Making the Case for Transit: The Valdosta Pilot Shuttle Program
Making the Case for Transit:The Valdosta Pilot Shuttle Program
Southern Georgia Regional Commission
• 18 Counties, 45 cities, 410,000 people• Regional Pop.- 51% rural and 49% urban • 5,142,474 acres of rural pine forests,
national wetlands, and agricultural farmland • 11 counties with 5311 Rural Transit
services
DHS/5311 Coordinated Transportation
DHS/5311 Non-Coordinated Transportation
Valdosta Urbanized Area
DHS Human Service Transportation
Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Area
• Metropolitan status since 2001• 55k population in Valdosta City Limit• 77k population in Valdosta Urbanized Area• 110k population in Lowndes County • 1 of 25 urbanized areas nation wide that do
not have fixed route transit (489 total UZAs)
Valdosta Urbanized Area Transit Study
• In FY16 the SGRC contracted with Tindale-Oliver to develop an implementation plan for public transit in the Valdosta Urbanized Area
• Coincide with DHS Pilot Program to utilize real time data and trends
• Urban Transit has been studied twice since 2006
Why a Fixed Route Shuttle?
• In Region 11, DHS applied for the 5317 New Freedom grant from GDOT/FTA to expand the base of eligible clients needing transportation
• The program had to be a new, never previously funded service, that went beyond ADA requirements, and serve elderly, disable, and low-income persons
How do we identify “elderly, disabled, and low income” individuals?
“A Report on Key Indicators for Establishing Environmental Justice in Transportation
Planning in Lowndes County, 2015”
Environmental Justice MatrixTracts Minorities Elderly Poverty Veh. Access Spanish Education Sum Tracts
101.01 0 101.01101.02 1 1 101.02101.03 0 101.03102.01 1 1 102.01102.02 1 1 102.02103.01 0 103.01103.02 0 103.02104.01 0 104.01104.02 1 1 104.02
105 1 1 1 1 4 105106.01 1 1 106.01106.04 0 106.04
107 0 107108 1 1 1 1 4 108109 1 1 109110 1 1 1 1 4 110111 1 1 111112 1 1 112
113.01 1 1 2 113.01113.02 1 1 1 1 1 5 113.02114.01 1 1 2 114.01114.02 1 1 2 114.02114.03 0 114.03
115 0 115
116 1 1 116
Community Partners
How do we track ridership?
Tracking Ridership @ SGRC Mildred Hunter JP Rodgers Industrial Park Walmart Goodwill Valdosta Mall Library/SGMC Lee/Ann St DowntownTotal On 9 1 1 2 9 2 4Total Off 7 3 1 1 9 5 1
Mildred Hunter JP Rodgers Industrial Park Walmart Goodwill Valdosta Mall Library/SGMC Lee/Ann St Downtown7 to 8 3 8 to 9 1 1 2 19 to 10 2 1 1 110 to 11 1 1 3 2 11 to 12 2 12 to 1 1 1 4 1 to 2 1 2 2 2 2 to 3 1 1 2 13 to 4 1 1 14 to 5 2 1 1 1 15 to 6 3 3
Total # of Riders 17
Ridership by Location by Time of Day
7 to 8 8 to 9 9 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 1 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 5 to 60
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Downtown
Lee/Ann St
Library/SGMC
Valdosta Mall
Goodwill
Walmart
Industrial Park
JP Rodgers
Mildred Hunter
Southern Route Daily Rider Totals
Nov. 23 Dec. 4 Dec. 15 Dec. 28 Jan. 8 Jan. 20 Jan. 30 Feb. 10 Feb. 20 Mar. 2 Mar. 12 Mar. 23 Apr. 4 Apr. 14 Apr. 25 May. 5 May. 16 May. 260
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Avg. Daily Ridership by Month
Nov. Avg Dec. Avg. Jan. Avg. Feb. Avg. Mar. Avg. Apr. Avg. May Avg.5.00
7.00
9.00
11.00
13.00
15.00
17.00
19.00
21.00
23.00
25.00
Tindale-Oliver Community Survey Data
• 512 responses from Feb. 1 - Mar. 31
• 74% - feel need for public transit
• 21% - no vehicle74%
9%
4%
10%
Definitely Not At AllNot Sure Somewhat
If reliable public transportation service were available within the Valdosta area, would you consider using the
service?
No19%
Yes78%
Undecided3%
How often would you likely use public transit?
1 to 2 days per week20%
3 to 4 days per week31%
5 or more days per week48%
Less than once per week2%
1 to 2 days per week20%
3 to 4 days per week31%
5 or more days per week
48%
Less than once per week2%
How should public transit be funded?
Other
I do not think public transit should be funded
Millage Rate Increase
Ad Valorem Tax Increase
Sales Tax Increase
Advertising Revenues
Rider User Fees
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Other
I do not think public transit should be funded
Millage Rate Increase
Ad Valorem Tax Increase
Sales Tax Increase
Advertising Revenues
Rider User Fees
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Where would you like it to go?
Walgreens - Baytree
Troupeville/Brooks County
Other
Ora Lee West Area
Mildred Hunter Center/Hudson-Docket
Stone Creek/Grove Point
Forrest St./Park Ave.
Castle Park/Piggly Wiggly
City of Hahira
Gil Harbin Industrial Blvd.
Moody Air Force Base
Wiregrass Tech
Bemiss Road towards Moody
Dept. of Labor/Dept. of Health
Northside Drive/VSU North Campus/Bemiss Road
Baytree Rd/City of Remerton
VSU
Five Points
South Georgia Medical Center/South Georgia Regional Library
Inner Perimeter Road
Downtown Valdosta
Valdosta Mall Area/Norman Dr
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Northern Ridership by Time of Day by Stop
7 to 8 8 to 9 9 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 1 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 5 to 60
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100Azalea Towers
Convergys
Walmart
Five Points
Wiregrass
eLead/Fresh
VA Clinic
SGMC Library
Northern Route Daily Rider Totals
Mar. 14
Mar. 16
Mar. 18
Mar. 21
Mar. 23
Mar. 26
Mar. 29
Mar. 31
Apr. 2Apr. 5
Apr. 7Apr. 9
Apr. 12
Apr. 14
Apr. 16
Apr. 19
Apr. 21
Apr. 23
Apr. 26
Apr. 28
Apr. 30
May. 3
May. 5
May. 7
May. 1
0
May. 1
2
May. 1
4
May. 1
7
May. 1
9
May. 2
1
May. 2
4
May. 2
60
5
10
15
20
25
30
Avg. Daily Ridership by Month North Route
Mar. Avg Apr. Avg. May. Avg.0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
North and South Daily Rider Totals
Nov. 23 Dec. 3 Dec. 12 Dec. 22 Jan. 4 Jan. 13 Jan. 23 Feb. 2 Feb. 11 Feb. 20 Mar. 1 Mar. 10 Mar. 19 Mar. 30 Apr. 8 Apr. 18 Apr. 27 May. 6 May. 16 May. 250
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Combined Daily Rider Totals
Nov. 23 Dec. 3 Dec. 12 Dec. 22 Jan. 4 Jan. 13 Jan. 23 Feb. 2 Feb. 11 Feb. 20 Mar. 1 Mar. 10 Mar. 19 Mar. 30 Apr. 8 Apr. 18 Apr. 27 May. 6 May. 16 May. 250
10
20
30
40
50
60
Was it a success?
• Did we create a “new, never previously funded service, that went beyond ADA requirements, to serve elderly, disable, and low-income persons?”
• Did we generate data for local officials to use in their decision making process?
• Did we show a need and demand for public transit?
Lessons Learned
• We can’t compare directly to other Urban Transit Systems, because we aren’t one
• Partnerships are key• There’s never enough publicity