“The buc” shuttle in Buckhead will soon suspend its Saturday rides and offer a service targeted more towards commuters, officials overseeing the program say.
Jim Durrett, executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District, said the changes make sense based on information the CID received from a consultant. The changes will take effect by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
“We determined the lions’ share of users is commuters, meaning the highest demand is during morning and evening rush hours and we’ve decided to focus 100 percent on the commuter,” Durrett said.
Under the new hours, the Piedmont-Lenox Shuttle will run from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Lenox Park Shuttle will run from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Buckhead CID provides funding for the shuttle. The program was started in 2003 with the aid of federal money. The buc shuttle is managed by the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA).
AECOM Technical services, CID’s consultant, found that 87 percent of the people who responded to a survey of users and non-users said they worked in Buckhead. The consultant also found shuttle riders felt the current routes and schedules were too complicated.
Durrett said the program’s four routes will be consolidated to two. One would begin at the MARTA Lennox station and travel to Piedmont Center. The other would connect MARTA to Lennox Park..
“The amount of time one would wait for the buc shuttle would be reduced to 10 minutes, from 15 to 20 minutes, and also the shuttle will be running in both directions along the new route,” Durrett said. “Previously you might be going out on one road and going back on another. That is going to change. You will be able to pick up the buc shuttle on either side of a street.”
Durrett said the shuttle will be easier for commuters to use and understand.
“I think these are very good changes,” Durrett said. “I’m very supportive of this. I’ve been dissatisfied in what kind of benefit the buc shuttle has provided during my two years here and I think this is an excellent step to improve it and make it a more attractive option for people.”
Denise Starling, executive director of BATMA, said the annual budget of the buc program is around $800,000. She said the contract for running the bus service will have to be rebid as a result of the changes. Durrett said the changes won’t result in any savings to the program, but will repurpose the current budget to other resources.
Starling said one of the key points from the consultant’s analysis was making sure the shuttle is doing the best job it can for a targeted audience.
“What the consultant said is the service had several different audiences that are looking at it, and with the amount of money you have invested in it, you need to do one thing and do it right,” Starling said.
Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition, which advocates for the community, said he understands the CID’s need to alter parts of the shuttle program.
“The Buckhead community is fortunate to have a service like this which is free of cost to the user and it’s difficult to justify the amount of cost they’ve expended over the years for areas that generate a very small ridership but I’m real pleased that they’re going to continue it,” Massell said. “In the future there might be additional subsidies available from other sources that could expand the service.”
