MANSFIELD — Jean Taddie said she was not unhappy with the initial public response to the Richland County Transit’s free shuttle service to Final Friday events in Mansfield.
RCT is offering free bus rides to and from Final Fridays this summer. A total of 21 residents took advantage on May 31 during the kickoff to the outdoor concert series.
“I would call it a modest start with plenty of room for growth,” said Taddie, transit development manager for the Richland County Regional Planning Commission.
“What we found was the service went smoothly and safely,” she said. “That was important to us. People getting off the bus were happy and smiling and had a positive experience.”
Taddie said there were four no-shows at the Brickyard from those who had requested rides home. But there was 100 percent participation among those who had requested a ride to the event 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.
Taddie has said she hopes the Final Friday effort will help introduce RCT to community members who have never used it.
She said it appeared most of the residents using the free shuttle service to and from the Brickyard were new riders, as opposed to RCT regulars.
Taddie also described the riders as younger than the normal clientele served by the RCT, which normally doesn’t operate during evening hours. The system primarily provides fixed route and ADA paratransit service weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
“It was just a very positive vibe during the event. It was nice to see RCT buses circling around the city at night,” she said.
RCT used five of its smaller buses for the effort, which began at 7 p.m. and ended at 11 p.m.
“We had a lot of capacity. We wanted to make sure we had excess (capacity),” Taddie said.
“We wanted to have one bus too many rather than one too few. We wanted to make sure rides were on time,” she said.
Continued and improved communication about the free, on-demand Final Friday service will be key to growing usage, according to Taddie.
Future Final Friday events will be June 28, July 26, Aug. 30 and Sept. 27. The events, featuring live bands, food trucks and beer sales, run from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
RCT has posted information about the Final Friday service on its website at https://rctbuses.com/final-friday/. It starts by calling 419-522-4504 to schedule pickup from your home, starting at 7 p.m.
All of the RCT buses are ADA-accessible and bike-friendly. No alcohol is permitted aboard the bus.
Taddie said RCT will expand its usage of social media to promote the rides and will provide more “courtesy cards” to downtown bars and restaurants about the ability to catch a safe ride home if someone has consumed too much alcohol.
“We can be your designated driver (during Final Friday events),” Taddie said.
“We were very glad to be a part of the night.”
