New station moves bus services forward

MANATEE — Passengers have a gem of a new station where they can wait for the next bus or transfer to another.

Manatee County officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at the DeSoto Station, heaping praise on each other and promising better things to come for the county transit system.

“I see this station as a jewel in the crown that is Manatee County,” said Ralf Heseler, manager of the Manatee County Area Transit system, “with many more to come.

“This will shine not only for the county, but for the riding public,” Heseler said. The station is the first major public facility the county has constructed for the transit system in its 33-year history.

County commission Chairwoman Gwen Brown said construction of the station was a sign of the commitment the county made to public transportation.

“We want the public to use it, because there is not enough money to build all the roads needed in Manatee County if growth continues as it had in the past,” Brown said.

Plans for the $1.2 million facility along the western edge of the county DeSoto Center, 600 301 Blvd. W., started in 2006.

At the time, MCAT had been using the parking lot of Cortez Plaza for about 30 years as a transfer station when the decision was made to move it to county property.

During the planning and construction period, a make-shift transfer station was established in the DeSoto Center parking lot.

“People no longer have to sit in the hot sun or use Port-a-lets,” said Commissioner Joe McClash.

For MCAT patron Ben Mobley, the new facility was a great improvement.

“We get a good breeze and it makes it nice and cool,” said Mobley, who has used the bus service to get to work for the past 10 years. “The other place wasn’t any good at all.”

The new station has a large canopied waiting area where at least six buses from various routes pull up within seconds of each other.

A round block building sits at one end of the open-air waiting platform, providing clean rest-room facilities and a ticket booth.

Lannie Miller Jr., who has been using the county transit system since he moved here from New Orleans four years ago, thinks the county is on the right track.

“They’re trying to make the service modern and appealing,” said Miller, who came to Manatee County after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his hometown.

He uses the bus systems in Manatee and Sarasota counties to get to his two jobs.

But because bus service only gets him as far as the Wal-Mart at U.S. 301 and S.R. 70, he has to use his bicycle to go the rest of the way. “The bike racks on the buses are another good feature,” Miller said. “I’m sure they (transit officials) are hoping with improvements to the service, more people will ride the bus.”