The Heartland Express is restructuring and expanding its service to Austin and the surrounding areas and anticipates the expanded service to begin the third week in September.

Tuesday, July 03, 2001

The Heartland Express is restructuring and expanding its service to Austin and the surrounding areas and anticipates the expanded service to begin the third week in September.

Director Kim Jensen said that because of the inefficiency of the bus service, which operates on a "dial-a-ride" system, a decision was made to create a route-based service.

Dial-a-ride won’t be completely abandoned, Jensen told the City Council Monday night, because there is still a need to provide service to individuals who can’t access the routes because of their "physical challenges."

In addition to the existing services, which include the dial-a-ride, fixed route and child route, a work route will be added. There is one route that will be running twice an hour; the other routes will be running once an hour.

"People can get on anywhere along the route," Jensen said. "There’s not going to be designated bus stops. (Except) at certain points, where it makes sense. Otherwise, people can just flag us down along the route. Which will hopefully make it a lot more accessible to a lot more people, who won’t have to walk an extra block if the bus is driving right by."

Keeping the needs of the riders in mind has been the focus of the expanded service, Jensen said. Ridership has increased over the past few years and presently is delivering 83,000 rides per year. She said the additional work route would be an express route, with designated pickup points that will take workers to and from major places of employment within Austin.

An application has been made to the federal government for $1 million, Jensen said, to purchase and renovate a facility. It will house Heartland’s administration, the garage and a bus stop and ticketing for Jefferson Lines. A four-year plan was developed and Jensen said they expect ridership to increase to 180,000 rides per year.

Call Ailene Dawson at 434-2235 or e-mail her at ailene.dawson@austindailyherald.com.