Fixed-route bus service coming
For the first time in almost 30 years, Brainerd will have a regular weekday fixed-route bus service.
Starting Monday, Brainerd and Crow Wing Public Transit will have a bus every hour at 14 stops from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. in Brainerd and Baxter.
Members of the Transportation Committee have been working on the idea for the past eight months, said Tom Jay, transit coordinator. The service was created because people wanted it, he said.
"It kept coming up, no matter what community group you were a part of, or in surveys, it always surfaced at top of list - you guys need a fixed route bus," Jay said. "This certainly is an opportunity for people to catch a bus at a stop, at a set time, which is what they've been asking for."
Brainerd-Crow Wing Public Transit Coordinator Tom Jay stopped to talk with a transit bus driver Wednesday afternoon at the Brainerd Public Library. Starting Monday the transit will offer a fixed-route bus service, with 14 stops in Brainerd and Baxter with the library being the routes' focal point.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
The fixed route service will not replace or change the Dial-A-Ride system, Jay said, but it will be different from Dial-A-Ride in that there will be fixed stops and times instead of calling in a day or more in advance for a reservation on a bus.
"The really important part for us was to not do anything Dial-A-Ride does," Jay said. "The goal was to find opportunities within the Dial-A-Ride system where we could establish a fixed-route bus without hurting a that service."
Officials in Brainerd and Baxter are excited about the new bus service.
Dale Parks, Transportation Committee chairman, said the committee knows there will be some tweaking with the route but it was important to have something in place. It is hoped the new service attracts new customers.
"A big goal for us to increase ridership and we feel this is a good first step to increasing our ridership," Parks said. "It will allow us get people who don't want to sit and wait (for Dial-A-Ride). Now when the bus comes by, if you're at designated spot you'll be able to get on or off and know when the bus will be back for your return trip."
"It's a great step in our transportation evolution," Baxter City Council member Todd Holman said at Tuesday's council meeting.
The starting point for the fixed-route bus service will be at 9 a.m. at the Brainerd Public Library. From there the bus will follow an east route with stops in order at Brainerd Medical Center, at Southeast 13th and Oak streets, Southeast 28th and Oak streets, the Holiday Station on Mill Avenue, Cub Foods at the East Brainerd Mall, Washington and South Sixth streets and at Laurel and South Seventh streets before returning to the library.
At 10 a.m. the west route starts from the Brainerd Public Library followed by stops in order at Walgreens, Westgate Mall, Super One Foods, Target, Cub Foods in Baxter, Walmart and Central Lakes College before returning to the library to restart the east route.
The bus will return to each stop after about an hour. A route map and specific times when the bus is expected to be at each spot are available at the transit's website, www.brainerdcitybus.com.
The fare for a single ride is $1, a bus pass good for 10 rides is $10 and children 5 or younger ride for free. Exact fare will be needed as the driver cannot give change.
The bus service will run Mondays through Fridays all year except on certain holidays - New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Friday and Christmas Day.
The bus is equipped with a wheelchair lift and bike racks.
The new fix-route service doesn't include new buses or employees, Jay said. Brainerd-Crow Wing Public Transit used and shuffled existing resources to fill the service.
"We really just evaluated the resources we have and tried to make better use of them," Jay said. "We only have so much money, so many assets and resources. This is what we could do with what we have."
Jay said the hardest part has been getting the word out about the new bus service. He's been at each of the stops handing out brochures and though it's not a full-fledged bus service that runs all day, he said people have been excited.
"People have talked about how they remember the route service from past and look forward to the opportunity to jump on a bus without making a reservation," Jay said.
Parks said the bottom line should be better efficiency for riders.
"We really feel that for a lot of people this will be a great benefit," Parks said. "And for those who need door-to-door service, Dial-A-Ride will still be available."
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.