MANSFIELD — Richland County Transit may have your ride — to and from — Final Friday events in downtown Mansfield this year.
RCT plans to provide fare-free, on-demand response rides during the five scheduled Final Friday events at The Brickyard at 21 E. Temple Court.
It’s a pilot project for the public transit agency, which is interested in exploring other on-demand transportation possibilities in the future, according to Jean Taddie, transit development manager for the Richland County Regional Planning Commission.
“They can also be used as a starting point to expand capacity of our (on-demand) transit service in the city as a whole,” Taddie said.
“Those interested in the goals of the Mansfield Rising Plan … that plan identified an interest in getting better diversity.”
She said the pilot project was identified in RCT’s 10-year transit development program.
“Our riders on our (RCT strategic plan) said we’d like to come to some events, but darn it, your service never runs when events are happening,” she said.
Taddie noted the system primarily provides fixed route and ADA paratransit service weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
“This would be an opportunity to not only answer the riders who asked for it, but at the same time, during that same planning for our transit, people from organizations and agencies and community members (brought) up Final Friday as a good idea to reduce the parking challenges,” Taddie said.
“Building this capacity will be a launching point for other new services in the future,” she said.
Her remarks came last week during a meeting with the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board, which agreed to pay $4,335 to help RCT cover the costs associated with the first two Final Friday events in May and June.
RCT estimates the cost to provide the service across five nights at $31,925, which would include other funding sources and federal funds.
Final Friday events, sponsored by Downtown Mansfield Inc. , will be May 31, June 28, July 26, Aug. 30 and Sept. 27. The events, featuring live bands, food trucks and beer sales, are from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Jennifer Kime, CEO of Downtown Mansfield Inc., said the organization is excited to partner with RCT on the project and plans to help market the Final Friday service.
“Final Fridays are a great start for this (on-demand) service. We have the traffic and the demand,” she said.
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry said she is glad to see the pilot project.
“I think it could lead to other needs that we have for targeted transportation,” Perry said.
“So if you kind of figure out how to work out out the kinks and do this, there’s probably some other things that it could ultimately be.”
Taddie said all of the City of Mansfield is covered in the Final Friday service boundaries.
“But we also expanded our normal service area and pulled in the Village of Lexington,” Taddie said.
“We pulled in some parts of of Ontario and Madison Township that normally aren’t covered. So all of these folks who come downtown to this very location can leave their cars at home.”
RCT plans to use five of its smaller buses during each event, all of which are ADA-accessible and bike-friendly.
Taddie said the on-demand services will typically start at 7 p.m. with last pickup at 11 p.m., though it will run an hour later in July when the event runs longer.
She said riders can schedule a fare-free Final Friday ride in advance or on the evening of the event.
“They will give their home pickup or drop-off address and RCT dispatchers will schedule the trip in our on-demand response time,” Taddie said.
“For efficiency, trips will be scheduled as group rides, potentially using zones, such as Lexington/south and Ontario/west,” she said. “All trips must begin or end at the Final Friday pickup location.
“Given that this is a learning and capacity-building experience for RCT, we will use knowledge gained in one month to improve services in future months and years.”
Anyone with questions can call Taddie at 419-774-6396.
