Washington County cutting Transit money could adversely impact young, old

Marty Self, Ozark Regional Transit driver, makes a stop Thursday with an empty bus at the Post Office in Farmington. The 620 route, which makes stops in Prairie Grove, Farmington, Lincoln, Greenland and West Fork, may be cut because of budget cuts.
Marty Self, Ozark Regional Transit driver, makes a stop Thursday with an empty bus at the Post Office in Farmington. The 620 route, which makes stops in Prairie Grove, Farmington, Lincoln, Greenland and West Fork, may be cut because of budget cuts.

Washington County's move to cut $100,000 likely will force Ozark Regional Transit to cut a semi-rural route opponents say provides independence and opportunity for young and elderly riders.

The decision, if justices of the peace don't have a change of heart this month, will effectively kill the route serving West Fork, Greenland, Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln and will take with it transportation options for people with disabilities in that area, according to Joel Gardner, executive director of the transit provider.

On the Web

Washington County justices of the peace have voted twice to cut $100,000 that Ozark Regional Transit uses to pay for a rural route. Here is a link to a map of Route 620:

www.nwaonline.com/d…

Route 620 Riders

2015*2016

CityPickupsDropoffsPickupsDropoffs

West Fork295212532331

Greenland187153217125

Farmington473284197218

Prairie Grove245294309442

Lincoln433381477416

Fayetteville (Lot 56)1,0751,3841,2781,478

Total2,7082,7083,0103,010

Source: Ozark Regional Transit

The Quorum Court voted Nov. 14 to cut the money for Route 620. At the same meeting, justices of the peace reinstated money for the county extension service office they previously decided to eliminate.

The route started about two years ago and is meant to connect rural residents to larger cities. It runs five times a day during the week from 6:15 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. and represents about 2 percent of Ozark Regional Transit's total ridership.

The county left $23,000 in the budget for para-transit service.

"It'll only be a couple of months before that money is exhausted," Gardner said. "The individual cities, they do provide some match to help round out the costs overall, so if they're going to go ahead and match it, that might extend it a little bit longer but nowhere near the level of what we've been able to provide, which is just a crying shame."

Gardner said after that money is gone, all rides, whether for a disabled person going to a doctor's appointment or the average Joe wanting a ride to the dollar store, will be on a first-come, first-served basis with whatever vehicles Ozark Regional Transit has available.

Disabled people are given preferential access to rides as a federal requirement of the route, Gardner said.

"As far as putting more services out there with the $23,000, it is just impossible. There's very little we can do with that," Gardner said. "We will do our best to fill as many demand-response trips as we possibly can."

When the route ends, equipment will be used as spares, and drivers will be absorbed into other routes, Gardner said.

Loss of opportunity

Bill Groom, Greenland mayor, said dropping the route means a loss of opportunity, access and independence for many residents of the smaller towns and rural areas of south Washington County.

"It's more about opportunity than anything else, just opening up the door for kids to get to the university or out to Farmington to the trade school," Groom said. "And, our senior citizens, they need activity. They need to relate to each other, and if that bus doesn't come to town, they're probably not going to get in a car and drive to town. They'd have to depend on family. This makes them more independent."

Gardner said the route serves a wide variety of passengers.

"We've got elderly. We've got college students. We've got people that are going from one city to the next. We've got people who are working," Gardner said. "We've got a couple of community college students that are utilizing that route to connect to other routes at Lot 56 and work their way all the way up to Bentonville."

About seven passengers on the bus Friday chatted among themselves as they headed west out of Lot 56 on the University of Arkansas campus for Farmington, Lincoln and Prairie Grove.

Velda Sturdivant of Farmington was headed home from her job in Fayetteville, and Terry Boles of Springdale was going to Lincoln to spend the weekend visiting family.

"It's convenient. It doesn't cost much, and I don't have to ask someone to come pick me up in town," Sturdivant said. "Right now we're with just one car, so it's very convenient. It's a savings on gas and not having to pay for parking."

Norman Ridenour, the driver, stopped alongside U.S. 62 to let off a man Ridenour said lives in Springdale and rides to the west side of Farmington several times a week.

"He's a special needs guy. If we lost this route, I don't know what he'd do. That's what I worry about," Ridenour said as an aside as he brought the bus back up to speed. "A lot of these people are needy. That's why they don't drive."

On the return trip, Susan Torkelson caught the bus near her home in Prairie Grove for a shopping trip at Wal-Mart on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fayetteville.

Torkelson, a California transplant, said she lost her car to a wreck in December last year. She was injured, had her neck fused and then lost her job. She has no relatives in the area.

"The last six months I've been using it about four times a week to get to Fayetteville. I don't know what I'd do if this resource wasn't available. This has been a lifesaver for me," Torkelson said. "With this resource, I'm able to keep doctor's appointments and not have to rely on other people. If I were to take a job, this would be the only way I could get there. It's like the connection to the world for me."

Gardner presented the Quorum Court on Nov. 18 with alternative ideas to improve the route, instead of cutting it, but justices of the peace again opted not to pay for it. Justices of the peace who voted to cut money for the bus service were Harvey Bowman, Rick Cochran, Tom Lundstrum, Joel Maxwell, Joe Patterson, Sharon Lloyd, all Republicans, and Democrat Gary McHenry.

None of those justices of the peace represent the area where the route will be cut.

The vote against funding came despite a letter from Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce President Steve Clark saying buses benefit all of Northwest Arkansas and the economy.

Gardner said if the county would continue to pay for the route, Ozark Regional Transit could come up with other models and funding strategies to keep the same level of service or provide more services.

"We have a few more days to fight for this service," Gardner said. "It's not over till it's over as far as I'm concerned, and I'm not going to quit fighting for it."

The Quorum Court is scheduled to approve next year's budget at its regular meeting Dec. 15.

Low ridership

Ozark Regional failed to meet expectations, several justices of the peace said.

"I've yet to see a full bus," said Lundstrum, who represents northern Washington County.

Lundstrum said the money should be diverted to the Road Department to care for rural roads rather than Ozark Regional Transit.

Some justices of the peace have spoken out in favor of public transportation.

Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison, a Democrat who represents an area where the route runs, said she's disappointed with the Quorum Court and wants to keep the route, even if it is costly.

"We're never going to have public transportation unless we have a fixed route, and it takes time for people to use it," Harbison said. "I know we only had about 16 people a day using that route, but it was picking up. It was just now getting started."

Harbison said part of the money for the route came from the county's share of a state one-half percent sales tax for transportation projects.

Justice of the Peace Sue Madison, a Democrat representing southern Fayetteville, said the bus service helps poor and elderly people and reduces traffic on roads.

"If we pull funding, [Ozark Regional Transit] won't be reliable, and we won't ever have mass transit in what is becoming a very large metropolitan area," Madison said.

Gardner said building a transit system to meet the needs of the growing Northwest Arkansas region is a long-term effort and the route being cut is a setback.

"We have ourselves something that is slowly building. It works for a lot of people that are out there, and in the two years that we've been doing it, we've provided more than 8,000 trips between those communities and connecting them to Lot 56 on the UA campus," Gardner said.

"Having that toe hold into the rural community through public transit, I know if we can keep it going, it will continue to grow," Gardner said.

Groom said decisions about public transit shouldn't be only about the numbers.

"If you had to analyze it with the numbers available right now on this leg of the route -- if that's all you're considering -- you might come to that decision to pull it. But that's not what it's about; it's about building out for the future," Groom said. "Our ridership is not anywhere near where we want it or need it to be, but if we jerk it now, it'll never grow and blossom."

Groom said the route is needed to help change mindsets about public transportation in the region. He points to trails as an example of how popular thinking has changed over the past several years.

Finding the money

Ozark Regional Transit has a budget of about $3.2 million with 60 percent coming from state and federal money and 40 percent coming from contract work, charter work, and city and county contributions, Gardner said. The transit system is never sure what routes will continue until city and county budgets are finalized late each year.

With that in mind, Gardner is working closely with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission.

Jeff Hawkins, executive director of the commission, said they're trying to identify a long-term, dedicated funding source for a regional approach to public transit.

Hawkins said the current nexus ties service to contributions rather than looking at where the actual needs are.

"It's not a matter of having a pot of money and seeing where it's needed. That's not really the equation," Hawkins said. "The equation is so-and-so is going to put in X amount and they're gonna expect X amount of services in their area. If you don't put any money in, you're not going to get any service."

The better approach, Hawkins said, would be a funding source that isn't tied specifically to where the money's coming from so the money could be used where it would do the most good regionally.

An attempt to pass a regional funding plan several years ago was soundly defeated by voters. Gardner said he thinks the issue may have been approached the wrong way. Supporters asked for the money without having a clear plan for what the finished product would be, he said.

"I believe in the other way around, this is what I propose, help us fund it," Gardner said.

To that end, Regional Planning is going to have a study done to determine what public transit in Northwest Arkansas should look like and identify options for paying for it.

"It's not a social service. What we're doing is helping build the groundwork for a great infrastructure add-on for Northwest Arkansas," Gardner said. "To watch Northwest Arkansas grow, it's phenomenal. And, knowing that we need good public transit to continue supporting the growth here is what I fight for every day.

"It's a giant puzzle. We put the puzzle together one piece at a time, and when this whole thing is said and done, it's going to be a beautiful picture," Gardner said.

NW News on 12/04/2016

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