Use of Robins shuttle bus up among Macon riders

WARNER ROBINS -- A year ago, Robins Air Force Base started an ambitious effort to curtail traffic and parking problems on base.

In partnership with the Macon Transit Authority, the shuttle service Buses into Robins Daily, or BiRD, began Nov. 29, 2010, with morning and afternoon routes from the Macon Centreplex to the base.

One of the first riders was Patrick Gonet, but it was a lonely trip then.

“When I got to work I would tell people, ‘Well, I was really bad for the environment today because I took a 27-passenger bus by myself,’” he said after stepping off a BiRD bus at the Centreplex on Thursday afternoon. “The whole first week I was the only person riding. It was really weird, but after a couple of weeks it started to get better.”

Ridership has slowly but steadily grown during the first year of operation and in November total ridership for a month topped 1,000 for the first time. On average, 30-40 people ride each day.

John Pugh, deputy director of the 78th Mission Support Group, said he would like to see more people riding but has been generally pleased with the first year because of the steady growth. Other initiatives to reduce traffic flow are also trending upward, he said. Vanpool ridership was 703 in November, more than double from a year ago, and carpool participation is up 26 percent.

“It takes time to change the culture, but as we continue to advertise and people spread the word and actually see what the benefits are from mass transit, the trends are in the positive direction,” Pugh said.

The base is also working with community leaders to explore others ways to improve traffic flow around the base. Recently an event was held at the Museum of Aviation in which community and base officials discussed a range of possible options, including bus lines to other areas, creating park-and-ride locations and designing a high-occupancy vehicle lane on Watson Boulevard during peak commuting hours.

Pugh said a regional partnership is being formed to explore such issues.

A key to the success of the BiRD shuttle is that the $6 round-trip cost each day is fully reimbursed through the federal Transportation Incentive Program.

Master Sgt. Jimmy Ezzell, who works in the Air Force Reserve 94th Aerial Port Squadron, started riding the bus after returning from a deployment in April. He was reluctant at first but now he is a regular rider. He logs his commute online, and has calculated that he has saved $2,200 since he started riding, with the savings including vehicle maintenance and depreciation.

While the trip, which has stops along the way, is about twice as long as it would take him to drive, Ezzell has discovered a big upside. When he’s driving, all he can do is drive, but on the bus he can read a book or talk on the phone.

“It’s an hour where you can do something productive,” Ezzell said.

Julie Floyd started riding in May when the death of Osama bin Laden raised the security threat level at all military bases. At Robins that meant the loss of many parking spaces near certain buildings. Tired of the long hikes to work, she started riding BiRD because it dropped her off right at her building.

Although the threat level has gone down, and the parking improved, she hasn’t stopped riding the bus.

“I plan to ride it until I retire,” she said. “It’s convenient and you don’t have to worry about parking.”

Base workers who want to know more about transportation incentives can go to www.robins.af.mil and click on the transportation link.

To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.

This story was originally published December 12, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Use of Robins shuttle bus up among Macon riders."