Heartland Express options come before county board

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Anyone concerned about where and when they can catch a Heartland Express bus might do well to visit Brown County commissioners during their regular meeting Tuesday morning.

There, commissioners will hear budget options for the service for 2003, which supporters of the Brown County bus service say will improve an already-good thing.

The recommendations come nearly a month after a Heartland Express ridership survey found that while most frequent riders and staff were basically happy with the service, there were certain areas -- such as same-day pick-ups -- that could use improvement. The survey results were presented to commissioners at their regular meeting on May 28.

Heartland Express supervisor Bob Apitz and operations coordinator Doug Stenberg are expected to recommend four options for the 2003 budget to commissioners late Tuesday morning.

The recommendations are to add a second bus, a part-time dispatcher and evening service in New Ulm.

"This is kind of a one-two punch," said Brown County Family Services Director Tom Henderson on Sunday night. "I don't know where 'three' comes in; I think it'll probably be the budget. But this is two of three."

The survey was taken among the 22 people that frequently call Heartland Express to arrange rides. Brown County Family Services calls them "trip generators." Of the 22 people, 17 responded to the survey.

Then, 13 people from around the county and Heartland Express staff reviewed the results and developed their own list of priorities. The budget alternatives before the commissioners are considered the top recommendations of those two groups.

Apitz and Stendberg are expected to recommend four alternatives for the service's 2003 budget.

They are looking to get a second bus on the west end of the county for Mondays and add a second bus there on Thursdays for the same cost. They are also looking at a part-time dispatcher 6 hours a day and evening service in New Ulm for one evening a week. It would cost Brown County a total of $48,368 to make the changes.

"We've responded to growth in volume," Henderson said. "But we haven't responded in provision. It bascially comes down to delays and 'no's', mostly delays but sometimes 'no's'."

Certainly, the trip generators could elaborate on that. They pointed out several of the same points in their survey answers. Same-day rides, increased hours, service after 5 p.m. and on weekends, dispatch efficiency, and services to towns close to Brown County are some of the most common complaints that trip generators voiced in the survey.

That said, several of the other comments made in the survey suggested that most of the trip generators feel Heartland Express services are affordable and provide affordable, convenient service that keeps some people from being shut in and helps develop recreational activity and get needed medical care, the survey said. Survey participants also praised Heartland Express for its punctuality, convenience and affordability.

The decision Tuesday morning will come down to which options Brown County commissioners want to include in the 2003 budget. MnDOT has indicated that additional services in 2003 will likely be at 100 percent county cost. State reimbursement money could appear if the legislature adds rural transit money when it passes its omnibus transportation bill.

"It's functioning well now," said Henderson of Heartland Express. "We see about 5,000 rides a month. What we're trying to do is improve on a good thing."

Apitz, Henderson and Stenberg are scheduled to present the budget options to Brown County commissioners at 10:10 a.m. Tuesday.