My current quest is to build a suitable Bus route for the ‘low density’ Wilmington Shopping district.

And I mean ‘low density’, not ‘suburban.’

Is this some new catch phrase to trick suburbanites into thinking this is not about them? Certainly not. Is it the lingo of “The American Public Transit Association” in Washington DC. It published a white paper called Conservatives and Mass Transit: Is it time for another look?[1]

In this paper, they talk about the lure of low density living due to 50 decades of long-term growth in incomes and the need for more space for a better buck. This paper was published in the nineties so you can add at least one more decade to the statement.

This is true

It also talks about how routes were extended into these low density areas and were inherently unprofitable… this is also true.

But what happens when a low density area begins to transition to a high density area without the infrastructure to support it? My guess is it will look somewhat like Wilmington, NC.

If you take a look at the census data from the past 100 years in Wilmington, North Carolina and the population of the county by contrast, you will see similar trends. And surprisingly the county is only 10 years behind the population of that of Wilmington, Proper. This is just raw data; it does not take into account for annexation or new construction. The population is increasing by 20% on top of the previous census totals, which means we are accelerating.

Take a Closer Look Here!

So when do we reach a saturation point? Our current projections for 2007 is 289,646 in the city and 190,432 for the county.[2] This does not indicate that New Hanover County is reached its fill of people, but what it does indicate is that the city is expanding. Areas that were once thought of as rural are now Suburban, and may even border on urban. I know there are arguments about this but when there are at least five lanes of traffic on ONE road, I think we can make that assumption.

The question is WHERE are highest levels of population? The Wave Transit Short Range Plan created in 2004 provides this information. I circled the Wrightsville Beach and the surrounding areas.

See the Big map here!

You will see that the population in that area is almost as high as it is downtown. The only difference is that there is a larger variety of shopping choices, which actually brings MORE people to the area!

I’m sure you may be asking yourself, “Where is he going with this?”

In 1987, Wrightsville Beach shut down bus service to the township, with a $4,700 budget cut and comments that there were not enough people to support bus ridership. The bus initiative died again in 1997 for similar reasons. I agreed with them then and the data supports it.

“Routes were extended into inherently unprofitable areas and fares were lowered to the point where no one would find them burdensome.”

This is not the case anymore. But it’s still not enough to merit the creation of a bus line because it would only be a shuttle to get people on and off the beach. This STILL does not support the personal interest of the Township of Wrightsville Beach.

However there are a number of Mixed use developments that have come up in the area, with The Mayfaire Plaza being the juggernaut of them all. Most of these shops have sprung up in the last ten years and in a very small area.

Mixed Use Development is a very good thing for Wilmington as opposed to many other types of development, both commercial and residential. I currently live in a neighborhood that has no access to a grocery store without a car. It may only be two miles away, but it might as well be on the moon because if I tried to walk or ride a bike, I would be hit by a car zooming past me at sixty miles and hour.

Mixed Use Development also provides walk and bike paths, and encourages parking your car and getting out. It’s called infrastructure and New Hanover County needs a whole lot of it. We have it downtown and we have it in the shopping areas created in the last ten years. It’s a prime candidate for a bus route.

Matthew Kunic of Wave transit made some adjustments to my Military Cutoff commerce route and made some suggestions that would make it more feasible from a ‘route planner’ standpoint. Obviously, there is still a lot more to cover, but creating a realistic route I can use as an example of what a bus can really do for an area is a nice ace in my back pocket.

To get to the businesses in the area to support it, I have been trying to connect with Lawless Bean of Cape Fear Breeze and have not had much success. I received a brief reply to my email which suggested I give her a call, which I have… but have only reached her voice mail. It was pretty busy last week for me, so I put this on the back burner, but I think I will try to call again today.

I’ll keep you posted.

[1] Conservatives and Mass Transit: Is It Time for a New Look?
[2] 2000 Census Information from the US Census Bureau
[3] Wave Transit
[4] Cape Fear Breeze

No comments

Well I started sending out emails to see what I needed to do next to get my bus routes running, and I get the sense that things are taking shape.

Matthew Kunic directed me to Cathy Cole, who is my first financial contact for Wave Transit. This is what I wrote:

From: David Heck [mailto:mycult@materialcult.org]
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:30 PM
To: Cathy Cole
Subject: Wave Transit Funding through the Commuter Choice

Hi Cathy,

My name is David Heck and I received your name through Matthew Kunic. I have been speaking to him about trying to fund a new commerce route using funding provided by the TEA-21 act, specifically Section {26 USC 132 (f)} of the Internal Revenue Service Code. He stated that he was not sure of the financial portion of my proposal and recommended that I speak with you about it.

I will try to be brief here so I don’t waste your time on background details you may already be familiar with.

1) Does Wave transit have a program already informing employers that they can use this tax incentive to help pay for alternative transportation?
a) If so, where can I find a copy of it?
b) If not, what needs to happen in order to implement it?

2) Regarding Internal Revenue Service Code {26 USC 132 (f)}, because I am not a tax expert:
a) Are there any caveats to employers utilizing this tax incentive to provide funding to WAVE transit as alternate transportation? (Such as local matching of funds, or eligibility within a geographic region)

3) Is there a skeletal document framework for creating a financial section for bus route proposals? (I read Daniel Thorpe’s UNCW late night bus shuttle proposal and realized my proposal might need to be a bit more complex)

I hope this is not too much information to ask for at once,
Sincerely,
David Heck
http://www.materialcult.org/Mycult/wordpress/

PS. I got this idea from the following website and have written articles about it on my website:

http://www.rpc-nh.org/Transit/seacoast-choice.htm

She responded with this:

From: Cathy Cole [mailto:cCole@wavetransit.com]
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 2:15 PM
To: David Heck
Subject: RE: Wave Transit Funding through the Commuter Choice
David,

Hello. Thank you for your email. I will try to answer your questions as best as I can.

1) Wave Transit does not have a program that reaches out to local employers. That is the main focus of the organization Cape Fear Breeze. Their website is www.capefearbreeze.com. Lawless Bean coordinates that program and has a lot of contact with businesses and employers. If you would like to contact her, her telephone number is (910) 341-4665 and her email is lawless.bean@wilmingtonnc.gov. I have never heard her mention this tax incentive, so I doubt she is aware of it.
2) I am not familiar with the specifics of this tax incentive. I will do some research on it, and get back with you on what I find out.
3) I don’t believe there is any specific format for bus route proposals. I was not involved with the discussions on the UNCW late night bus, so I am not sure how that was proposed. The main issue we face is who is going to pay for the increased service. I believe in the UNCW proposal, UNCW wasn’t willing to pay for it, so it never came to the Wave Transit Board for a decision. Our Director, Albert Eby, is much more knowledgeable than myself about the process for changing or adding service. If you need any specific financial information, I am happy to provide it. Just let me know what you need.

I will get back with you on the information about the tax incentives for alternate transportation and will also share that with Lawless Bean at the Cape Fear Breeze. Have a great weekend.

Thanks,
Cathy

SO now I wrote to Lawless Bean, but have not hear back from her:

—–Original Message—–
From: David Heck [mailto:mycult@materialcult.org]
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 3:03 PM
To: lawless.bean@wilmingtonnc.gov
Subject: request for information from Breeze web site user
Hello Ms Bean,

My Name is David Heck and I was directed to you by both council member, Laura Padgett, and Wave transit’s Cathy Cole as being the best contact in regards to alternative transportation in New Hanover County and its connection to the business community. I have recently become interstate in WAVE Transit’s efforts to bring a bus line to Wrightsville Beach. I have been chronicling my efforts on my website and have had discussions with Albert Eby and Matthew Kunic from Wave Transit. I have also spoken with some members of the Board of Alderman at Wrightsville Beach and believe that there has to be some solution to the disagreements between the interested parties involved.

I recently came across a potential federal funding source in the TEA-21 act, specifically, the Internal Revenue Service Code {26 USC 132 (f)}, and was wondering if you knew anything about it. It can be broadly defined as any one or series of options an employer offers an employee as an incentive for not driving alone to work. Cathy Cole is currently researching the possibilities of this as a potential funding source and if it is indeed viable, I would like to discus with you about the best way to contact employers in an effort to create sufficient financing for a commerce loop in the military cutoff corridor and potentially use the same funds to create a bus loop that goes to Wrightsville Beach as well.

My ultimate goal is to get more choice riders out of their cars and viewing alternative transportation as a reasonable alternative.

If you have any questions, please contact me. I have included a link to my website where all the articles I have written are collected.

Sincerely,
David Heck
http://www.materialcult.org/Mycult/wordpress/index.php

She has not written back, so I think I will forward the same email again and see if I get a response.

[1] Cathy Cole
[2] Lawless Bean
[3] Wave Transit
[4] Cape Fear Breeze

No comments

You may notice that I took some of the text I had previously written in a few letters and articles to fashion my statement to the Board. I was trying to put my best foot forward on short notice.

Hello, my name is David Heck and I am a resident of New Hanover County and spend most of my time in the City of Wilmington. I have recently become interested in Wave Transit’s last attempt in establishing a bus route to Wrightsville Beach. I believe the reasons for the most recent failures are as much, social as they are financial.
I believe we are at a crucial crossroad in the city of Wilmington with respect to alternative transportation. Increased population and traffic congestions seem to be a looming problem on the horizon for this county and there seems to be no slowdown in the development of new construction both within, and beyond the city limits.
I do not think there are many people in Wilmington who don’t know about Wave Transit. Lack of information about Wave Transit is not what keeps them from riding the bus. They aren’t riding the bus because it takes too long. They aren’t riding the bus because their cars get them where they need to go much more efficiently. They’re not riding the bus because it’s “for poor people”. And mainly, they aren’t riding the bus because the bus is not easy to use. The adventurous and the everyday riders are obviously exceptions to this statement, but in the case of the vast majority of Wilmingtonians, the bus is not usable enough to coax them out of their drivers seats. Like the public transit systems of many American cities, we are not trying hard enough to be accessible to the regular auto driver, the outsider or first-timer.
The reason I came to this meeting is because I would like to try and establish a new bus route that would encourage people to park-and-ride to the local shopping centers in the Military Cutoff Corridor. It would send a message that alternative transportation can be used by anyone, not just people who have no other options.
I would also like to propose adding them by funding it with a section of the Internal Revenue Code, specifically Section 132(f) - Qualified Transportation Fringe or Commuter Choice. Commuter Choice can be broadly defined as any one or series of options an employer offers an employee as an incentive for not driving alone to work.
I have some documentation on this federally funded program with me as well as on my website, which is my grass roots effort to create better alternative transportation in this city and county.
I came here today because I want you to know that I am serious about smarter transportation as well as establishing it in New Hanover County. The cost of gas is not going to go down, and either will traffic congestion. We are at an exquisite moment in Wilmington’s history. We can avoid the commuter fates of Raleigh, and the traffic nightmare that is Atlanta, Georgia, or we can address the problem 10 years form now, when it’s too expensive to do anything about it.

Thank you

No comments

I have been writing for close to three months now and have tried to keep a relatively low profile for the most part. My motivations to do this were out of caution because I was positive I was not getting the whole picture from the articles I was reading in the paper. I also didn’t have enough information to run in any direction. I simply knew I was frustrated that a bus line to Wrightsville Beach failed AGAIN.

I was equally tired of hearing the rhetoric about WB residents really not wanting to encourage a bus to bring outsiders to their doorstep. It’s too easy to shout ‘racist’ or ‘elitist’ as the core problem, and leave it at that. It forces a close of any valid argument and thus, any realistic solution to the problem.

When I decided I was going to get involved, I had a lot of things to consider.

• How much time was I going to invest in this process?
• What were my objectives?
• How could I prevent people from discrediting my efforts?
• How could I control my own content without fear of having it edited or shut down?

I’m fairly pragmatic about things and am very aware I only have one shot at this, so I need to get it right the first time.

Measure Twice, Cut Once…And My Material Cult was born.

My objective is to get a bus to travel to Wrightsville beach and if I helped improve alternative transportation in New Hanover County, it would be an extra benefit. I can show a timeline of my efforts, while at the same time, provide information to educate and inform people in the area.

I knew I could write at least two times a week and keep a few articles in my back pocket just in case I get writer’s block. I also knew that if I hosted my blog on a public site, it would not be in my total control, which I didn’t like at all. Hosting my own blog also allowed me to not be immediately noticed until people had a few articles to read. The worst thing imaginable would be to be noticed before my intentions were clearly developed. I didn’t want people putting words in my mouth or insinuating that I had a personal agenda.

I also knew I might ruffle some feathers eventually. So…

I need my involvement in this process to be transparent. It’s also the primary reason why I must work from the outside. I don’t work for WAVE Transit, nor do I sit on the board. I don’t live at Wrightsville Beach and I don’t live on one single bus line in the county. I’m not poor and I’m not rich. I have nothing to gain or lose by doing this. I am effectively as neutral as a person can get.
Most of the people I refer to in my blog have had email correspondence with me, and others have not answered me at all. I have met with none of them in person in an official capacity…Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I decided to go to the WAVE transit board meeting to sit in and also sing my name on the public comments section of the meeting. I modified a portion of the email I sent to Laura Padgett and used it as my comments to the board. I think it was well received by most and with some ambiguity by others. The meeting topics covered the gambit of funding for certain groups to financial and route committee reports and some interesting sidebars which included the difficulty of getting around town with the new routes. I have some ideas about that and will write early next week on such things as online route connection support and well as automated telephone support for people waiting for the bus.

After the meeting, I had the pleasure of talking with both Matthew Kunic and Albert Eby at length. They both seem receptive to my ideas and encouraged me to keep writing told me to keep asking questions and they would help me where they could. This is a good first start.

I now have some new contacts to gather information from to help me with my efforts to finance my commerce and beach bus routes as well as a few new ‘garage projects’ to help alleviate some of the issues with the current bus loops.

I have a better sense that I can make a difference here in Wilmington. It’s no longer a question of IF, but more of a matter of WHEN.

No comments

I’ll keep it short today…

Laura Padgett never wrote back so I think I will set up an appointment to meet with her the next time I’m downtown at city Hall, which will be Friday. I intend to discuss with her a few things about getting busses to the places we need them. I am beginning to see article every day, both locally and nationally about how alternative transportation seems to be on the minds of everyone as relief for higher gas prices.

I must admit that I am a little frustrated.

I also have to look into another issue. I received a few emails from a faithful reader (Thank you Anthony) regarding the contract bids to get [2] WAVE Transit’s Business. It seems First Transit may be out and replaced by [3] PTM or [4] Veolia. I have to get some more information on this before I write any opinions about it.

[1] Laura Padgett
[2] Wave Transit
[3] Professional Tranit Management
[4] Veolia Transport

No comments

I was thinking about the TEA-21 [1] act and the my thoughts on getting private companies to pay for Employee bus passes, and then my thoughts drifted to the $417,508 shortfall to pay for my proposed WAVE transit bus routes.

Exactly how many Monthly bus passes would you need to purchase to have it add up to $417,508?

I realize this is only monkey math, but if we keep the question basic, the answer is simple:

$417,508 / 40 = 10437.7 monthly bus passes.

That’s a lot of bus passes and a lot of employees, but not once you think about it.

It’s a monthly bus pass. ONE employee gets TWELVE bus passes. So…let’s do the math again.

($417,508 / 12) / 40 = 869.808

That’s only 870 employees. How many stores are there are Mayfaire alone?

There are 74 shops, 21 Restaurants, 2 hotels, the Cinema 16 movie theater, not to mention the management company that employs everyone from Security to gardeners, to the people that set up the summer concert events. [2]

About ninety-nine companies in all at that one shopping center. If they each had nine employees each, it would cover the whole 870 minimal employee requirement to fund the whole route.

Autumn Hall will be almost as big, AND it will have a professional park and a medical facility as well. We are not talking about small numbers anymore. We can easily manage to reach that 870 person goal and beyond.[3]

I need to do a little more research on the matter, but I think I have a good idea here. Let’s see if it holds any water.

[1] TEA-21
[2] Mayfaire Shopping Center
[3] Autumn Hall Shopping Center

No comments

Would you ride the bus if it were free? I think I found a way to do it.

For the past few months I have been pressing forward with establishing a new type of bus route. One that serves the entire community instead of just the people that need it so they can get to work. I have flirted with the idea of getting private industry to support such bus routes on the basis that it’s good for business and brings in customers

It can also free up parking at the beach and may even free up parking spots for workers who previously drove their cars to work.

…Previously drove their cars to work….hmmm… it makes me think of a bumper sticker I have seen, but with a slight modification…

“You can have my car keys when you pry them from my cold dead hands.”

At this point, the bus is not as convenient as a car. And even as gas gets more expensive, it’s still not enough to get people out of their personal vehicles and onto a bus.

But, would you consider it if I could get you on the bus for FREE? And not just ONE bus, but ANY route on the wave transit system.

I came across a web site pushing something called ‘commuter choice.’ What is it?

Commuter Choice can be broadly defined as any one or series of options an employer offers an employee as an incentive for not driving alone to work. Because of changes to the Internal Revenue Service Code {26 USC 132 (f)} made through TEA-21 (the current Federal Transportation Funding Act passed in 1998), several of these options can provide bona fide cash savings to the employer and employee. In other words, it is an inexpensive fringe benefit of employment. [1]

What does this mean? It means that ANY employer can be reimbursed for a WAVE transit Bus pass for any employee they choose. The employer pays for people NOT-TO-DRIVE and gets the money back form the IRS. - Up to $105.00 per employee per month.

I looked up the monthly fee for a WAVE transit Bus Pass and its forty bucks.

Retail or entry level workers , who spend the greatest percentage of their salary getting to and from work, will see their take home pay increase, after taxes. Plus they now have a bus pass to get around town as well. Everyone wins in this situation.

• The Employee gets a built-in pay raise because they don’t have to spend it on gas or car maintenance.
• The Employer looks like Father Christmas for providing free transportation around town.
• Wave Transit takes in an income of a monthly pass for every employee who the employer pays for, regardless if they actaully use the bus.
• The Federal Government pays for it all. No local taxes are taken out.

I think I’m going to push this Idea as well when talking to the hotels and businesses on my proposed bus routes.

[1] Seacoast Metropolitan Planning Organization Regional Alternative Transportation Guide

No comments

I finally wrote the Letter to Laura Padgett. As you can see, I am trying to convince her to support a bus route which specifically targeted to passengers who have cars. My secondary goal help prevent a traffic congestion in the City of Wilmington. I don’t expect to get a response today but I will follow up next week if I don’t get a reply.

Ms. Padgett,

My Name is David Heck and I am writing to you on a recommendation from Daniel Thorpe, the UNCW student who is trying to establish a night time bus route between UNCW and the Downtown Business district. He said that you were the best person to talk to on the City Council when it comes to understanding public transportation in our county

I have recently become interested in Wave Transit’s last attempt in establishing a bus route to Wrightsville Beach. I believe the reasons for the most recent failures are as much, social as they are financial. I have spent a lot of time researching the meeting minutes from the Board of Alderman, white papers on alternative transportation and economics, as well as spoken with many people on this subject, including Albert Eby and Matthew Kunic from Wave Transit.

I believe we are at a crucial crossroad in the city of Wilmington with respect to alternative transportation. Increased population and traffic congestions seem to be a looming problem on the horizon for this county and there seems to be no slowdown in the development of new construction both within, and beyond the city limits. Wilmington has been experiencing a rebirth of its economy and a revitalization of its neighborhoods with urban renewal through private investments in physically deteriorating locales of the city.

I would like to suggest that the city’s alternative transportation undergo a similar transformation. Wave Transit has accomplished much since 2003 and with gasoline prices on the rise, I believe now is the time to attempt to attract a new segement of alternative transportation passengers.

I do not think there are many people in Wilmingon who do not know about Wave Transit. Lack of information about Wave Transit is not what keeps them from riding the bus. They aren’t riding the bus because it takes too long. They aren’t riding the bus because their cars get them where they need to go much more efficiently. They’re not riding the bus because it’s “for poor people”. And mainly, they aren’t riding the bus because the bus is not easy to use. The adventurous and the everyday riders are obviously exceptions to this statement, but in the case of the vast majority of Wilmingtonians, the bus is not usable enough to coax them out of their drivers seats. Like the public transit systems of many American cities, we are not trying hard enough to be accessible to the regular auto driver, the outsider or first-timer. [1]

The reason I am contacting you is because I would like to try and establish a new bus route that would encourage people to park-and-ride to the local shopping centers in the Military Cutoff Corridor. Matthew Kunic, of Wave Transit indicated that requests for neighborhood stops along a bus route need to be considered, but I believe this is part of the problem with the existing routes. It does not send a message that alternative transportation can be used by anyone, not just people who have no other options.

By establishing a route that would encourage alternative transportation between mixed-use shopping markets, as well as the Campus of UNCW, we could send a message that Wilmington is looking for intelligent alternatives to traffic congestion and forward thinking in city planning at little cost to the tax payer. My secondary hope is that with the establishment of this route, we can entice Wrightsville beach to consider establishing a trolley route that would connect the two lines at some mutual transfer point in the near future.

I have many ideas and I write a lot of articles and post them publicly on the internet. My hope is to keep Wilmington a great place to live. I do not want to see traffic congestion as one of the things that ruin it. I would appreciate your help and any advice you could offer to help me further this project.

Sincerely,
David Heck

http://www.materialcult.org/Mycult/wordpress/

---

[1] Next American City - Los Angeles’ transit system is inefficient (and no amount of advertising is going to fix it(slightly altered)

[2] Laura Padgett, Wilmington City Council Member

[3] Matthew Kunic - Wave transit Planner

[4] Daniel Thorpe - Alternative UNCW/Downtown Night Shuttle Proposal Plan

No comments

So Matthew Kunic took a look at my proposal and said it has its problems, which I expected. The process to build a bus line is complex and I didn’t think I would get it right on the first try, so nothing is lost at this point. I only had a very generic bus line for Wrightsville Beach, because that route needs to come AFTER we establish the commerce route to entice the residents and tourists staying at Wrightsville beach in the first place.

Once again, my main objective at the moment is to change the perception of what alternate transportation is, and who it serves.

You can see my route in my previous article The New WAVE Transit Fantasy Route, Brought to you by Google.com and this is what Matt had to say about it:

1) This idea of a WB shuttle/route would be beneficial for our passengers and all other residents of Southeastern NC (WB residents included); however, one thing I noticed when reviewing your proposal is that you would like this service to start in 2009. Each year, we get funding approved for us from the feds, state, and local governments for the upcoming year’s fiscal budget. For example, funding we receive for ’08-’09 has already been approved and in our budget for a set amount of service that we can provide. Unless we cut some of our existing service (which I would not recommend), I can’t comment on how much Wave Transit could provide in terms of subsidy to a WB route(s). While I agree that a WB route during the peak months to start is a good idea, I’m not sure what amount of funding could be given towards this route by Wave Transit. In addition, I have no idea of knowing an external source of revenue for a WB route at this time.

This might explain why the rush to establish a bus line with no time to review in the meeting minutes of the Board of Alderman for Wrightsville Beach. I figured there was a budget approval date in there somewhere…

2) Route 1- This proposed route, just at first glance, seems to be a bit long to be a 30 minute route. If highly utilized with those 8 stops you mention, this route could definitely turn into a longer route than 30 minutes, not to mention it could possibly then be out of adherence the rest of the day. One thing to also realize is that it’s very difficult to limit the amount of stops along a route. In Wilmington, if a bus travels down a road and a passenger wants to ride, we can’t necessarily turn that passenger’s request down for a bus stop if the road conditions are safe for the bus to stop at a particular location. The flip side is that adding bus stops to a route increases the headway of a route due to more stopping and starting by the given bus.

3) Route 2- While this route serves Town Hall, and on Lumina Avenue between Causeway Drive and Salisbury Street, it doesn’t serve any of the hotel destinations whereas tourists could take advantage of the service from their hotels to travel into Wilmington. This seems like it would benefit a large majority of the population in Wilmington, but not a majority of the population of WB or tourists. In addition, if we turned the bus around at Mercer’s Pier, it would have to be smaller cutaway vehicle, as the 35 ft Gillig buses can’t make that turn safely.

And this is my response:

This is a great start. As I said before I am not a route planner, but I have spent a lot of time riding alternative transit all over Europe and I lived in the north east so I used it there as well.

So Categorically,

1) I am not aware of the how the budget works so 2009 is out. 2010 would be the case unless I could convince someone at the state level to give some money to fund the project. There is money out there and election years have a tendency to flush out money, especially with gasoline being on everyone’s mind at this point. Again, the goal is to create a route that WAVE Transit would be willing to support, hypothetically. Once a route is agreeable (Just like the routes WAVE originally presented to the board of Alderman), I can then begin to farm it out unofficially to the members of the board and get their input. The first route is incentive for the board to see the benefit of establishing a route to the beach.

2) The route is 10.1 miles long, and I timed it. I can run it in a car in 23 minutes with a 1 minute stop at each place, so yes I agree it may be longer than 30 minutes. Time was less of a factor than distance because the longer the route, the more time variation could be experienced with traffic. A short route can only be affected minimally unless there is an abnormal traffic issue, such as an accident or a closed road. I also understand, but disagree with the logic behind not being able to limit stops for any given route. The reason I designed the route the way I did, was because it already runs along established bus lines that can service a request for another stop.

A Commerce route might send a signal to establish a ‘park-and-ride’ mentality and increase the type of ridership WAVE Transit already has. By far the most popular bus routes being established in the country, as well as others are Rapid Bus Transit routes, or bus routes with their own lane to ride in. Wilmington does not have this, nor will it be able to handle it. They might as well put in a light rail if they were going to add another lane for express bus traffic.

Part of the problem with the existing bus routes is perception and convenience. Many people don’t like the bus because of who they think is riding it and the fact that it takes a longer than if they drive in a car. I have been reading a lot about how government groups are taking a look at funding “smart growth” initiatives for alternative transportation in growing cities. I’m not looking to use existing funding for the route, but establish a new line of funding for a separate initiative. But the first step is to get everyone to like the routes and say it’s a good idea. Many people who are reading what I’m writing on my blog seem to like the idea of a dedicated commerce bus that would connect with a line to the beach. These people are also not your traditional Wilmington Bus passengers either. It’s a new market I’m looking at.

3) I agree with the group of people WB bus services. I didn’t put a tremendous amount of effort into the route because it because I know that the board would want a say in how it was designed, and since the commerce route is intended to encourage Wrightsville beach resident and hotel visiting tourists to take the bus, I know there would need to be some inherent changes anyway based on this fact. I also wanted to discourage parking at the town hall by people who wanted to use the bus for transportation to the beach.

My thoughts for a 35 foot gillig bus were not ever factored into the equation. A trolley style bus was what I had in mind and a lease of a bus for a 3 year pilot plan would be my preference.
But it all starts with establishing a new class of ridership and routes they would be willing to park their car for.

He told me to have another go at it, but I think I need to convince him that it is more important to put a cap on the number of stops a bus route should have so it is faster and more efficient. A good mass public transport system is not only a suitable solution to road congestion, but also an essential contributor to social infrastructure. It is too unrealistic to expect that all our traffic problems will end as soon as we have a mass transport system comparable to that of other cities in the world.

The truth is that efficient mass transit is only part of the solution. The more difficult tasks are to discourage people from using their own cars in an environment where alternate transportation is too prohibitive or troublesome, as well as overcoming the negative perception of buses and the people that commonly utilize their services.

How can we make the buses, already popular in larger cities, such as Charlotte, NC, equally as attractive to our motorists? I believe it is as much a perception problem, as it is a service issue. Not until our alternative transportation is comparable in services as in other cities, will people begin to leave their cars at home. Forward thinking in establishing a transportation network in the growing city of Wilmington will become paramount in order to meet our future mass transit and highway needs.

In my conversation with Daniel Thorpe, who is trying to get a bus line to downtown directly form UNCW. He mentioned Laura W. Padgett, who is a city Council Member in Wilmington. He said if there is a person who knows anything about Mass transit in their city, it’s her. So I think I will send off an email to her asking for her help and advice about a proposal for a business commerce line with the hopes of creating a bus line to Wrightsville Beach. I’m also going to ask her about possible funding alternatives to make sure it is a worthwhile investment for the city and WAVE Transit.

I’ll post the email tomorrow and hopefully will get a quick response.

Laura Padgett, Wilmington City Council Member

Matthew Kunic - Wave transit Planner

Daniel Thorpe - Alternative UNCW/Downtown Night Shuttle Propsal Plan

No comments