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Ride Line Considered Aberdeen's Best Kept Secret

Posted on: Monday, 12 December 2005, 21:00 CST

By Mike Corpos, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Dec. 11--Ride Line, an on-demand public transportation system in Aberdeen that provides nearly 100,000 rides a year, may expand its hours and add weekend service after the first of the year, thanks in part to additional money from the federal government.

That's the word from Dave Osborn, Aberdeen's transportation director, who says he believes Ride Line is the city's best kept secret. That's because even though the bus service has been around since 1968, Osborn doesn't believe the public knows it is available to anyone who wants to call 24 hours in advance.

Osborn said Ride Line was initially started as part of the senior center to help transport senior citizens to its activities. "Because of that, I think people continue to interpret it as a bus for seniors only," Osborn said.

But the service has since expanded to serve all people in Aberdeen and within a two-and-a-half mile radius.

Ride Line's main clients - about 75 percent - remain seniors and people with disabilities. But more and more, Osborn said, it is taking after-school pickups as well as young adults just getting started in the workforce.

And Osborn hopes that with the additional federal dollars, Ride Line will be able to expand its hours, which could mean more riders. Osborn is quick to say that any expanded Ride Line services would not be intended to compete with Aberdeen Taxi Co.

"That's why we don't take same-day calls. That's what the taxi is for," Osborn said.

But Mark Weigel, owner of Aberdeen Taxi, thinks the city is already competing with him.

"They're providing public transportation with grant money at a fraction of the cost I can offer," Weigel said. "I don't know how that couldn't be considered competition."

With expanding public transit in the state, Weigel said there are few towns left in South Dakota with cab companies.

Insurance and fuel costs alone make it difficult for Weigel to keep his rates steady.

Earlier this year rates were raised by $0.25 - the first time in six years - and he's looking at another increase before the end of the year.

The cab company may charge a maximum of $3 for a ride of 14 to 17 blocks. The city sets rates for taxi companies. Ride Line charges $1.50, regardless of distance.

"I'm just barely hanging on," Weigel said. "The city has to ask themselves if they want a cab company anymore."

He added that much of the cab company's daily business is people going through their daily routines, much the same as Ride Line customers.

Weigel said his vehicles do not have wheelchair lifts as do several of the city's vehicles. But his drivers will assist patrons with wheelchairs into the car, and help with the chairs as well.

Aberdeen Taxi's daily call numbers fluctuate, he said, but total call volume has gone down for several years.

"Since '99, our gross is probably down about $30,000," Weigel said, adding that the city should talk to other towns that have lost cab companies.

Osborn said the cab company is a necessity, and Mayor Mike Levsen agreed.

Weigel said it helps a little that federal grant rules do not allow Ride Line to take same-day calls, but it still hits him in the pocketbook.

Riders must call in advance: Currently, Ride Line operates as a demand-response service from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Riders must call a minimum of a day in advance.

Diana Daly, Ride Line administrative assistant, said popular destinations are grocery stores, Lakewood Mall, downtown and various doctors' offices. Its busiest times are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 3-7 p.m.

Ride Line has 13 vehicles - some minivans, some wheelchair-accessible buses, some large passenger vans.

Osborn said when he started with Ride Line more than 10 years ago, the one-way cost per ride in town was $1.50. He said the price hasn't changed.

In addition to in-town transit, Ride Line provides a link to Jefferson Bus Lines on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays by shuttling passengers to Summit corner on Interstate 29. From there, passengers can get to Sioux Falls and link up with Jefferson and other national bus lines, such as Greyhound.

One big change that may be coming for Ride Line is station-to-station service, much like public transportation in larger cities, Osborn said. But he doesn't see that happening soon, although it would reduce operating costs, and allow city buses to cover a relatively large area.

Hope to increase riders: His more immediate concern is increasing the number of riders. Ridership has been steady for the last seven years at about 100,000 riders a year. However, for the year ending Sept. 30, 2004, Osborn said rides dropped to about 97,000.

"Future (federal) Department of Transportation funding is based on the number of riders," Osborn said, adding that in this year's transportation grants, Ride Line got a significant increase in its funding, even with lower rider numbers than in previous years.

"Federal money for highways affects Ride Line," Osborn said, explaining that the money comes in Congress' annual transportation bill. "The last transportation bill was very generous to South Dakota."

From 2004 to 2005 the federal bill's funding to South Dakota jumped from $1.5 million to $5.1 million for public transportation.

Once Osborn saw that, he seized the opportunity to apply for additional money for Ride Line. City officials agreed, as long as the money was used to expand service. In its most recent allocation, Aberdeen got $155,300 in state and federal funding, about $24,000 more than in the 2005 budget.

All told, Ride Line gets $99,000 from the federal government, $56,300 from the state, $65,000 in fares and donations, $95,400 from St. Luke's, United Way and other contracts, $13,000 from Medicare and Medicaid, and about $100,000 from the city.

Those income sources come together to cover Ride Line's approved $428,000 budget for 2006.

Ride Line also provides regular transportation for Head Start, the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program and Avera's Worthmore Treatment Center.

A sponsorship program that allows companies to place advertisements on city buses also helps generate revenue for Ride Line.

"Aberdeen is fortunate," Osborn said. "There are a lot of smaller communities around the area that do radio-thons and bake sales to raise their match money for the grants."

Cities must provide 20 percent matching funds for administrative costs, and 50 percent for operating costs to be able to receive federal transportation grants.

Survey assessed needs: In recent months, Ride Line has circulated a survey to determine what the community's biggest needs are in terms of transportation.

With those survey results - the city got about 500 of them back - city officials will determine how to use the new money.

One of the biggest needs cited on the surveys was after-school pickups, Osborn said.

That will be one of his considerations as he looks at how to adjust current services to fit that need. For now the main plan for the new grant money is to expand hours and begin weekend service.

Levsen said weekend service - especially for those with disabilities - is an absolute must.

"It's important that people understand that we provide services for people with special needs. Services that only our vans can provide," Levsen said. "We need to give people with disabilities the same opportunities as everyone else. It would be a failure of our responsibility not to offer that service to people who need it."

City Councilman David Bunsness, a proponent of private industry, said he would need proof that Ride Line wasn't in competition with the cab company before he would support expanding Ride Line services.

"We would have to really look at it and see if there are any ways of avoiding duplication of services," Bunsness said. "I would not necessarily be in favor of it if there's a duplication of services."

With expanded services would come the need for additional drivers.

Six full-time employees: Right now, Ride Line has 13 employees including a dispatcher, an office assistant, a mechanic and 10 drivers.

Six of those employees are full time - three of those are drivers. All are city employees.

As part of any growth, Ride Line would likely need new part-time drivers and possibly another dispatcher. Osborn said he'd also like to extend the office hours - currently 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - to match the drivers' hours.

"Mainly we'll look at Saturday and Sunday services and maybe going a little later at night," he said. "We need to get people out to fill their basic needs. People who work during the week tend to grocery shop on the weekends or at night."

He said he'd like to start offering weekend service soon after the first of the year.

Osborn said he'd need to try different weekend hours to see what are the busy times, and adjust the schedule from there.

"We'd certainly have to look at church times on Sundays," he said.

Any additional or expanded services at Ride Line might also necessitate a full-time administrator, according to Osborn.

As transportation director, Osborn currently splits time between the airport and Ride Line, although he says the airport takes up the majority of his time.

Should Osborn return to Ride Line full-time, he said the new grant money would cover 80 percent of his salary, leaving the city money to pay a new airport manager.

Currently, the airport and Ride Line budgets each pay half of his $54,000 salary.

Other things to think about for the future include expanding the 6-year-old bus barn at 205 N. Fourth St.

"When we were planning for the bus barn, I never would have thought we'd reach its capacity ...," Osborn said. "But we're always looking for newer and better equipment."

Future considerations for equipment include replacing vehicles that have more than 100,000 miles, as well as newer vans with roll-in wheelchair access.

What the future holds for Ride Line is uncertain, but Osborn feels it is a bright future if the service continues to be used.

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Copyright (c) 2005, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

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Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)

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