City should make case for bus system
The ordinance passed by the Rock Hill City Council Monday was a logical next step toward establishing a new bus transit system. We hope city officials will continue to fill in the details of their plan before the city applies for federal money for the system.
The ordinance, which passed with a 4-3 vote, allows the city to enter into a lease purchase agreement, not exceeding $6.6 million, to buy buses and other infrastructure associated with the transit system. The ordinance does not obligate the city to buy the buses but, instead, is intended to demonstrate the city’s commitment to help finance the project before it applies to the Federal Transit Administration for funding.
The three councilmen who voted against the ordinance – Jim Reno, Kevin Sutton and John Black – complained that the plan doesn’t use the right benchmarks to chart whether it will succeed. They also said they want to see more research on population density and potential ridership before they could consider supporting the plan.
The city has provided evidence that the bus system would be popular among residents, particularly Winthrop University students. A survey by the school indicated that nearly three-quarters of those polled would use the system to travel to businesses along Dave Lyle Boulevard and in downtown Rock Hill.
And in a recent poll of around 100 Rock Hill residents, 57 percent said they would be willing to pay a fare if it meant adding more stops or routes.
The city’s plan addresses the needs of distinctly different riders: Winthrop students; low-income residents with few other transportation options; and casual users who might ride the bus to shop or go to restaurants. To that end, routes include personal need destinations such as Piedmont Medical Center, government offices and grocery stores, as well as shopping and entertainment centers, including the future Knowledge Park.
And, of course, routes would include regular stops on Winthrop’s campus. We suspect Rock Hill officials will study systems in other cities to see how a diverse ridership such as this would fare in Rock Hill.
But it seems likely that the business community would embrace a plan that delivers more customers to their stores. Winthrop and PMC officials already have committed to help finance a new transit system.
Under any circumstances, the initial financial risk for the city would be small. City officials estimate that the federal government would cover 80 to 85 percent of operating costs, which are estimated at between $2 million and $2.5 million annually for the first five years. The city likely would be responsible for $300,000 to $400,000 annually, but that could be offset through partnerships with local businesses to help pay those costs.
The city plans to use electric buses, which are less expensive to run and maintain. And passengers could ride free of charge.
The three dissenting councilmen raise some interesting questions. What happens if the grant money goes away? Can the city sustain high enough ridership to justify the system over the long term? Can the city meet the needs of low-income riders while also catering to casual riders?
Rock Hill has had bad luck with fixed-route bus systems in the past, all of which have failed for a variety of reasons. We hope the city presents the public with a strong case for this new plan with statistics to back it up.
But we are optimistic that the city now has the critical mass of riders and destinations to make a bus system practical and sustainable. A popular transit system serving a diverse group of riders would be a great addition to the city.
This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 6:58 PM with the headline "City should make case for bus system."