11th
March
2009
full article…
| At Thursday’s ceremony, Mayor Otis Johnson officially christened the vehicle as - wait for it - “Dottie,” as a band played “Hello Dolly” and attendees toasted with purple soft drinks.”When you work on something like this for a while, it’s like watching your kid grow up,” said Marc Friday, who chairs the Mobility Management Board that oversees operation of the Dot system. “This is going to help River Street. It’s going to help the Westin. And it’s going to help the trade and convention center.”
City officials say it also is a critical relief component for parking and traffic congestion because the Dot system shuttles tourists and downtown workers to and from key sites, such as parking garages, major public employers and the green squares.
The system is funded largely from the estimated $1 million a year raised in fees on hotel rooms, Friday said. Downtown, the fee is $1. For Hutchinson Island rooms, it is $1.75.
Dot shuttles
Buses operate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, making 10 stops each around the downtown area. Riders have a wait of 15 minutes or less between shuttles. Fully operational in July, the free shuttles hit ridership of more than 5,400 a month during peak tourist times, including July and October. But in December and January, the numbers dropped to a low of about 1,500 per month. The Liberty shuttle, which collects riders at parking garages, has averaged 3,069 riders a month from July to February.
Water ferry
These passenger-only boats operate from 7 a.m. to midnight daily, taking people at no cost from River Street to Hutchinson Island. Chatham Area Transit operates the 5-year-old ferry and is using one vessel. In January, ridership hit 33,137 but dropped to 22,912 in February.
River Street trolley
The vintage Melbourne trolley sports the latest hybrid technology under its skirt. It makes seven stops along River Street and operates from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. To stimulate interest, Mobility Management has agreed to fund the first 40,000 fares, which normally are 50 cents round-trip. The city is interested in seeing what it can do to keep the fare free. Since mid-February, when it went into operation, the trolley has carried 2,002 passengers. |
Link: http://savannahnow.com/node/684029
After years of planning and development, all three components for Savannah’s system of downtown transit - affectionately known by its shorthand name as “Dot” - are in place.
That was reason enough for city leaders and transportation officials to celebrate Thursday with a ride on a shuttle to the River Street trolley, followed by a ferry ride to Hutchinson Island. The trolley, which was the final component, began operating last month.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 5:35 pm and is filed under Local News Articles.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.