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The meeting may have lasted just 25 minutes, but one Independence City Council member said a vote Tuesday night marks one of the most crucial ones made in the last five years.
Following more than six months of study by city staff and an ad-hoc City Council committee on how to improve existing transit services, council members unanimously approved a $1.8 million contract with the private company First Transit to provide intracity bus service and management, comparable paratransit and senior transit service in Independence.
The contract takes effect in July and covers the 2012-13 fiscal year.
Three First Transit staff members were introduced prior to the council’s vote. The city and Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, which have had transit service agreements for nearly 40 years, plan to continue some existing services in a separate contract, as the intercity/commuter transportation through routes 24 and 24X, grant filings and Federal Transit Administration reporting and regional call center operations.
“I’m just so very excited about this for our community,” At-Large Council Member Jim Schultz said prior to the vote. A number of good things have taken place since Mayor Don Reimal’s leadership began in 2006 and he was re-elected in 2010, Schultz said, but Tuesday’s vote “has to be one of the top three, for sure.”
“We’re not just talking about changing our community, but we’re talking about changing the quality of life in our community,” Schultz said. “If you’re one of those folks who uses a wheelchair, this is going to make a big difference in your life. You’re going to have an opportunity to get on a bus and get to the place that you need.”
One of the new features of the improved services will include two wheelchair-accessible positions available on each bus. If both wheelchair spots are filled on a particular bus and another wheelchair rider comes along, a call system will be in place, and a Dial-A-Ride van will come out to provide transportation for the additional rider.
“I’m anxious to move forward with this, and I want to thank the council members for their important work,” said District 1 Council Member Marcie Gragg, who was chairwoman of the Transit Committee and served with Schultz and District 3 Council Member Myron Paris. “We all learned more than we ever thought we would about the sizes of buses and routes and transportation...”
The new agreement, according to city staff, will provide a 30 percent increase both in service territory and in service hours. City staff are anticipating that the new plan will cost almost the same as the existing services and that riders will not experience an increase in their fares.
“This is a good thing, and this will be a bus service that will take care of our citizens,” Reimal said. “We’re in for a pleasant experience.”
The meeting may have lasted just 25 minutes, but one Independence City Council member said a vote Tuesday night marks one of the most crucial ones made in the last five years.
Following more than six months of study by city staff and an ad-hoc City Council committee on how to improve existing transit services, council members unanimously approved a $1.8 million contract with the private company First Transit to provide intracity bus service and management, comparable paratransit and senior transit service in Independence.
The contract takes effect in July and covers the 2012-13 fiscal year.
Three First Transit staff members were introduced prior to the council’s vote. The city and Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, which have had transit service agreements for nearly 40 years, plan to continue some existing services in a separate contract, as the intercity/commuter transportation through routes 24 and 24X, grant filings and Federal Transit Administration reporting and regional call center operations.
“I’m just so very excited about this for our community,” At-Large Council Member Jim Schultz said prior to the vote. A number of good things have taken place since Mayor Don Reimal’s leadership began in 2006 and he was re-elected in 2010, Schultz said, but Tuesday’s vote “has to be one of the top three, for sure.”
“We’re not just talking about changing our community, but we’re talking about changing the quality of life in our community,” Schultz said. “If you’re one of those folks who uses a wheelchair, this is going to make a big difference in your life. You’re going to have an opportunity to get on a bus and get to the place that you need.”
One of the new features of the improved services will include two wheelchair-accessible positions available on each bus. If both wheelchair spots are filled on a particular bus and another wheelchair rider comes along, a call system will be in place, and a Dial-A-Ride van will come out to provide transportation for the additional rider.
“I’m anxious to move forward with this, and I want to thank the council members for their important work,” said District 1 Council Member Marcie Gragg, who was chairwoman of the Transit Committee and served with Schultz and District 3 Council Member Myron Paris. “We all learned more than we ever thought we would about the sizes of buses and routes and transportation...”
The new agreement, according to city staff, will provide a 30 percent increase both in service territory and in service hours. City staff are anticipating that the new plan will cost almost the same as the existing services and that riders will not experience an increase in their fares.
“This is a good thing, and this will be a bus service that will take care of our citizens,” Reimal said. “We’re in for a pleasant experience.”
