Funding for a BRT line could be achieved
by the sale of bulk bus tickets along the line to the large businesses downtown.
The idea is that instead of employing
private shuttles to transport employees between distant parking structures and
their offices downtown, they would use city buses.
This would save the firms money and it
would increase ridership on city buses. These tickets sold in bulk to large
firms would be offered at a discount yet would still bring in a large amount of
revenue. Buses cost roughly the same to run whether they are empty or full, so
increasing ridership on buses through these discounted bulk tickets would
increase revenue without increasing cost.
Such tickets could be used on any DDOT bus
and would be most beneficial to employees who live in the city with near a
route that leads to downtown. Such employees would not need a parking space in
a company owned parking structure and would provide the company even more
savings.
Having employees of downtown firms using
public buses instead of private shuttles would also have the effect of
increased interaction between them and city residents. There is a perception,
and a reality that employees who work downtown are in large part isolated from
the city and that downtown has become a corporate office park. Switching from
private shuttles to public buses can foster a greater sense of community and
help to heal the divide between downtown and the rest of the city.
It will take more than use of public buses
by downtown employees to heal such divide. The next post will deal with an idea
to address that more specifically.
