What will the community bus line look like in the next five or ten years? For a community growing like Rapid City, now is the time to start asking that question – and they’re looking for the publics’ input.
Some projections estimate Rapid City welcoming 2,000 to 4,000 new residents yearly over the next decade – along with their cars.
That caught the attention of those operating the Rapid Transit System. Transit division manager Megan Gould-Stabile said it’s time to take a hard look at local network.
“Per a recommendation we received about two years ago from our transit development plan, they made that we just go through the current routes that we operate and look at them and determine how we can make them more efficient," Gould-Stabile said. "Seeing that the city is growing, we have to basically fix the core routes that we have before we can do anything outwards.”
She said route expansion is on the table, but there are obstacles.
“Once we start replacing the current fleet we have with newer fleet, because they’re all getting old and hitting their useful life, and we look at possibly expanding in the long-term the biggest issue is going to be financial," Gould-Stabile said. "How are we going to come up with the funds to not just implement a change in expanding our routes but being able to continue to operate that years down the road.”
Gould-Stabile said people underestimate the utility of a strong public transit system.
“A lot of people don’t even realize where we go, what we do, and how we operate," Gould-Stabile said. "Educating the community – everyone that lives here – on what we do and letting them know how important it is and emphasizing that will hopefully have them support us even more in the long run. It’s just really hard to explain to somebody - ‘how do these kids get to school?’ They get on our bus.”
Public comment continues through this week and can be submitted at the Rapid Transit Offices on 6th Street. Route maps can be found here.