Floyd County completing transit study, seeks public input

Mar. 31—FLOYD COUNTY — A study is exploring transportation needs in Floyd County, including rural areas of the county.

On Thursday, Floyd County presented a public meeting to discuss its Floyd County Transit Plan. In recent months, the county has worked with consultants to study transportation needs and possible solutions in the community.

The county is gathering public feedback, and Floyd County residents are encouraged to fill out a survey.

The Southern Indiana Transit System (SITS) is identified in the study, and the report identifies ways it could be expanded in Floyd County. The study involves the Lochmueller Group and Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group.

SITS, operated by Blue River Services, offers door-to-door public transportation for rural areas of Southern Indiana, including Floyd, Harrison, Washington, Scott and Crawford counties. The service is available for the general public with fees ranging from $2 to $4 per person for one-way trips within the service area.

Floyd County Director of Building and Development Nick Creevey notes that although SITS now exists in Floyd County, it is currently "providing very limited service."

The study notes that improvements to the SITS program in Floyd County could include a mobile app option to schedule and pay for rides, shared rides with passengers traveling in the same direction and a shorter booking window.

The SITS program requires rides to be scheduled over the phone at least 24 hours in advance, but the Floyd County Transit Plan suggests that rides could be booked within two hours.

"I am interested to see where the report finally lands, what those final numbers and proposals look like, so the commissioners will take that into consideration," Creevey said. "So it will ultimately be up to them and county sentiment on how we should proceed, whether it's fixed routes, microtransit... or status quo where we're at.""

Shawn Dikes, regional leader for the Lochmueller Group, said the study will wrap up in early June, and it will then be presented to the Floyd County Commissioners.

He said since the SITS service is still new, it has "tried to balance publicity with actually being able to deliver."

"It's a 24-hour reservation window, which is sometimes tough to pull off if you have to plan for 24 hours in advance," he said. "We also looked at, what are the other service providers. LifeSpan provides services, TARC is in the region, so it's a combination of who can provide these services."

Floyd County Commissioner John Schellenberger said he likes the idea of expanding the accessibility of transit in rural parts of the county.

"Hopefully we can get SITS down to a much smaller window within two hours, and that's going to make it more appealing to the residents," he said. "With that, I think our demand will go up, and that way, they'll be able to get from one location to the other and get back within a very short time."

Dikes said he is looking into the demographics of who needs transit services in Floyd County, whether they are younger people who do not drive or older people who can no longer drive. Factors such as disability and affordability are major factors.

He said the microtransit idea considers the needs of the more rural areas of Floyd County.

"I applaud the county for really looking at rural transit," Dikes said. "It's a harder service to provide than urban transit because for some people, this is their only way to go to the doctor, to go to the grocery store, to go see friends — it is their lifeline. "If you can't travel or move about, your quality of life goes completely down."

"It's a quality of life issue, it's an economic development issue because people could use this to get to work," he said. "It really is going to touch all aspects of the county, and I think it's important to try to provide a sustainable solution that makes sense for Floyd County."

Dikes noted the benefits of making it easier to plan by offering a mobile app option and a shorter booking period for SITS.

"That's going to drive up the demand, but that's not going to overwhelm the SITS service," he said. "So they'll have their dispatch software, but they're going to need a more robust dispatch software on their end, which is going to take some capital investment and some ongoing maintenance."

The study notes that New Albany has different needs than other parts of the county, including the need for more Transit Authority of River City (TARC) routes in the city. In recent years, TARC cut several routes serving New Albany, and the study suggests the restoration of routes, including one connecting Clarksville and New Albany and one going from downtown New Albany to Ivy Tech Community College via Charlestown Road.

The report notes that microtransit in New Albany might include differences such as asking residents to walk a short distance to meet the SITS vehicle unless they have a disability that requires door-to-door service.

Representatives from LifeSpan, a New Albany-based organization, were among the community stakeholders who attended Thursday's meeting. The organization's "Rides to Go" program offers transportation to those in need, which could involve helping senior citizens or disabled individuals get to the doctor's office or grocery store.

Lucy Koesters, chief business development officer for LifeSpan, said there is always a need for more funding and more drivers to serve the high demand for transportation in the community.

Koesters said she is glad that the county is aware of the transportation issues in the community, noting that people rely on LifeSpan to get to services such as dialysis or other medical appointments.

Ramona Miller, director of transportation for LifeSpan, said the organization operates 15 vehicles, and it costs about $10,000 annually to operate one vehicle.

Amy Williams, principal at Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group, said many in the community do not know that SITS is available, and many think it is restricted to medical needs or is limited to low-income clients.

She wants to make sure that "everyone can get to where they need to go at an affordable rate."

"Just because you live in an unincorporated [part of the] county doesn't mean you might not need access to be able to get to and from work or the grocery store or church or whatever it may be."