Better public transportation needed for Hernando
Hernando County’s bus system, which presently runs on major arteries only, needs to be replaced by a neighborhood and rural van service that will operate door-to-door and to central transfer stations.
All appointments for pickup, similar to a taxi service, will have to be made 24 hours ahead of time, unless the passenger(s) is willing to pay a higher fee for same day or same hour service. The system will be computerized, but residents can make appointments by telephone or iPhone, email or computer. Rider fees ranging from $1.50 and up can be made upon entering van, or prepaid on a weekly or monthly basis, using a smart card. Experts contend, for each dollar expended on public transportation, $6 is returned to the community.
The system can be similar to, but expanded on, the present day Mid-Florida Community Van Service, for handicapped, disabled, elderly, and low-income residents, and only operates Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The new neighborhood system, would operate from 5:30 a.m. through 10 p.m., seven days a week, thereby being available and dependable on a regular basis, to all citizens, old and young alike, workers, students, churchgoers, shoppers, moviegoers, and for residents going to eateries, stores, and restaurants. This would enable the entire county of 170,000 people to be more mobile, and would be a boon to workers, local businesses, churches, restaurants, and even to students at the high school and colleges who stay late for classes or extracurricular activities.
This would also enable elderly citizens to cancel their dependence on driving their own cars, even purchasing automobiles, canceling car insurance, saving hundreds or thousands of dollars, and providing a safer more secure mode of transportation to the drivers and to the community at large. This system would give passengers more independence, freedom and savings. It would enable parents to be less dependent upon providing rides to their children and free up their own time.
The large busses could be removed from the major arteries, but 8-passenger and 14-passenger vans would increase on the roads. However, this would be offset by fewer automobiles driving roads and highways, less need for traffic enforcement, more safe conditions and enhanced access to work and job opportunities for young and old alike.
Financing the system would have to be initially supported by the present day federal, state and county subsidies, but new sources of private sector revenues could be generated as the community experiences a boon in higher level of use for businesses, purchases locally, customer activity, etc.
The vans could be electric or sonar generated, thus avoiding higher pollution conditions.
A fallback option would be to institute a city run mini-bus service for Spring Hill, which has 100,000 residents, by running busses and locating stops every two streets throughout the city. Rural services would have to rely on the mini-van arrangement.
Either of these options could be conducted on an experimental basis initially, in small areas, to test the systems. One thing for sure, better transportation is needed for the health of Hernando County citizens and local businesses.
Brian P. Moore is a candidate running under no party affiliation for the Hernando County Commission in District 4. Email him at [email protected].
