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County Set To Cut Back North Escambia’s Only ECAT Bus Route
May 16, 2010
The only Escambia County Area Transit route that serves North Escambia will be cut back if proposed changes in the county’s public transportation routes are made following a Thursday public hearing.
The Saturday transit bus that serves Century, Molino and Cantonment would be eliminated due to low ridership if the plan presented to the Escambia County by ECAT is approved. The route would also no longer service the “Park-n-Ride” lot at the old Winn Dixie in Cantonment.
The Escambia County Commission is set to hold a public hearing on the proposed changes at 5:32 Thursday afternoon and then vote on the proposal.
The “Route 60″ bus makes three weekday trips with stops between Century and the ECAT transfer center where it allows riders to connect to the rest of the ECAT network. It currently makes the run twice on Saturdays.
Most of the proposed changes across the county are simple route changes or service additions, with just a few routes seeking service cuts. For information on all route changes, click here.
According to an ECAT memo from General Manager Kenneth Gordon, the route changes in the county are designed to improve safety, improve on-time performance, improve connectivity between routes, provide service to under-served areas, reduce complaints and improve operating efficiencies.
ECAT is required to present proposed route changes to the Board of County Commissioners for discussion and public input. After the board discusses the plans on March 11, a 30 day period for public comment will be allowed and then then plan will go back to the commission.
The North Escambia to Pensacola Route 60 bus in the most expensive bus per hour in the entire public transportation system in the county.
The bus costs $11.15 per passenger to operate, according to ECAT numbers from the last fiscal year — a decrease from $16.27 the previous year. That’s the most expensive cost per passenger by far over any other bus in the system, with every other route falling below $8 per person (except for a free tourist route). The next most expensive route per person is a crosstown/airport route that costs ECAT $7.82 per person. The Century and Molino to Pensacola bus is also the most expensive per hour to operate in the ECAT system, at $60.67, down from $78.29 per hour the previous year.
A total of 9 ,430 riders took the Route 60 bus over a one year period, up from 7,819 the previous year. That compares to 162,403 on a Davis Highway area bus.
Pictured above: The current “Route 60″ Century and Molino to Pensacola ECAT route map. Pictured below: A current timetable for the bus. Click to enlarge.
Comments
14 Responses to “County Set To Cut Back North Escambia’s Only ECAT Bus Route”
I have never seen that bus more than 1/3 full. The fact is, budgets are lower and something has to be done. Every time the BOCC, including Kevin White are faced with cost increases on the horribly little used whole ECAT system, they propose a gas tax increase. Is that what you folks really want?
Get over yourselves. They should raise the costs for ridership and see how many people support that!!!! But you have no problem taxing the masses so a tiny few people have a convenient bus to ride. That is just sad and anti-community.
REGARDING:
“ECAT (Escambia County Area Transportation) is a Grossly WRONG name. ”
True. It really should be named SECAT, Southern Escambia County Area Transportation or possibly lately even SEASRCAT, Southern Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties Area Transportation. But that would be honest and open, so don’t expect any name changes just as nobody ever expected it to service all of north escambia county.
If I lived at the tail end of Fanny Road, I would not expect an ECAT bus to service me.
If I lived near La Floresta Perdida, I would expect to see an ECAT bus only if the driver were lost.
I wouldn’t expect to see them near either Piggly Wiggly or near the intersection of Nokomis Road and North Pineville Road.
And neither would you.
It would be nice but there’s no way we could afford to serve everybody. Maybe Century is special and should get special consideration, but even then, it would just be southern Escambia County AND CENTURY. Nearly everybody else would be left out–still not fair as defined by everybody getting an equal piece of the pie.
David for reality
ECAT (Escambia County Area Transportation) is a Grossly WRONG name. It is like the Former Arts Council of NW FL. the name implies a much larger organization of much greater influence and impact – delusions of Grandure? But what has happened to “Commom Sence & Sensibility”.
Escambia County FL has NEVER had a County wide transportation system. What ever happened to the Stimulus/grant money so highly touted to buy new smaller busses? Kevin White, How long could you run a 15 passenger van for what the Bratt Park cost?
The Century bus was started to get people off welfare in 1996, and was connected to tourism jobs on the Beach. But it was never supposed to be “self supporting”. Who ever said that “ridership” was THE INDICATORowNow about if we use ECONOMIC IMPACT or transportation costs as a percentage of “personal disposable income”.
Public transportation is about the need of the people, not to be a tool of punishment when denied!
Don’t kick over MY rice bowl because ECAT is out of touch and a rotten manager!
I agree with Dnutjob! Well said… How many ways can a commissioner sell ya out? Hmmm let’s count the ways…this is just one more of ‘em..
Folks remember this at election time!
REGARDING:
“One of the many paybacks to come from killing consolidation.”
Not that we wouldn’t have, but we didn’t.
When you have a limited amount of money, and we all do, you have to limit how you spend it. Money not spent on the few who would have used it using the bus up here would not be available to help the many who would use it down there.
If there are no jobs you can do where you are and there are jobs you can do elsewhere…….
David thinking some would be better off elsewhere
One of the many paybacks to come from killing consolidation.
The ECAT should definately try a smaller bus on that line, or maybe cut back to two trips on weekdays. Right now,that line costs more than $3.00 per passenger to operatethan the next most expensive,so it is clear that something must be done.
Bottom line is, if you want public transportation,you need to support it by using it. Complaining about the lack,when all we had to do was to ride it seems a bit silly.
This is another of those things we get to cry about losing when we show by our actions that we never wanted it to begin with.
but they can run a bus to Santa Rosa county?
Way to go Kevin White! north end screwed again, our money is the same color as every everybody elses.
I live on Hwy 29 and I noticed this week for the first time ECAT was running a smaller bus on the Century route.
I am assuming that the Rt. 60 bus is a full sized bus as I have never seen a 10 or 20 passenger ECAT bus. I’ve always wondered why they run the standard size busses with so few passengers. That makes it appear that the service isn’t being managed well. It would be great if they made some significant effort to promote the bus service. They could offer 2 weeks of free rides so people could take an opportunity to see if they can make necessary connections that would facilitate their transportation needs. You know, the bus goes to the beach and once you are there the trolly is free so that makes frequent trips to the beach quite doable, considering that there were a more reasonable fare. The way the service is set up now with high fares and infrequent trips it’s not likely there are many people who find that adequate. But then again, maybe that’s why it is the way it is.
I agree with Julie, the public transportation should remain; because there are alot of people that either needs a ride to work because of having no vehicle or perhaps they might not even have a drivers license. So if the public transportation stops then there will possibly be illegal driving, because they are being forced to do so…
assuming all people are of equal worth, considering the few people using the service up here, let us rejoice they don’t just provide multiple seat bicycles instead
Let me see.. Century has a few hundred people go to the recent job fair and now if they get hired, they may not have transportation to get to the job.
Also, if the busses run in the southern part of the county on Saturday then they should run for any residents in the North end. Our tax dollars are just as worthy and just as expensive…public transportation should remain!