Transit Advisory Board Meeting

Documenter name: Sharon Ailslieger

Agency: Wichita City - Transit Advisory Board

Date: Sept. 18, 2024

See more about this meeting at Documenters.org

Notes

The meeting was called to order by Chair, Ben Blankley, and the roll call was taken. Apparently, there are supposed to be 13 on the Board, but only 11 have been appointed. Three were absent and only 2 members were there in-person, but overall there was enough for a quorum. There were two Transit staff in attendance plus a City Attorney, Jacque Butler, and the Transit Director, Penny Feist.

Minutes were approved.

Public Comment:

There was no in-person available for public comment, but an email had been received from a person representing the Student Government at WSU. The concerns expressed were the following:

• The Transit app is very difficult to use, especially for international students.
• The Network Map that has just been updated and presently does not show where Walmart, Target, and several other sites are.
• The whole map needs to be more user friendly. One of the members, who was virtual, commented that she had also been contacted about the issue. She had suggested the use of Google Maps.
• It was noted that perhaps a video on the Transit Facebook site might help.
• Another suggestion was providing a training session, perhaps like a pop-up event at a bus stop.
• A final thought was a project with Student Ambassadors.

Network Redesign Update:

The Network Redesign Map showed a map with the old transit routes overlaid with the new transit routes. This will be on the Transit website. The Service Expansion Option plans will take place over the next 2-10 years. They are looking for community input, but any new changes will not be put in place until the Multimodal Center is built. There will be a Regional Transit Plan and a Long Range Plan. There has already been a lot of good feedback. The new map was put forward about 3 months ago and small changes have been made. It was suggested that the committee take another look at Route 17 that runs along Ross Parkway. Other members expressed concerns about three different routes that appear to have been changed. These routes ran to Cessena, Textron, etc. The question was asked about a shuttle running from the airport to the aerospace companies. The issue will be explored. (Note: This committee was Chaired by James Gamez.)

Multimodal Center Update:

Paul Gunzelman, City Engineer, reported that there had been two companies bid on this project. Dondlinger Construction had the lower bid and received the contract. The ribbon cutting and ground breaking ceremony is tentatively scheduled for October 11, 2024. Construction will begin October 14, 2024 and should be completed by March of 2026.

Financial Update

Costs have increased, in comparison to 2023 by 23%. This increase is mostly due to increase in staffing and overtime pay. It is still a struggle to hire enough maintenance staff. Overall, staff is down by 7%. In August, the Wichita Transit received over $3 million from the Federal Government, which helped fill the financial gaps.

Director’s Report

Penny Feist reminded everyone of the ribbon cutting and urged the Advisory Board members to attend. Now that school is in session, the school routes are running. She also mentioned the changes to the Ethics Code, made by the City Council. Advisory Board members will receive a copy as it applies to them. Finally, there will be more public meetings in October and November on changes for the Wichita Transit.

The Chair noted that an update of the Sustainability Study will be presented at the October meeting.

The Transit Board went into Executive Session for 15 minutes. No action was taken and the meeting was then adjourned.

Summary

• They are trying to improve the Rapid Transit in Wichita through the Network Redesign.
• The Multimodal Center will also improve Rapid Transit, once it is built.
• The cost of Rapid Transit is going up.

Follow-Up Questions

• Why is there never any discussion of a dedicated source of funding for the transit system?
• Every Transit Director makes changes, but the real problem is funding. What is the answer?

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@citybureau.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line.