While the original date for the new $1 million transit system to start operating was by July, The River parishes Transit Authority said it would probably be a couple more months before the buses get rolling.
Transit Authority member Corey Faucheux told the Herald-Guide that while they have made a lot of progress so far, there’s still a lot of work to be done to get the project up and running.
“The start date has been pushed back from what we originally expected but from as far as I know it’s not by much,” Faucheux said.
“We’re in the process of looking at bus prices, where to place transfer points, how we’re going to use the funding, where to place a terminal and a dispatch center; We still have quite a few things going on.”
The idea for a multi-parish bus line that would run all the way through St. Charles and St. John Parishes was initially presented to the River Region Caucus in September of 2006.
It was met with great support from both St. Charles Parish President Albert Laque and St. John Parish President Nickie Monica.
The program’s funding is derived from a $1.3 million federal grant over the next three years, which leaves the parishes fronting roughly $125,000 each to keep the buses running.
The initial plan calls for a “Hybrid Demand Response Service” that would operate using 15-20 passenger buses similar to the vehicles used for airport shuttles, according to transit authority member Brent Petit.
Both parishes will be split into zones with a certain bus assigned to patrol each zone.
Connecting routes between zones would allow someone from the furthest point of St. Charles to reach the furthest point of St. John in about two hours, Petit said.
“This is all part of creating a seamless transit route from Baton Rouge to New Orleans,” he said.
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