Carrboro Hosts Talk On Transit

Chapel Hill Transit and Triangle Transit Authority officials made separate presentations to an audience of about 20 residents and town officials that outlined future plans and highlighted the success of the fare-free busing system enacted Jan. 1.

Chris van Hasselt, chairman of Carrboro's Transportation Advisory Board, opened the forum by saying the goal of fare-free service, which was to increase ridership, has been met.

"From the numbers so far, ridership has improved," he said.

Chapel Hill Transit Regional Transport Planner David Bonk presented a summary indicating that the system's weekday service miles had gone up about 1,000 miles since August 2001. He said service hours during that period jumped from 451 to 509. Both of these factors indicate that service has expanded considerably, he said.

David Bleicher, a representative of The Village Project, a local organization dedicated to land use and transportation reform, said, "Fare-free transit is a great idea whose time has come."

But Bleicher urged the transit officials to expand hours and make schedules more logical.

"Routes that change, chameleon-like, in the evenings are a disincentive," he said.

Bleicher provided the officials with a long list of suggestions for improvement that ranged from better cooperation between public school and Chapel Hill bus systems to the introduction of buses with lower floors that would make them easier to board.

Chris Potter, also with The Village Project, said Chapel Hill Transit needs better marketing.

"Somehow we feel like public transit ought to be telepathically communicated to the public," he said.

Potter said a more concerted marketing campaign would raise public awareness and make buses part of people's lives.

Chapel Hill Transportation Director Mary Lou Kuschatka said a marketing person has been included in the system's budget.

"We hear you, and we are working on it," Kuschatka said.

Other future plans for the transit system include bus shelter beautification and expansion of bus service to areas in northwest Chapel Hill and northern Carrboro as population expands there, Kuschatka said.

Cindy Shea, sustainability coordinator at UNC and a Carrboro resident, said she wants the transit system to eventually switch to buses that burn alternative fuels or run on electricity.

"It's a widely reported fact that this area has the 11th worst air pollution in the country," she said.

Shea said that in a place so environmentally conscious, a switch to cleaner buses would be a logical step.

Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Diana McDuffee praised UNC for taking the lead and providing the area with the initial funds necessary for free bus service, which is funded by a partnership between UNC, Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

Van Hasselt said suggestions received from residents at Thursday's meeting, as well as e-mailed or telephoned comments and criticisms, will be answered on Carrboro's Web site.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.