the city bus system
Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by molly in op-ed
words > CRAIG AINSWORTH
A trip across Wichita can take as little as 15 minutes unless you are utilizing our current public transportation system. Taking a bus from the Eastside of Wichita to the Westside can take over two hours and must occasionally be followed by a long walk or bike ride. There are many words that could describe our current transportation system, however, words like practical, efficient, and quality would not be on that list. Richard Schodorf, President of the Wichita Transit Advisory Board, uses words like “Stone Age.” Michael D. Vinson, Director of Transit, says that we have a “marginal system” and it “needs improvement,” sentiments that Council Member Longwell has supported for years.
100 years ago, when Wichita had a trolley system, the trolleys would run seven days a week and until midnight. Now Wichita’s bus system runs six days a week and only until 6PM. The 18 routes Wichita currently employs resemble a bicycle tire when looked at on a map. Buses travel in large oddly shaped circles, departing and returning to a central hub while leaving huge portions of our city and outlying suburbs completely without service. If you are lucky enough to live in areas of our city near bus stops, you can only catch a bus about every hour. If a bus shows up early, it could lead to an hour wait and a very upset employer. In Wichita it is impossible to maintain a second or third shift job across town and have reliable transportation to work without owning a car. This lack leaves large parts of our community unemployed and commonly relying on social services or underpaying jobs to survive.
Without a better transportation system, our downtown restaurants will continue to lose business as the Arena becomes more popular. There will be fewer parking places for restaurants and bar patrons in Old Town, forcing people to look elsewhere for dinner and entertainment. A few summers ago when gas prices went up, a governmental study concluded that most people were spending more money on gas than they were on food. If we do not have a good public transportation system put in place when the price of gas rises again, people will have less money to spend, resulting in closing businesses and more lost jobs, exacerbating the problem we already have.
Air quality is another issue. Wichita has one of the worst qualities of air in the country. Wichita air pollution is very close to 75ppm (parts per million), which is very high for any town and is also the legal limit. Polluted air can cause chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, as well as damage to the brain, nerves, kidneys, and liver. The growing lungs of children are most affected by the pollution, which commonly causes bronchitis, asthma, and allergies. These effects are magnified in the elderly. The current administration believes that the pollution levels are dangerously high and have plans to lower the legal levels soon. If the legal limits for air pollution are at all lowered then Wichita is in danger of being in violation. Violating EPA air quality regulations will cost our town millions of dollars in fines, emissions control, and enforcement.
To make matters worse, funding for our public transportation system was lowered 30% in 1995 under Chris Cherches, former City Manager. Now funds allocated by the City Council for the current system equal about 25% of the funds allocated for the public transportation system in Topeka, a town whose population is 50% smaller than Wichita’s. A recent 1,500-hour study by KU found that although 5% of Wichita currently utilize public transportation, 80% of Wichitans support and would use a quality and efficient system.
There is hope for the future of local transportation. Many groups like Wichita Transit, The City Counsel, and The Wichita Transit Advisory Board are working together to come up with a plan to improve the Wichita Transportation System. GPS devices are in place now on all buses, and by the spring of 2011 we will be able to get real-time information on the arrival time of buses from our computers, LED clocks placed at some bus stops, and maybe even from our iPhones. There is movement towards a better bus system, but it is going to take time, money, and a lot of community support.
One Response to “the city bus system”
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Melanie
22. Jul, 2010
I just moved here from the Northwest, and the big movement there is to make things more bike friendly in addition to improving public transportation. With Wichita as flat as it is, and so well laid out, I think biking as transportation is a real possibility here for most of the year. Placing bike racks in Old Town will encourage people to ride to their favorite restaurants instead of driving in and relying on elusive parking spots. You can even park somewhere outside the crunch area and then ride the rest if you live too far.
There is an organization in Spokane called Pedals 2 People which helps those who can’t afford cars to get bicycles. If they will put in the time to build the bike, the P2P volunteers will show them how and give them the materials. A bicycle has incredibly low maintenance costs, and the only cost of fuel is at the grocery store!
Pursuing bike-friendly policies in Wichita would be a great way to help both environmental and social concerns.