The general manager of Lexington’s mass transit system says routing is always a balancing act of weighing costs and passenger numbers. Lextran’s Jill Barnett explained the public bus system’s budget to city council members last week. She said providing bus service well into neighborhoods is not always feasible.
“If you’re going into a neighborhood where perhaps there’s a low productivity or low ridership, are you serving it in the most cost-effective way. Could service be delivered to that area in another way that would still provide access for people who live there, but do so maybe at a more affordable rate for the agency,” said Barnett.
Barnett said the frequency of stops and consideration of where most riders are located need to be considered. The Lextran GM noted some cities have adopted a kind of ride-sharing approach to serving neighborhoods.
The effort to add or replace bus shelters for Lexington’s mass transit system will continue in the months ahead. Barnett said the construction of six new shelter sites was scheduled last week, with plans for 13 more around town.
“After that process is complete, we do have 11 more shelters in our possession now that will either serve to be shelter replacements out in the community, if shelters are beyond their useful life, or if we have other locations that we have identified for a shelter,” said Barnett.
Barnett said seven new buses are on order: four compressed natural gas and three battery-electric. She noted the CNG buses are anticipated later this calendar year while the electric vehicles are not expected until 2023. Barnett added in the future, there will be fewer and fewer diesel buses.