ACTR to expand local shuttle bus services

If the proposal is not greatly altered by outside suggestions, there will be three new expansions, one to the Middlebury Shuttle, another to the Tri-Town Shuttle and the last to the Burlington Link on Saturdays. The goals are to expand services to areas that are not currently covered and to simplify the system to make it more consistent and easier to understand.

Executive Director of ACTR Jim Moulton discussed the difficulties with the current system at the second public meeting, held in the Ilsley Library on Monday, Nov. 30.

“I feel like it’s somewhat difficult to look at the schedule and understand if you haven’t seen it before,” Moulton said. “We want people who have never used it to understand it more easily and more quickly.”

The Middlebury Shuttle

The Middlebury shuttle will be expanded into new neighborhoods and run more frequently with two primary changes. First, the Middlebury bus route will no longer stop on Exchange Street because the new Vergennes and Bristol bus route will stop there, and second, there will be a split in the route between the College and Porter Hospital.

The Middlebury shuttle routes will run every half hour at peak times — that is, in the morning and evening — and every hour during off-peak times. To service more college students, ACTR is considering teaming with Midd-Rides in the future to coordinate routes during off-peak times.

“When I’ve encouraged people to take the bus, I’ve heard, ‘I’m not sure exactly when I’m coming back,” Middlebury resident and College employee Adam Franco said. “But the 30-minute piece will make it a regular, available thing.”

The Middlebury shuttle will run from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. One general concern that people raised was that community members would have no way of taking public transit to an evening event at the College.

“We need the availability of going to a lecture and getting out afterwards and being able to go home,” said Irene Barna, who has worked in Old Chapel for 20 years. “As it is, if there is no bus, I can’t get home.”

Another community member, Laura Asermily, proposed that the bus run later on Fridays.

The Tri-Town Shuttle

The Tri-Town Shuttle currently runs every two hours from Middlebury to New Haven and then either east or south to Vergennes or Bristol. The new proposal will run buses every half-hour during peak commuter times and enable direct transportation from Middlebury to Vergennes and Middlebury to Bristol.

Currently, the trip from Middlebury by bus to either town can take several times longer than it would in a private car.

“I took the bus to Vergennes and it is a long trip,” Barna said.

ACTR is hoping to change the mentality in Bristol and Vergennes by giving the people better public transit options.

“Right now, as a community, Vergennes doesn’t rely on the bus,” Community Relations Manager of ACTR Nadine Barnicle said. “I think this is going to change that.”

The Burlington Link

Currently, the Burlington Link runs two round-trip departures between Middlebury and Burlington on Saturdays. According to the new proposal, the ACTR will expand to four round trips. As the proposal stands, there will be buses leaving every Saturday from Middlebury at 9:50 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 3:50 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. The buses coming back from Burlington will depart at 11:00 a.m., 1:20 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 7:20 p.m.

Many college students mentioned at the first meeting in Hillcrest on Nov. 17 that a later bus from Burlington would give more students the option of having a more leisurely night in Burlington.

“We are currently trying to find a balance so students can use the bus and not feel pressure,” Moulton said.

Deviations

Along several routes, there exists the option to call for a deviation. People living a few blocks from some routes, for example, can call the ACTR office a day in advance to ask to be picked up by their home.

Franco mentioned that some people might be too timid to call for a deviation.

“I feel like calling for a deviation is an acquired skill,” Adam said. “The comfortable response becomes that ‘I just won’t try.’”

Franco proposed that there be clear signs on the streets where deviations are allowed.

Google Transit Provider

The ACTR is proud to announce that the new routes were selected as the first transit partner in Vermont to be a Google transit provider. This means that Internet users can log onto Google Maps, input the starting location and destination as well as convenient times and Google will match the search with the most convenient bus routes.

Barnicle commented that she hopes college students especially will use this tool on their computers or phones.

The Google Transit option will most likely go into effect in the spring.

Moulton added that the plan is only 80 to 90 percent complete and the rest will rely on comments from community members through Friday, Dec. 4.

“We make certain assumptions on things we hear, but we may get different reactions,” Moulton said.

Moulton also keeps an open mind about adjustments in the future.

“Our broad expectation is that this will evolve,” Moulton said. “It will create leverage for additional funding later on for expansion.”

Barnicle discussed how the current route does not even work for her commute to work.

“We will know it works when we can use the system we have designed,” Barnicle said.

Moulton added that the idea of this more functional transportation system would mean a decreased reliance on private cars.

“You have to break the habit of thinking about the car as the first means of transportation,” Moulton said, which yielded an immediate positive response from the audience.