ATA Bus Executive Director Anne Smith says it’s now longer important to personal a car to travel around Manhattan successfully. And after listening to rider remarks, ATA Bus, also referred to as the Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency, has improved and altered routes, mainly to a 154% boom in ridership in the last year. Smith stated that the idea is to cater to citizens, specifically individuals who don’t want personal motors, by creating stops at popular shopping and clinical areas. According to ATA records, 1 in 10 residents renting in Manhattan do not own a vehicle.
We truly, actually need to try to meet the wishes that our clients have,” Smith said. “It’s a true, financial lifeline for them. Last year, the department added thirteen transfer places in preference to just one inside the town.
Additionally, the branch delivered, removed, and reconfigured routes powerful July 29, after evaluating stop frequency records.
Route changes
Here are some of the current modifications:
• The red path changed to Route 1, extending west to Westloop and Candlewood.
• The inexperienced direction is now Route four, including a prevent at the City Park.
• The blue route is cut up into creating routes 2 and 5. Route 2 adds stops along Scenic Drive and a stop at Village Plaza, while Route five has extra stops alongside College Avenue.
• The K-18 Connector, or yellow course, is now Route three with additional stops on the excessive school-going northbound and Redbud Estates.
• The orange direction cuts up into, making routes that upload a brand new forest at Kansas State University, among different stops.
We’ve come thus far, and I’m excited to see where matters are headed,” Smith said. The branch has visible a significant increase in riders in view that May 2018; as of records from May 2019, ridership has improved by way of extra than 1 times across Manhattan over the past 12 months.
Summer and fall
Over the summer, with multiplied production, Smith advises riders to be patient as a few construction warm spots, consisting of northern Manhattan and around Kimball, cause moderate delays. To initiate the adjustments, ATA Bus hosts classroom schooling for bus drivers and dispatchers to research the brand new adjustments. In addition to course differences, the buses going for walks through Kansas State University are gaining a facelift. Each bus is adorned with a one-of-a-kind Willie the Wildcat layout, Smith said.
We’re without a doubt excited about those,” she stated. “So we’ve labored with K-State for a while, and so o., K., let’s suppose outdoor the field, and how will we make things less difficult for college students on campus to distinguish the buses.’ … They’re turning out very well.
Smith said ATA Bus is creating a schedule right now for K-State football recreation days.
A schedule could be posted on the branch’s website once it’s complete. Moving forward, the branch hopes to feature bus shelters with the aid of the year’s give up and maintain to enlarge the routes, Smith stated. Additional information about bus path adjustments can be discovered on the ATA Bus homepage at the Riley County website. The address is rileycountyks.Gov/1683/Bus-Routes.
