Transit system gets new name, 15 buses

CATA now Rock Region Metro

Rock Region Metro bus driver Glenda Roseburrow (left) dances to music Tuesday after a news conference where the agency, formerly known as Central Arkansas Transit Authority, debuted its name change and one of its new compressed natural gas buses in Little Rock.
Rock Region Metro bus driver Glenda Roseburrow (left) dances to music Tuesday after a news conference where the agency, formerly known as Central Arkansas Transit Authority, debuted its name change and one of its new compressed natural gas buses in Little Rock.

The Central Arkansas Transit Authority formally rolled out its new new name, Rock Region Metro, and environmentally friendly buses on Tuesday, changes supporters say represent the beginning of a more vibrant mass transit system in Pulaski County.

Last month, the agency's board of directors adopted a strategic plan that envisions a $23.3 million upgrade in bus service in the county, centering on a sales-tax increase that must be approved by voters.

"We want to be the system that takes people to where they want to go: Leisure. Family. Work," Allie Freeman, chairman of the Rock Region Metro board of directors, said at a downtown Little Rock event the transit system used to introduce the new buses and new name.

The rebranding initiative, he added, "is meant to be the face of the movement to modernize our transit system."

For now, the bus system will have the new name, a new blue-and-green paint scheme and 15 buses powered by compressed natural gas, which burns cleaner than the diesel the system's fleet of 59 buses now uses and is expected to save the agency $200,000 in fuel costs in the first full year of operation.

The entire fleet also now is equipped to offer free Wi-Fi to bus patrons. A new GPS-based mobile app, called Metro Tracker, will be available by the end of September to provide real-time passenger information. Both are the result of a $600,000 grant from Metroplan, the long-range transportation planning agency for central Arkansas.

The new name, the first since 1986, reflects "a more modern transit system rather than a public service just for those who have no other option," said Jarod Varner, the executive director of Rock Region Metro.

The compressed natural gas buses are part of a $9.3 million upgrade that included the construction of a station to refuel the new buses. They replace the oldest buses in the fleet, which included eight 2001 model buses and seven 2003 buses. Three 2003 models remain.

The new buses go into service today, said Becca Green, the spokesman for the agency.

The remaining buses in the fleet will be rotated out of service over the next few months for new paint, averaging about one a week, she said. Eight buses will remain "wrapped in advertisements through the end of their fleet life," Green said.

Rebranding costs so far include $25,588 for paint and painting labor and $59,386 for new bus stop signs and installation, Green said. The new bus stop signs will feature route numbers and a customized texting system based on stop locations, she said.

Whether the streetcars will keep their distinctive yellow livery remains to be determined, Green added.

Tuesday's rollout is part of a larger initiative revolving, ultimately, around a 0.25 percent sales tax devoted to mass transit that would pay for the construction and operation of two routes in the Little Rock economic core using Bus Rapid Transit, a form of transit equipped with high-capacity buses. Where possible, the routes will feature dedicated lanes -- lanes set aside for particular types of vehicles -- to provide fast and frequent service.

The rapid transit routes would feature level platform boarding in which fares are collected before boarding, much like on high-speed rail lines.

The routes would be focused on downtown, the Capitol, Midtown, the city's hospitals and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The minimum weekday service frequency for each stop would be 15 minutes during peak hours of operation with a minimum weekday span of service lasting 16 hours.

The service improvement plan, if funded, also would increase weekday service frequency and hours on popular fixed-route corridors, introduce new two crosstown routes in North Little Rock that would reduce the need to transfer in downtown Little Rock and a new express route between west Little Rock and downtown.

Other elements include "flex," or on-call service to replace some fixed-route service and community shuttles for west Little Rock, Maumelle, Sherwood and Jacksonville.

Even with the tax increase, the board also is asking Pulaski County and the cities served by the system to commit to continue their annual contributions that now finance the bus system.

"We can't implement that unilaterally," Varner said. "It's on our board of directors to convince our city officials and our stakeholders."

Metro on 08/12/2015

Upcoming Events