Manatee County Area Transit considers route modifications

MANATEE -- Leonard Thomas waited at the DeSoto Station for the Manatee County Area Transit Route 99 bus Thursday afternoon. The Bradenton resident rides the bus five times a week to go to Sarasota.

"I just use it for convenience," Thomas said. "I think coming every 30 minutes is good with me."

The frequency on the other MCAT routes turns Thomas off from riding those.

"I'd ride it a little more frequently if 30 minutes instead of an hour," Thomas said.

This is not the first time MCAT has heard requests for more frequent bus service. In fact, MCAT is currently looking at reducing service on some routes in order to increase frequency on the routes with the highest ridership.

"We are trying to get back to focus on core network routes, U.S. 41, which is the (Route) 99, Route 3, which is Manatee Avenue and also Cortez Road, half of what is Route 6," said Ryan Suarez, MCAT planning manager. "They are the most productive routes."

The changes stemmed from the desire to increase the frequency on the Route 3 to every 30 minutes. The county received a Florida Department of Transportation State Service Development Grant Program Funding, which requires a local match. To do that, the county is reallocating existing resources.

"We know riders have been clamoring for more frequency," Suarez said. "Those are our core routes."

MCAT asks for public feedback on changes

On Thursday afternoon, Wendy Johnson was handing out brochures about upcoming public workshops to MCAT riders at the DeSoto Station. Johnson, who is the database coordinator with Quest Corporation of America, helps MCAT with public outreach to let the community know of possible changes.

"Everybody has been really pleasant," Johnson said. "We are just trying to let them know ahead of time. We like to get the feedback from the public who use it all the time. We are out here just to let the public know ahead of time. The regular riders, they want to know."

MCAT is having two public workshops this week to get feedback about the proposed changes. The first is 2-4:30 p.m. Monday at the Manatee County Administration Building commission chambers, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton. The second is 2-4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Palmetto City Hall council chambers, 516 Eighth Ave. W., Palmetto.

"We need your feedback," Suarez said. "It is an inclusive process. These service changes impact bus riders. We want to hear from them."

The county will also have a survey available on mymanatee.org/mcat through mid-June to get feedback, Suarez said. The recommendation will go before the county commission for consideration this summer with implementation in the fall.

For Delius Brinson, who frequently rides the bus, she would like to see the Route 8 come more often.

"I like them to come more frequently," she said as she boarded the Route 8 bus from the DeSoto station headed to Wal-Mart on Thursday.

If the changes will affect them, the county needs to know, Suarez said.

"We are all ears at this point," he said. "These are the people we serve so we want to know what they say."

Proposed changes to MCAT routes

Restructuring of the Route 99 to operate between downtown Bradenton and downtown Sarasota, beginning the Anna Maria Island Trolley at 8 a.m. during the week and 10 a.m. on weekends and eliminating Saturday service on Route 9 are some of the changes being considered by MCAT.

"We know there are certain parts of the system that are unproductive," Suarez said. "We know parts are more productive."

It has been more than two years since MCAT's last major overhaul of routes, Suarez said.

"We don't want to by any means disenfranchise anyone," he said. "That is going to help everyone. Over time, it just hasn't been modified based on all the changes happening over time."

For example, the proposed changes on Route 99, which runs the U.S. 41 corridor, will improve on-time performance and reliability, Suarez said.

"It is a domino effect," Suarez said of the route, which is jointly operated with Sarasota County Area Transit. "Everything else is affected. We are working with SCAT staff on adjustments to the 99."

The changes will help MCAT stay on time on some of the core routes, Suarez said.

"We want to reallocate from underperforming routes to routes that we know will be productive," he said.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Manatee County Area Transit considers route modifications ."