From Topekans in Support of Public Transportation, December 21, 2010
In a surprising policy reversal the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority (TMTA) Board has voted to maintain the existing evening and Sunday demand response bus service.
At their monthly Board Meeting yesterday, December 20, 2010, TMTA staff reported that staff members had spent several days riding the day-time fixed routes to see how service could be provided more efficiently. They discovered that by eliminating unused or under-utilized time points (stops) and the least productive trips at the beginning and end of several fixed routes enough savings could be found to address TMTA’s budget shortfall.
Staff recommended making those changes to the fixed route services, maintaining existing Sunday service and ending the existing evening service an hour earlier at 10:30pm. The Board voted instead to adopt the recommended changes to the fixed route, but to maintain the Sunday and evening service as is, with evening service ending at 11:30pm.
Originally, TMTA had planned to eliminate the least productive fixed route trips and replace the existing evening and Sunday service with extended service on most of the fixed routes that would have ended an hour earlier than the existing evening service. The original changes were scheduled to take place in January 2011. The approved fixed route changes will occur soon after the TMTA drivers complete their annual route “choose-up” which is scheduled to take place this week.
TMTA also plans to issue new, more “user-friendly” bus schedules in January.
Kevin Siek
TSPT