TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- The BATA board has asked management to develop an implementation timeline and three to five year business plan to support a final report on new route and service recommendations. The report, by Chicago-based public transit consultants Vlecides-Schroeder, was presented at the BATA board’s monthly meeting on November 30.
Board members said they enthusiastically supported the direction of the report that outlines ways to develop a fixed and zone route system that can help meet the daily transportation needs of residents in Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties.
“The goal is to reduce our percentage of on demand or dial-a-ride services by providing a viable alternative,” said BATA Executive Director Tom Menzel. “Empty buses traveling to puck up a person here and a person there do not constitute a sustainable public transit system.”
Some of the recommendations BATA is pursuing include adding a new Traverse City route to serve the Cass/LaFranier corridor, working with Munson Medical Center and Northwestern Michigan College to develop circulator and shuttle services and developing “flex” routes that can accommodate seasonal demand.
Menzel said input from and collaboration with leading organizations in the community, including Munson and NMC, have been ongoing.
