Aging fleet drives Good Earth Transit to seek parish help

Take a look around the nation and most thriving metropolitan areas offer a bustling transit system; essential for transporting residents for work or daily errands to keep the local economy thriving.

Terrebonne Parish is looking to upgrade its bus fleet to provide better service to attract people back to using the Good Earth Transit system. According to officials, Good Earth has seen a consistent decline of ridership over recent years.

Although the number of riders has remained consistent in 2006, Good Earth has lost on average 100 trips per day in comparison of last years average, now serving on average 600 people per day rather than 700 per day in 2005.

“Ridership is declining because our bus fleet is aging. It’s time for new buses n with the older buses comes a decline in reliability. We are hoping to start replacing buses next year,” said Wendel Voisin, administrator of the parish’s public transit system.

The current fleet of eight buses was purchased, all at once, in 1996 and began servicing routes at the end of the year. The Federal Transit Administration requires service life of 12 years before replacement, with a spare ration no larger than 25 percent. Voisin has worked with the FTA to obtain new buses, regardless of the current constrictions.

“I think they understand our situation n so we are in the process of lining up federal funding along with grant money to purchase additional vehicles,” he said.

Voisin will make a bid for two new buses, to be rotated within the current fleet. Older vehicles will still be used and retracted as they expire, he said.

Passengers are provided some comforts like air-conditioning on buses that were once considered “high-quality” when first purchased, but as buses become outdated a number of problems occur with functionability, the administrator said.

Destination signs that no longer work properly can’t be fixed because manufacturers went out of business or can’t repair parts on older models. Similarly, other equipment on board has become obsolete.

Surveys conducted by Blue Earth have shown riders are concerned with the aging transit system as well.

Declining ridership became too costly for Blue Earth to serve routes throughout rural areas of parish, officials said. In September 2005, the Terrebonne Council on Aging took control of rural transit by offering a demand-response bus system.

The TCOA provides a 32-vehicle fleet in which residents can call ahead for a ride, running between 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Ride requests must be made by 3:30 p.m., and users are encouraged to make a pick-up appointment a day in advance. The ride fare is just $1.

Grants from the state Department of Transportation make rural, curbside pick-up possible and affordable.

“I think transportation is the greatest need there is for the elderly and other people [in Terrebonne],” said Diana Edmonson, executive director of the TCOA.

Edmonson recalls a stretch when she utilized public transit after graduating from high school. She did not have a car and had to get from Montegut to Houma in order to work. By relying on the public transit system, she saved enough money to purchase her own car one year later.

“Without [public transit] I couldn’t get that good job that helped me afford that car. Some people are without reliable transportation to get to work and our service can get them there. We also understand that the elderly need a low-cost alternative and we can provide that, too,” said Edmonson.

The TCOA primarily transports workers and elderly but is open for use general public use.

The program will receive grant money from the state DOT to purchase four additional vehicles; TCOA pays 20 percent of the cost and the DOT will cover the other 80 percent.

Both Blue Earth and TCOA transit suffered little loss from the 2005 hurricane season. Though the Montegut Blue Earth station came close to flooding, no vehicles or stations were damaged. However, downed communication kept the buses out of commission for a week after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The TCOA resumed services one week after Hurricane Rita, when evacuated drivers returned to the area.

“Hopefully we can start getting equipment upgraded,” said Voisin. “I would like to see ridership back to where it once was. Our public transit system is important because it relieves traffic, reduces pollution and is a low-cost option for people.”

Andrea Carlson can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or andrea@tri-parishtimes.com