Often when a writer settles into a new year, the first editorial of the season is one focused on forward motion and movement is exactly what is happening in Grand Rapids.
Jan. 9, The Rapid rolled out the first phase of service enhancements on Jan. 9, a result of the passage of the Kent County transit millage in 2011.
To come to this day was not the easiest of feats, considering the first attempt at an upgrade millage failed in 2009. 2011's millage came with the addition of our community-sourced, 20-year transportation plan including system upgrades, expanded hours and additional buses with a new BRT line -- the first in our state.
The millage passed in a nail-biting finish by a mere 136 votes.
It was a passage many celebrated, but not all, as I weighed in with the thought that this was too close of a win to feel comforted by the victory.
The results indicated a polarizing gap between the vocal leadership of the cities that embraced the millage for our region and the silent voices on the sidelines that rejected it.
As I wrote then in
A Tale (or a Question) of Two Cities, if we are to advance as a region, this close vote indicated all of us would need to advocate for more public transportation education. It is not only an important issue that will aid our region’s economic activity, but good public transportation improves our collective social prosperity for the people who live here.
Grand Rapids and our partner cities served by The Rapid are lucky in that the first of many new upgrades are coming on line this week, offering exciting new options for how we navigate within our region.
Starting at the bus stop, new signage has already gone up and QR Codes that people can scan with their cell phones will give them status updates and the schedule.
Once the code is scanned, the person is transported to The Rapid’s newly updated and modernized
website. The web visitor can see immediately the status of the bus arrival. If there is an arrival delay for a particular stop, the website will now issue a real time alert indicating updated arrival time.
Another key enhancement is that many of the bus lines are running more frequently per hour. For example, if your route had a bus that ran twice an hour, you would now have four opportunities to catch the bus during this same time frame. For a complete list of how the route times have changed, visit the Rapid site or stop by the Central Station for a new guide.
In addition, The Rapid has expanded their hours of operation for all routes (except the airport line) running until 11:15 p.m. Mon.-Fri. with the seven busiest routes running until 12:15 a.m.
We could also see further upgrades in the future for the Lake Michigan corridor as The Rapid uses the recent $600,000 FTA grant money to study “Alternatives Analysis” on this popular route used by Grand Valley State University students and the other community members.
Additional perks that have been revealed include Free Ride Fridays to any home Grand Rapids Griffins’ game (with a valid ticket), or a chance to turn in your
MyGRCityPoints for ride cards. More incentives are in the works.
This is just stage one with two more exciting stages rolling out in August 2011 as brand new buses begin to arrive to replace older ones, leading up to the much anticipated stage three debut of the Silver Line BRT line sometime in 2014.
And all eyes are on the BRT line as this new class of high speed and smart transportation, which according to numerous studies, has indeed spurred economic growth along the corridors of other cities.
So, we may have had a nail-biting finish in May 2011, but with the inauguration of our new Silver Line, a new era of modern transportation begins here in Western Michigan.
The Future Needs All … of us.
Tommy Allen, Lifestyle Editor
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