement it. The failure on this would be to have an implementation plan, utilize the citizens’ time, and not come up with something more creative, progressive and economical.”
Merit Celaire is a transit rider who lives near the North Davis Highway and Olive Road intersection. He attended the open house and voiced concerns that the routes he takes run every two hours as opposed to every hour. He said the routes ran every hour before the COVID-19 global pandemic.
- “So many of us are still pleading for them to get back to their normal schedule on the weekdays,” Celaire said.
More Buses & Drivers Needed
Hourly stops require increases in the number of buses and drivers. Davenport said the county is hiring CDL operators, but the beginning pay is only $19.97 an hour. On a positive note, the county recently added 45 cutaway buses to pick up passengers in neighborhoods and transport them to the main terminals.
- “Currently, we’re sitting at almost 175 in our fleet,” Davenport said. “We had to expand over to the old jail parking lot to accommodate all of our fleet, and just about two weeks ago, we sent a letter to proceed to one of our vendors to procure 13 new 35-foot buses from the grant that was recently awarded.”
May said a stereotype exists that transportation is for low-income residents. He countered that public transportation is at the heart of any progressive city and promotes economic development.
“Whether it’s by train, whether it’s by bus, we want to move people. We want to get people off the road, get them safe and move them, help economic development,” May said. “Where are the jobs? Where is the job creation? How do we create that route? What’s being implemented? Where are the subdivisions going? Where are the assisted living going? Where are the tax credit projects going? Those are the areas I hope we’re telling our consultants to go look for, and demyth the stereotype that transportation is just for low-income people. Mass transportation is for everyone.”
To learn more about ECAT, visit GoECAT.com.