The Bee Community Action Agency plans to offer bus transportation services in Beeville to complement the van transportation services it already offers.
The two buses could be up and running as early as Sept. 1, said Alex Rodriguez, transportation director for the BCAA.
He shared the good news with county commissioners during their regular monthly meeting on Monday.
“We explored this idea about five or six years ago, the idea of providing bus transportation, but we didn’t have the funding at the time,” he said. “Then, last year when gas prices were around $4 per gallon, the BCAA board of directors asked us to look at the concept again to see if there was still a need, and we discovered there still was a need for bus transportation in our community.”
Rodriguez said the not-for-profit organization was notified this year that it qualified for about $420,000 in federal stimulus funds, which could be spent replacing the vans in its fleet or buying the two buses it would need for the proposed bus route.
Rodriguez said the federal stimulus funding will easily finance the two 18-passenger low-floor buses capable of providing transportation to the disabled and those in wheelchairs.
The federal funds also will help finance replacement vans for the BCAA fleet.
He said the BCAA also applied to the Beeville Economic Improvement Corporation for grant money to help pay for the salaries for drivers, dispatchers and other employees needed for the bus service.
He said the BEIC notified the BCAA that the bus transportation service was eligible for grant funding, and forwarded the grant application to a subcommittee for further review.
If the subcommittee approves the request, the issue will be presented to the BEIC board for recommendation. The BEIC board will then recommend or not recommend the grant to the City Council.
Preliminary plans call for the buses to follow routes from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Rodriguez said.
Present plans call for one of the buses to follow a north-south route and one to follow an east-west route.
The north-south bus would likely pick up passengers in the parking lot of the bowling alley in north Beeville, travel south and stop at the Tractor Supply store, stop again at the College North Shopping Center and again at City Hall. Then, the bus would stop at each intersection in downtown Beeville. Its last stop in downtown Beeville would likely be at Prosperity Bank-county courthouse at the intersection of Washington Street and Houston Highway, he said. The bus would continue on to the Department of Health and Human Services office and stop again at Reagan Road for those passengers who need to get off at the adult day care center in that area or Capehart housing complex.
The east-west bus would travel from the Pantry east to Pantry West on Houston Highway, stopping at various locations, including the county courthouse, H-E-B, Walgreens, the movie theater and hospital.
Rodriguez said the routes and their stops have yet to be definitely determined. “We still need to review the routes,” he said.
Of course, travel time could be longer if people in wheelchairs need to be transported.
Even if the BEIC does not award the federal stimulus grant, the BCAA already has passenger vans that can be used as buses, Rodriguez explained to commissioners.
Tentative plans call for the pilot program, which will be overseen by the BCAA, to charge $1 for one way and $2 for a round trip on the bus.
However, Rodriguez said the price to ride the bus may be lowered.
He said Corpus Christi only charges 50 cents to ride the bus and San Antonio charges 75 cents. “So we may look at the fare structure and see if we can lower it,” he said.
“I’m real excited to see it, and it couldn’t come at a better time, what with the economy being down and people losing their cars and all,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Susan Stasny.
She said she has sat on numerous committees that have studied growth needs of Bee County, “and bus transportation always comes up.”
Anna Simo, who oversees the BCAA, said the buses will help those residents without reliable transportation and will enhance the transportation services already offered by the BCAA in the way of the vans.
Those vans presently carry people to surrounding communities of Skidmore and Pettus for $3 one way and $6 round trip or to Corpus Christi for $19 round trip and Victoria for $15 round trip.
Post a Comment