New ORT route will connect cities in Benton, Washington counties
Posted on Saturday, August 30, 2008
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Ozark Regional Transit of Springdale on Saturday began running a route connecting major cities in Benton and Washington counties. Officials with ORT said they hope higher gas prices in recent months will prompt more people to ride the bus.
The route is being funded by local communities and a grant from the federal government, said Phil Pumphrey, executive director of ORT. There will be four runs a day:
• One beginning at 6: 30 a. m. from Northwest Arkansas Community College to the University of Arkansas, with stops at the Scottsdale Center in Rogers, Elm Springs / White Road, the Northwest Arkansas Mall and the Regional Technology Center in Springdale;
• One beginning at 7: 40 a. m. from the University of Arkansas to the Scottsdale Center, with stops at the Regional Technology Center, the Northwest Arkansas Mall, Elm Springs Road / White Road and NWACC;
• One beginning at 4 p. m. from the UA to the Scottsdale Center, with stops at the Regional Technology Center, the Northwest Arkansas Mall, Elm Springs Road / White Road and NWACC; and
• One beginning at 5 p. m. from NWACC to the UA, with stops at the Scottsdale Center, Elm Springs Road / White Road, the Northwest Arkansas Mall and the Regional Technology Center.
Pumphrey says he believes more routes are needed, but this route is better than nothing. To have any justification for light rail, he said, “ you’d need buses all times of the day. ”
Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton, chairman of the Ozark Regional Transit board, also said more routes are needed.
“ We don’t have multiple buses running at intervals. When you don’t have that kind of money, this is what you can do, ” he said.
“ It’s better than nothing — a whole lot better than nothing. ”
From Saturday through Sept. 12, no fare will be collected on the route.
The transit service also has an agreement with NWACC to allow its faculty, staff and students to ride the entire system for free for the school year, Pumphrey said.
The transit service is receiving a Job Access Reverse Commuter matching grant from the Federal Transit Administration of the U. S. Department of Transportation to fund the route.
So far, $ 33, 500 has been raised for the local match — $ 5, 000 each from Bentonville and Rogers, $ 3, 500 from Washington County and $ 20, 000 from NWACC. It is hoped that Benton County will donate $ 5, 000 to make it a $ 38, 500 local match.
The city of Fayetteville has not been asked to fund the routes. Ozark Regional Transit is asking Fayetteville for $ 254, 000 to fund existing routes. For the last four years, Fayetteville allocated about $ 186, 000 to the service.
“ I think with the funding issue still up in the air, my feeling is it’s going to be an interesting discussion this fall, ” Pumphrey said. He said Fayetteville officials are aware of this added route throughout the two counties, but, he added, “ I think the first issue is solving this issue of the basic service, and that’s still got to come to a vote. ”
ORT also began a route in western Washington County on Saturday. This route was discontinued three years ago because of lack of rider interest, Hunton said.
This western commuter express route begins in Lincoln, travels through Prairie Grove and Farmington into Fayetteville, and provides a return trip in the afternoon from Fayetteville.
It is not adding a bus, only making changes in a rural route already running south of Fayetteville, Pumphrey said.
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