PART Surry County Express

Transcription

1 PART Surry County Express Reliable & Affordable Transportation for 8 Years & Counting PART runs 10 bus trips to and from Surry County each day with ridership continuing to grow. We have an established route with riders who fill the buses on a daily basis. 1

2 History of Surry County Express 1997 PART Founded Surry County becomes PART Member County November - Surry County Express Route Begins Surry Co. Rental Car Revenue Begins to be Collected 2007 Surry County Express - 12 Trips Per Day 2008 Surry County Express - 18 Trips Per Day Major Service Reduction to 4 Trips Per Day JARC Grant Funding Secured from PART for 2 years Surry Co. Service Added Back to 10 Trips Per Day 2015 JARC Funds Expire - FY2016 budget shortfall 2

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4 Surry County Survey Results Survey was distributed to residents of Surry County via Direct mail, Newspaper Advertising, Social Media. 110 Respondents so far. 4

5 80% of Respondents have used PART Route 6 Surry Express 96% of Respondents Agree with this statement: Public transit expands opportunities and provides access to new jobs and careers as well as to medical care, schools, and colleges. 89.5% of Respondents would like improved transportation choices within Surry County (Such as walking, biking, transit, etc.) 5

6 Additional Comments on Survey I appreciate and like the service. The service was so great to use. I had to stop using the service because of services times. Need later morning trips to go to mall and hospital. More Mid-Day service. The mid-day bus provided people the opportunity to ride the bus back to Mt. Airy for afternoon appointments or sick employees to return home earlier. Some cancer patients rode down to Winston-Salem for afternoon doctor or treatment appointments. Would also like to see another route added in Stokes County YOU HAVE LIMITED THE ROUTES WHICH DO NOT WORK WITH MY 7 AM-3PM WORK SCHEDULE Would like to have availability to Wi-Fi. Would allow one to utilize their time to and from work. I have been a regular PART rider for several years. It is a wonderful service, clean, safe, reliable, stress-free! Please keep current schedule and add mid-day runs, too. I feel these buses are vital to the people of Surry county and this will reflect on decisions come election time. This will also help me be able to make my house payment as opposed to putting it into my gas tank. I retired end of Rode Route 6 from beginning of service until retirement (5 points). Loved it. If I still worked today I would not be able to ride due to cuts in route that picked up at 5 Points about 5:45p as my hours were 8:30a-5:30p with no flexibility to come in early and ride the 4:55pm bus. Impact would have been very costly. I would like a PART route to and from Charlotte. I support PART, think it is awesome and have ed the county commissioners to which I have received no response. This service is people and environmentally friendly. I ride the PART bus every weekday and am very thankful for such an economical, eco-friendly service. Many people depend on this service. The bus drivers are great and it is a stress-free way to travel. We do not currently use PART but, as we age, it is a comfort to know you are there. We do use the VA in Winston, and would shop at Hanes Mall if we rode the bus. We are 79 and 83. I love the PART Bus. I think it was a great idea. It is very affordable and helps to save money in a household that is already trying to live on tight budget. It would be great if Surry County would have a better sidewalk system. There may be less people over weight if they were able to walk to their destinations. I use the PART bus on a regular basis to get to and from work. I would like for Surry Count to be more supportive of this transportation venue. We love YVEDDI! Keep up the good work! I have been a PART rider for years. It's very frustrating when we are constantly having to put up with driver turnover.just when we get a good driver that knows the route - they seem to be traded away to other routes and we're left with ANOTHER NEW driver. They are not trained,slow,and heavy on the brake. What's the problem?? I took the PART bus for several years then our department moved. Please consider stopping at the BB&T University building at 2400 Reynolda Rd. I see PART buses passing the building on the Silas Creek rd. side of the building. I would love to ride the bus again. I spent $ to $ a month on gas. Thanks! The North Forsyth PART would be utilized by northern surry/king riders if earlier pick-up times departing Winston are adjusted. Returning to King at 6:00/6:05 is not accommodating to most riders. This has been a complaint but no adjustments to pick-up times have been made. This is the reason for low ridership and would be utilized otherwise. I work on 1st street at business 40. I had to stop riding when weather started getting cold, along with others, because we have to walk from transportation center all the way down to 1st street area(bb&t, Wells Fargo, WFBH, etc). You adjust routes for a few but will not cater to a majority to get us closer to our buildings. We want to ride. times need to be ajusted so that surry buses can get to downtown terminal intime to make switch outs with other part buses they miss them by about 3 min More later hours for transportation cause buses stop running to early and some US work late hours I adjusted my schedule to use the 7:50am route from pilot Mountain, and the 5:35 evening route from Baptist Hospital. I need this service.. I am 65 years old and driving has become more difficult, esp. in the dark. Using PART for my commute to work is a very important to me. I also feel that it a tremendous help to seniors who need transportation to the medical centers (and even shopping). My father was hospitalized more than 4 months. The PART system provided a safe means of transportation for my mother (80 yrs old), who religiously spent every day with him. It would be nice to have bus service which would make a loop along route 601 from Dobson to downtown Mt. Airy. 6

7 The heater and or air doesn't work on our route a lot of the time. I have gotten sick twice in the last few months because of that I think. I have other medical issues and it is really hard on me if I get sore throats and colds. I love the convenience of riding the bus but you also keep moving drivers around and that is hard on regular riders. senior discount rates with options to assist getting them to their surry county providers as well as stokes and/or forsyth county providers. Carpool daily between Elkin and Charlotte Run late routes so third shift can ride also. Late being 10 pm last ride out to winston PART and its staff does a wonderful job!!! Haven't ridden the Surry Co Part yet, but will be riding it on days it fits my working schedule in Winston Salem. The bus schedule does not accommodate working a 7-7 shift either days or nights. Why does the bus "deadhead for the first trip or last everyday. I actually commute to Greensboro daily but with changing bus routes in winston, it's cheaper and quicker to commute in my Honda. would like a stop closer to Wells Fargo near 1st street. makes it hard to get to work on time walking from where they let us off at bus station. I have been using PART since I starting working for the VA in down town winston in I know how valuable it is to Surry County persons working in winston salem. We need this. Step up surry county. Get your head out of the sand and know we have to go out of our county to survive! If you don't support this then you want to keep us unemployed I use the PART bus most every day..i work in Winston and live in Stuart Virginia...so I really enjoy being able to ride the bus..it helps me so much..please continue to offer routes in Surry county I don't have a clear understanding of start times and how to get from stopping points to my work place. 1 morning trip 9am from mt.airy to Winston......& 1 afternoon trip 7pm from winston to Mt.Airy. Route cuts affected our entire community. Seniors would come to Winston for shopping, meals, etc. Need more morning options (maybe an 8am) and midday/early afternoon/evening options, need to also offer late afternoon route from MA to Winston. Driver refused to allow passengers to ride back to Winston around 5 one evening. They were stranded. More trip times to and from Winston from Mount Airy. When trimmed back times, they were no longer good for my schedule. My wife and I travel together and the cost went up as well. We can drive almost as cheap without the scheduling conflicts. Maybe offer costs savings for families of same household going to same location? I have used the PART bus twice. I used the PART bus for several years before retiring from RJR in 2009.PART is a great asset to our area...many people want to live in our area but have to work outside Surry Co. so this provides a great service to those folks. It certainly helps keep folks living in our area plus keeps a large number of cars off of the road.i am a huge fan. I live in Pilot Mountain and was riding the bus that came to Kimel Park around 7:50 in the morning since I work from 8 to 5 then you changed drivers and the new driver is always late. Then I had to go to King and ride that bus so that I could get to work on time. That bus gets me at work 15 to 20 Mins early. Could you add a few additional bus runs to Mount Airy, NC?? such as during the middle of the day??? Please add the 2400 Reynolda Rd. stop to the Surry route. I see the buses go by but they do not stop. I rode the bus for 3.5 years prior to our dept. moving to the BB&T University site. I spend roughly $ for gas monthly so this service is extremely useful to me. My daughter, who has cerebral palsy and is a fan of the PART buses, used to ride the old Surry County route once a week at mid-day northbound from Hanes Mall to Mt. Airy Park and Ride, then back again. We miss the round trip opportunities so much! I like the varied schedule so I can always come in earlier or stay later to accomodate my schedule. We need a mid-day route for those riders who need transportation at a time other than early morning or late afternoon I have rode the PART BUS from Surry County to Forsyth Hospital going on 3 years now. The expanded bus routes are needed and a cut in those routes will only lead to dissatisfied customers, a decrease in the amount of people that ride the bus, and very cramped seating (sometimes an unsafe amount of people standing). I really enjoy riding! Thanks would like stop closer to new government center or jail area on route 6. morning inbound moreso than south outbound in pm. hard to get to work on time when you walk several blocks. I am a single parent of an adopted 15 year and I am over 60. I need the PART bus so I can make a house payment and not put that money into my gas tank. Please keep the buses running. I would like to see a 12:00 bus going back to Mount Airy so I can work 1/2 a day and be back in time for late afternoon appointments. Thanks in advance for everything 7

8 Letters and Signed Statements of Support for Surry County Express 8

9 SURRY COUNTY RIDER TESTIMONIAL Do I have a Surry Express story to share? Where do I begin???? In December of 2007, I lost a great job in Textiles due to the collapse of the industry in the US and decided to return to school. I attended Surry Community College for two years and received a degree in Accounting in the Spring of After applying for numerous positions in my home town of Mount Airy with no success, I was lucky enough to get a job working in the Finance Department of the City of Winston-Salem. Unfortunately, this entry-level position paid roughly half what my former job did and my immediate thought was How in the world am I going to afford gas to Winston- Salem and back 5 times per week??? Then someone mentioned Why don t you ride the PART bus? I didn t even know what a PART bus was at the time, but after checking it out, I started riding in June of 2010 and have been riding ever since. Even with current gas prices and with a vehicle getting 20 MPH (which I don t have!), I would be spending $50.00 per week to commute back and forth, not to mention the wear and tear on my vehicle. With PART, I was able to make ends meet by spending only $90 per month on getting to work (less than HALF what I would have spent on gas). Now that I have been riding for almost 5 years, I can t imagine not having PART. In fact, I doubt I could even afford to work at my job without the bus! I understand how those of Surry County that don t ride the bus feel about having to help pay for the service but I wish some of them would give it a try and it might change their minds. I know a lot of elderly people who could use it to travel to the hospitals and Hanes Mall if they just rode once and discovered how simple it is to ride. I have suggested more than once to more than a few people that instead of simply levying a fee on those folks who oppose helping pay for PART, they should consider giving them a free round-trip pass in exchange for their yearly contribution. In that way, they would receive something for their money and they would also be more inclined to give the bus a try, which could potentially increase the ridership and make the busses more self-sufficient. Another fact is that those of us who work out of town and ride PART every day make a great deal of money altogether, which gets brought back to Surry County to be spent. Without PART, I m sure a good portion of us would be unemployed and instead of spending Winston-Salem money in Surry County, would be receiving unemployment, buying food with EBT cards and receiving medical care at the expense of tax dollars that came from the very people who don t want to pay for a service they don t use. In the long run, they would probably end up paying anyway in my opinion! That s my story without PART, I could not have survived the loss of my job and would most likely have become just another welfare case. Instead, thanks to the low-cost transportation provided by PART, I have survived and will continue to survive as long as PART continues to roll up and down highway 52 each week! Thank for your attention! Russell W. Frye City/County Purchasing Department 324 City Hall / 101 N. Main St. Winston-Salem, NC (336) / (336) fax russellf@cityofws.org 9

10 SURRY COUNTY RIDER TESTIMONIAL Why I Use PART Surry Route 6 I have been participating in a PART Vanpool/Bus service for most of the 10 years that I have worked at BB&T in downtown Winston-Salem. By riding the bus each day it allows me to travel safely to and from work with little or no stress. Having the bus service also allows me to bring ALL of my paycheck home to Mt. Airy to spend IN Mount Airy/Surry County. Without this service I would be spending more time and money commuting, buying gas and trying to maintain my car. I love the bus and would even consider paying a little more per month, if that is an option, along with what money should come from Surry County/Mount Airy. Just in case you didn t know not everyone that rides the bus is going to work. We see riders that are on their way to one of the hospitals for appointments, Vets going to the VA, and others that are just going to the Mall for a day of shopping. This bus service supports many many people from Surry County and also from the Virginia border towns to Surry County. This service is very important to a lot of people. I think you as a Surry County Commissioners should contribute to this very important service. Thank you for your consideration. Alberta I. Livengood BB&T Commercial Finance Analyst Branch Banking & Trust Company 200 West Second Street, Winston-Salem, NC Phone: Ext. 26 or Alivengood@bbandt.com or ablhelpdesk@bbandt.com Fax: