Macon bus route to Robins ending next month

The Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority is ending its bus route to Robins Air Force Base.

The route started in 2010 and was popular at one time, but ridership has fallen off as gas prices have dropped, said John Pugh, deputy director of the 78th Mission Support Group. Also, the U.S. Department of Transportation cut funding that supported the service.

The route was called Buses into Robins Daily, or BiRD. It is set to end July 19.

“It’s a shame,” Pugh said. “It was a good service for the people who utilized it. I’m hoping they can take advantage of van pools.”

At its height the buses carried about 200 people from Macon to the base and back daily, but now that is down to about 30, said Rick Jones, general manager of the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority.

The base touted the route as both a benefit to the environment and a way to reduce traffic and help with a shortage of parking spots at the base.

Jones said the funding that was cut was from the Jobs Access Reverse Commute program. That same funding cut led the authority to end routes to Geico earlier this year.

Justin Browner, a janitor at Robins, was getting off a BiRD bus at the Macon Terminal Station earlier this week. He said he does not have a car and has been riding the bus for about a year. However, he has arranged to ride in a van pool when the BiRD ends, so he wasn’t too concerned about it.

“I think it will be about the same,” he said.

This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Macon bus route to Robins ending next month."