Northfield Transit is Changing! - Informational Open House Scheduled

The city is undergoing a revision of the current transit service from solely a Dial-a-Ride, to a combination of Route Deviation, Work Shuttle and Dial-a-Ride services. When approved by the city council, the new program will begin in 2012. In order to acquaint the public with the plan, to answer questions and take input from citizens, there will be an open house on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Adoption of the new plan is scheduled for the November 15 Northfield City Council meeting.

In a route deviation service, a route and specific stops are established similar to a big-city bus route. However, the bus will deviate a few blocks from the route to pick up or drop off riders who are unable to walk that distance due to problems with mobility (bags of groceries won't count!). The bus will then return to the route where it left off and continue to the next stop on the route.

In order to deviate without running behind, time will be built into the route schedule to accommodate deviations. This means that the bus may wait a few minutes at a stop until the scheduled departure time to avoid getting ahead of the schedule.

Work Shuttle is a short-term measure to accommodate early morning and evening riders and the hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:00-5:30 p.m. with previous application necessary. Dial-a-Ride serves individuals on a first come-first served basis, with reservation required 24 hours in advance.

As routes expand, and take on commuting passengers, and when Dial-a-Ride is extended during route hours, Work Shuttle Service will be eliminated.

It has been a goal to establish a route deviation service for Northfield for a number of years. The city has collected rider data and conducted lengthy public input in order to establish routes and timetables designed to serve both current transit riders and to attract new riders.

Northfield, like other municipalities, is experiencing decreasing subsidies from both state the federal governments. According to Brian Welch, the city’s Engineering Resources Manager, although the transition may be difficult, moving to route deviation provides a long-term means to achieve the goals of increasing rider ship and keeping costs down, while providing an important service to the community.  Experience in other communities indicates that any significant change requires an adjustment period of 6 or more months. It is important not to make changes too soon or too often.

At the open house, city staff will present further details about each of the three modes of transit.