Expenses, Few Riders to Halt Q.C.’s Bus Route to Tempe
By Sarah J. Boggan, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.
Jun. 21–Queen Creek’s bus route to Tempe — which town leaders thought would help with commuter gridlock — will be canceled in September.
Started in January, Route 534 was part of a trial run through June 30. But with an average ridership of five people a day, 100 trips a month and a cost of $6,000 monthly, town officials say the expenses are outweighing the benefits.
“We started it as an experiment to gauge interest in ridership, and the ridership is too low to continue the service,” Town Councilman Jon Wootten said.
Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said Queen Creek provides all funding for the route, and the town has a $33,000 contract with the company for the route’s trial run through the end of June. It will cost the town another $18,000 to run the bus another 90 days, a Queen Creek staff report states.
The Tempe destination was chosen because it’s the second largest draw for the town’s commuters, with about 900 Queen Creek residents working in Tempe ZIP codes. Chandler is the top draw for Queen Creek commuters, according to information provided by Mark Young, Queen Creek’s intergovernmental liaison.
The route is a single roundtrip from Queen Creek to Tempe, leaving the town’s Desert Mountain Park at 6:15 a.m. and leaving Tempe at 5:15 p.m.
“Right now it was just a long trip to Tempe and back, and if you missed the bus, you’re in trouble,” Mayor Art Sanders said. “We’re waiting to get more demand. We just don’t have the ridership to make it worthwhile. We have a lot more places we can use that money.”
Queen Creek resident Jennifer Theirel said she’s upset at the cancellation. She rides the bus every day and said the largest number of riders she’s seen is about a dozen people — but that’s not the norm.
“Saving money is the main thing,” Theirel said in an e-mail interview about riding the bus. “The price of a bus pass compared to the price of gas is well worth riding the bus.”
Tierney said there are alternatives to the bus, such as van pools. The town, in conjunction with Valley Metro, is planning a public hearing and open house to give residents the opportunity to provide input on transit options, including the bus service. No date has been set for the meeting.
Wootten said town residents work in so many different places that more than a single route will be needed to make the mass transit option work. “The way the town has grown and the way the employment areas are, the point-to-point bus service isn’t workable on a small scale,” he said. “Bus service in Queen Creek — it’ll be a struggle to make it viable.”
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