Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Contrary to expectations, few local residents appear to be taking advantage of Big Bend Transit’s (BBT) express shuttle between Monticello and Tallahassee, which has now been running since late last year.
A BBT representative told ECB Publishing, Inc. recently that as of late April, only about 10 to 15 people were using the shuttle service to Tallahassee and back, despite its low fare of $1 each way.
The BBT representative attributed the low numbers in large part to the delayed opening of the Amazon facility off U.S. 90 on the east side of Tallahassee. Originally scheduled to open in 2022, the opening has now been pushed back to late 2023.
The retail behemoth, as it’s described, is supposed to generate $451 million overall in total economic impact in Tallahassee and employ more than a thousand people, including many from the surrounding counties. The company reportedly began advertising for the first wave of high-level openings in March of this year.
BBT, meanwhile, is moving ahead with fulfilling the requirements of the three-year $500,000 grant that Jefferson County received on its behalf from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in July of last year for establishment of the express service. These grant requirements include the construction of three solar shelters with benches, map and schedule placement and bike racks and trashcans.
To that end, the Jefferson County Commission approved a sub-recipient agreement in a special meeting on Friday, May 26, in effect formalizing its relationship with the BBT, and thereby allowing the latter to get reimbursements for the express program’s operating expenses and salaries.
“The sub-recipient agreement provides that the amount available to Big Bend Transit will be reduced by any eligible costs that the county incurs on the project, whether for installation of the bus shelter or otherwise,” County Attorney Heather Encinosa said.
She added that based on the terms of the agreement, the BBT could request monthly reimbursements from the county for the program, with none of the reimbursements to exceed $20,000. In turn, she said, the county could seek reimbursements from the FDOT on a quarterly basis.
At the same time, Encinosa reminded the board of its commitment to have county crews construct the three required shelters, as the BBT is not equipped to do so.
“When we last had this item come up, we discussed the county doing the installation for the three shelters, which will be about $10,000 each,” Encinosa said, adding that County Manager Shannon Metty had since checked with the FDOT and the latter had indicated that the costs would likely be reimbursable.
The BBT express offers rides from Monticello to several locations in Tallahassee, where riders can access established StarMetro routes to go elsewhere in the capital city. The service is offered six days a week (Monday through Saturday), excluding Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The plan, as represented by BBT Branch Manager Shawn Mitchell to Jefferson County officials in July 2022, was for the service to run three shuttles in the morning, two at midday, and three in the evening, carrying passengers to and from Tallahassee.
The plan, he said at the time, was to have one of the stops in Tallahassee be at the Amazon Fulfillment Center on U.S. 90 and Vineland Drive, so as to provide transportation for residents of Jefferson County employed at the facility.
He added that if the demand required it, the express service would be expanded, possibly providing night rides if the Amazon Center went into a 24-hour operation.
Three stop locations would be established in Jefferson County to accommodate the ridership, he said. Those initial locations, he said, would be at the Winn Dixie Shopping Center on U.S. 19, at the I-10 and U.S. 19 interchange, and at Joyner’s Store at I-10 and SR-59, or Gamble Road. Others stops could possibly be established later, depending on the need, he said.
“It’s going to be a living thing,” Mitchell said. “It’s not like it’s set in stone for any stop or route. We just want to make sure that we touch everywhere in the county that needs to be touched.
The BBT, meanwhile, continues providing its traditional in-county service to the transportation challenged. This service offers rides for individuals to get from their homes to the stores, clinic or wherever they need to go for a dollar fare each way.