06/01/2007

Plan for bus service to Traverse City is postponed until summer

Manufacturer delays delivery of vehicles

By PATRICK SULLIVAN

psullivan@record-eagle.com

HONOR — Benzie County residents who hope to take the bus to Traverse City likely will have to wait until July.

Fixed-route service to Traverse City didn't run as scheduled because the delivery of four buses was delayed by the bus manufacturer, said Susan Miller, executive director of Benzie Bus.

"I think, realistically, we're looking at July to open up the Traverse City route,” Miller said.

Demand for rides around Benzie County has put such a strain on the county's fledgling bus service that the seven buses currently in service are not available for routes to Traverse City or Manistee.

"I don't get complaints because they know that we're providing a lot of service in-county,” she said.

Sarah Fought used Benzie Bus to get between her home in Frankfort and her job as a teacher at Platte River Elementary while her car was repaired after an accident.

"I rode for a good four weeks and it's awesome to say, you know, please pick me up at a certain time and it happens,” Fought said.

She said she's considered using the fixed-route service to get her daughter to gymnastics practice in Traverse City to save the time and gas money.

The Benzie Bus began operations in January and saw 1,050 rides that month increase to 2,447 in April. Miller said ridership numbers are around triple what they were at the beginning of the year. Miller expects four new buses to be delivered in June. The buses will need to be painted and outfitted before the new service can begin.

The fixed route to Traverse City likely will make stops at Oleson's on North Long Lake Road, Munson Medical Center, and the Bay Area Transportation Authority transfer station on Hall Street. Benzie voters approved a half-mill to pay for the bus system last August.

The regular Traverse City route will be popular, if history is an indicator. A three-year grant that ended a few years ago brought Traverse City-based BATA service to Benzie County and by the end of the grant period a full-sized bus ran nearly full every day.