Metroplan is conducting an online survey as part of a study assessing the feasibility of establishing an express bus service between Conway and Little Rock, the central Arkansas long-range transportation planning agency announced Wednesday.
People interested in participating in the survey can find it at www.metroplan.org or at www.cat.org, which is the website of the Central Arkansas Transit Authority. The survey will be available until Oct. 31.
The survey will help determine the level of support for an express bus service between the two cities and North Little Rock, the agency said in a news release.
Unlike a traditional local bus service that has several stops along a route, an express bus service has limited pick-up and drop-off locations for faster trips, the agency said.
The study was initiated by officials in Faulkner and Pulaski counties.
“It is important to continually evaluate transportation infrastructure and options,” Faulkner County Judge Allen Dodson said in the release. “I think there’s no question that a Conway-Little Rock express bus service will be viable at some point.
“This study will help us make more informed decisions regarding the timing of such viability. An express bus service would hopefully provide our people with a more affordable transportation alternative while easing congestion, reducing fuel usage, and reducing emissions.”
The survey asks about a dozen questions.
They include how often the survey-taker travels between Conway and Little Rock and whether it is for work, school, shopping and entertainment, services or “other;” the time of day he departs and returns; what days of the week the commute takes place; home location; most frequent destination; the closest major intersection to home and destination; and how likely the person surveyed would be to use the express service and how often he would use it.
The survey also asks participants to state the maximum amount they would pay for a one-way fare and for a monthly pass.
Finally, the survey asks for up to three things that would encourage the participant to use the service. They includethe proximity of a bus stop to his home, the sale of bus passes at his work site, employer-offered pre-tax credits for riding the bus, amenities such as wireless Internet access, safety or the price of gasoline reaching either $4 or $6 a gallon.
The study will be published by the end of the year and identify potential ridership, operating costs, revenue and other public benefits from an express bus service, the news release said. The study also will identify the best routes between the cities.
Metroplan has set aside $30,000 for the study, 80 percent of which is federal money, said Casey Covington, the director of the Central Arkansas Regional Transportation Study, which is the agency’s ongoing cooperative effort to implement a longrange transportation plan for the the region.
Five local entities are contributing the remaining 20 percent, or $6,000. They include CATA, which is contributing $2,000, said Sharon Williams, the director of administration for the agency.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 19 on 09/29/2013