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Talk-Line: Greg Gates on the “Transit Desert Survey” · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: We are quarter past the hour. This is Wednesday, It's
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  Speaker 1: July thirty, the year is twenty twenty five, and it's
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  Speaker 1: time for another informational edition of Tuckline here at w
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  Speaker 1: y X and Radio. Good morning, I'm Steve Marco. It
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  Speaker 1: is time for our monthly look at news and information
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  Speaker 1: from your Reagan Mass Transit District. And to deliver the
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  Speaker 1: report today is the executive director of Reagan Mass Transit.
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  Speaker 1: He has live with us in studio. Our good friend
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  Speaker 1: Greg Gates joins us on this July thirtieth. Good morning, sir,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning stage. It is nice to have Greg with
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  Speaker 1: us and talk about the good things going on with
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  Speaker 1: Reagan Mass Transit. Well, we are into a busy travel
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  Speaker 1: I got to believe a busy travel time for Reagan
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  Speaker 1: Mass Transit. Of course, the summertime, you know, obviously, you know,
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  Speaker 1: people getting out and about using the services of Reagan
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  Speaker 1: Mass Transit. We just got done with the Petunia Festival,
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  Speaker 1: the Lee County Fair and four eighth Show. I got
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  Speaker 1: to believe, you know, we're probably you know, a little
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  Speaker 1: bit of travel there. But Greg is going to focus
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  Speaker 1: on an area of travel that we unveiled at the
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  Speaker 1: first of July actually last month we had this again
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  Speaker 1: introduced to our northern Illinois area. The Reagan Mass Transit
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  Speaker 1: District is now operating in Winnebago County. Talk about that today. Yep.
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  Speaker 2: As of July first, we actually started rolling our wheels
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  Speaker 2: through the rural section of Winnebego. And if you look
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  Speaker 2: at a map, just for those who might have, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a Ran McNally in front of them of some sort,
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  Speaker 2: you're looking at the western portion mainly, although we can
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  Speaker 2: go into Rockton and Roscoe, and there's some even the
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  Speaker 2: south end, a little part of the eastern side that's
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  Speaker 2: also rural in nature for Winnebego, but mainly western. So
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  Speaker 2: look at Winnebego, the community Pecatonica, Durand, and it's been
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  Speaker 2: exciting so far. And I keep telling individuals that I've
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  Speaker 2: never started from the ground up with an entity of
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  Speaker 2: this nature, brand new, trying to get the word out.
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  Speaker 2: We're getting the word out through a lot of community connections.
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  Speaker 2: I for instance, went up to Durand they have a
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  Speaker 2: food pantry distribution on a regular basis, on a monthly
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  Speaker 2: basis up in Durand had a chance to talk to
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  Speaker 2: those who came through to staff, and for the most part,
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  Speaker 2: it was a very what I would say is very
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  Speaker 2: empowering conversation with individuals because they said, you know what,
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  Speaker 2: we haven't had this, and they were one of those
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  Speaker 2: areas in the state of Illinois that has not had
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  Speaker 2: a public transit operation in their neck of the woods,
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  Speaker 2: and they welcomed us with open arms. In terms of
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  Speaker 2: the service that we're now providing on a daily basis,
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  Speaker 2: it's not gangbusters yet, but there's a lot of individuals
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  Speaker 2: who are very interested in what our service can provide
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  Speaker 2: to them, and you know, it's cracking open relationships one
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  Speaker 2: at a time where we can actually start, you know,
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  Speaker 2: making further in reun I will say that we have
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  Speaker 2: some subscription writers, so those are individuals who are going
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  Speaker 2: to certain destinations on a regular basis, say kidney dialysis
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  Speaker 2: would be a perfect example. They have a regular schedule.
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  Speaker 2: So those we have at least three subscription writers already
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  Speaker 2: associated with the service up there in roal Winnebago, and
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  Speaker 2: we're going to start having some conversations with Rock Belly
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  Speaker 2: College and the administration there about how the student body
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  Speaker 2: can actually take advantage of that. We've had some other
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  Speaker 2: community connections that I think are going to pay dividends
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  Speaker 2: in the long run in terms of growing that base
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  Speaker 2: of writers. So we'll see what actually comes to fruition
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  Speaker 2: this first year. I think we're off to a rather
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  Speaker 2: good start. I would say with that service, we don't
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  Speaker 2: have direct like Lee and Ogle. We are actually the
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  Speaker 2: grantee for that section of our area. We're working with
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  Speaker 2: Winnebago County government and actually are the operator of the
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  Speaker 2: service in rural Winnebago currently. And we're also partnering with
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  Speaker 2: Rockford Mass Transit District and as much as possible so
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  Speaker 2: with State Line Mass Transit District, which is serving that
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  Speaker 2: Roscoe and Rockton area just north of what I would
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  Speaker 2: say is the urban area of Rockford.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, you kind of answered my next question now because
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  Speaker 1: we're going to have you break it down a little
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  Speaker 1: bit further. As you mentioned Greg and this service that's
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  Speaker 1: being offered, and we're gonna have to start talking about Lee,
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  Speaker 1: Ogle and Winnebago now in the I guess the moniker
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  Speaker 1: of Reagan Mass Transit. You know, we always focused on
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  Speaker 1: Lee and Ogle County. Well, now branching out into Winnebago County.
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  Speaker 1: Now you mentioned I believe in the last talk that
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  Speaker 1: we had that the hub is still going to be
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  Speaker 1: the Reagan Transit Center as far as the service is concerned.
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  Speaker 1: So you know, vehicles and all are going to still
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  Speaker 1: be at Reagan Mass Transit, but they'll have to make
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  Speaker 1: the trek up to Winnebago go use it correct Right.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Right now we're taking a lot of the vehicles
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  Speaker 2: that go into ro Wannabe go out of the Oregon
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  Speaker 2: location that we're just borrowing from a Rock River Center,
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  Speaker 2: which is just off of Pines. Until our new office
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  Speaker 2: location is built on Pines, we'll actually start a couple
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  Speaker 2: of vehicles out of Rock River Center, and we had
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  Speaker 2: those already there for some of the services we provide
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  Speaker 2: to Ogle County, So it was just I think a
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  Speaker 2: natural connection to continue. Will we push that service area
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  Speaker 2: starting point for vehicles further north potentially in the future, yes,
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  Speaker 2: I would say, but right now, I think given the
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  Speaker 2: number of rides that we're providing, I think it's rather
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  Speaker 2: you know, a good destination to start from because we're
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  Speaker 2: already there, and if we need to cite another vehicle
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  Speaker 2: up there, that is always a possibility. Right now, I
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  Speaker 2: think we have a couple of vehicles that are needed
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  Speaker 2: to go into roal Winnebago, and it seems to be
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  Speaker 2: handling what we have on the books in terms of
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  Speaker 2: scheduled rides right now. But our excitement would be to
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  Speaker 2: grow that further. Obviously. I think, as we've discussed in
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  Speaker 2: previous segments, we do have three new vehicles coming, both
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  Speaker 2: of I shouldn't say both of which I should say.
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  Speaker 2: Two of the three will be minivans and then one
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  Speaker 2: will be a what is a smaller bus on what
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  Speaker 2: we say in the industry is a light duty bus.
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  Speaker 2: So it'll hold about a total of twelve passengers, not
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  Speaker 2: including the driver. So it should meet the initial need.
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  Speaker 2: And you know what, if I have an issue with
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  Speaker 2: having to get another bus into that area, that means
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  Speaker 2: that we're we're meeting and exceeding the needs of the
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  Speaker 2: individuals who live in that segment of Rowinnebago.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, are the feasts the same greg.
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  Speaker 2: Same as they are down here?
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  Speaker 1: Okay? Okay, So the again riding the vehicles now, scheduling
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  Speaker 1: though goes through the Reagan Center, right, I mean, you
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  Speaker 1: still have to call the Reagan Center to make your schedule,
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  Speaker 1: even though you're in Winnebago County.
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  Speaker 2: Correct, right, yeah, right now, we're still using the same
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  Speaker 2: phone number that we use down here eight one five
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  Speaker 2: two eight eight two one one seven. When we get
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  Speaker 2: a little further down the road with that service area,
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  Speaker 2: where going to designate a specific phone number that's probably
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  Speaker 2: more win Abego Ish in nature. It's still going to
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  Speaker 2: work itself down to our main dispatch area down here
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  Speaker 2: at Reagan Transit Center, so it's all going to be
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  Speaker 2: efficient in terms of, you know, handling those phone calls.
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  Speaker 2: We do have designated dispatch staff who actually are targeted
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  Speaker 2: for fielding those calls about Winnebago, and that is my
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  Speaker 2: hope that will grow in the intensity as more people
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  Speaker 2: will become more aware of it.
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  Speaker 1: No, regular routes right now? Are the regular routes in
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  Speaker 1: Winnebago County? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: There is regular rout There is.
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  Speaker 1: A regular route. Yeah, okay, there, so there are regular routes.
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  Speaker 1: So there are regular routes being run daily in Winnebago County. Then, okay, so.
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  Speaker 2: From the start, okay, yes, I can say yes to
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  Speaker 2: that question.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so there are regular routes that are being run
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  Speaker 1: daily through areas of Winnebago county. So check on those
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  Speaker 1: regular routes and you know, find out where your you know,
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  Speaker 1: drop off pickup points are along these regular routes, and
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  Speaker 1: if you're in that neck of the woods, you know,
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  Speaker 1: take advantage of regular mass transit.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would just remind everyone that it's a demand response,
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  Speaker 2: it's curb to curb, So it's much like we have
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  Speaker 2: down here. So if somebody calls and needs unapployments, yes
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  Speaker 2: we will be picking them up from their house and
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  Speaker 2: taking them to their their appointed community resource or destination.
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  Speaker 2: So it's no different than what they would have as
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  Speaker 2: an expectation down here. Please look for us as we
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  Speaker 2: broaden some of our participation in community events up there,
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  Speaker 2: because again I think it's nice to see that our
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  Speaker 2: buses are running around row Winnebago. But they'll get a
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  Speaker 2: little more focused once we get some of those new
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  Speaker 2: vans and buses into the system. They're going to see
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  Speaker 2: the orange and blue running around that county and I
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  Speaker 2: think it'll be an exciting experience.
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  Speaker 1: Greg Gates is our guests today, our executive director of
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  Speaker 1: Reagan Mass Transit. He is our guest on the talk
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  Speaker 1: line today, Ray. We wanted to take our final couple
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  Speaker 1: of minutes of the talk line and update us on
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  Speaker 1: this again study going on through Reagan Mass Transit and
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  Speaker 1: a survey that is being offered to those that can
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  Speaker 1: take it.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, currently we're in the midst of the obviously the
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  Speaker 2: transit Desert survey, and I will say that a lot
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  Speaker 2: of what we're doing currently with the surveys, the general
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  Speaker 2: public surveys, and I think we have that out until
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  Speaker 2: August eighth, is focused currently on Lee County. That does
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  Speaker 2: not mean that Ogle County will not have a portion
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  Speaker 2: of that survey in the future. That is in our
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  Speaker 2: that is our intent is to actually send out a
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  Speaker 2: survey to persons living in Oga County to get their
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  Speaker 2: their feedback as well. But obviously we're talking we've already
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  Speaker 2: talked to some key stakeholders in Lee County about the
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  Speaker 2: needs for individuals within the county who may be in
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  Speaker 2: that transit desert area just like the food desert or
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  Speaker 2: some of the housing needs also related within the county.
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  Speaker 2: And so we're still continuing to gather some data points,
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  Speaker 2: I will say, and we'll have a final report probably
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  Speaker 2: within the next nine to twelve months, but we have
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  Speaker 2: a ways to go in terms of gathering more community
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  Speaker 2: impact or community input on what they see as transit
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  Speaker 2: needs within the two county areas. So as much as possible,
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  Speaker 2: Lee County residents, please give us some feedback as to
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  Speaker 2: what your thoughts are. Ogle County residents, be patient with us.
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  Speaker 2: We will be getting that serve way out, probably within
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  Speaker 2: the next two or three months, maybe a tad longer,
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  Speaker 2: but we're also looking for some critical feedback from residents
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  Speaker 2: of Ogle County. Is to you know, where are those pockets.
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  Speaker 2: We know they're out there, and it's assisting us in
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  Speaker 2: terms of identifying those and then using that data that
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  Speaker 2: we collect to you know, make a difference not only
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  Speaker 2: with public transit, but you know it could be a
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  Speaker 2: little broader as well as to what are the barriers
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  Speaker 2: currently for transportation in the two county area. So, as
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  Speaker 2: much as possible, this will be critical data that we
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  Speaker 2: are actually gleaning from not only key stakeholders, but obviously
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  Speaker 2: residents who are living in the two county area.
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  Speaker 1: And this is not the first time that you have
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  Speaker 1: done surveys like this. I know you've conducted them in
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  Speaker 1: the past, and these surveys are put to work. These
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  Speaker 1: are tools for you to move forward exactly.
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  Speaker 2: This is one of the pieces that obviously if we
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  Speaker 2: seek additional funding that will target some of these topics
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  Speaker 2: of interest, oftentimes those funding bodies that have grant funds,
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  Speaker 2: we'll be asking did you engage the public in some
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  Speaker 2: capacity with this subject matter? And we can say that, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: we've done some studies in this area. We've identified obviously
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  Speaker 2: with our partnership with NIU Center for Governmental Studies, who
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  Speaker 2: is assisting us with this survey and this study. Overall,
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  Speaker 2: that's some critical data that we will be able to
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  Speaker 2: actually take a look at, give some findings to at
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  Speaker 2: the end once we start to wrap this up, and
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  Speaker 2: then that's up to us in terms of pushing that
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  Speaker 2: information forward, finding some better solutions or resolutions to those
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  Speaker 2: needs for transit in specific areas of the two county area.
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  Speaker 2: And obviously it's not just our data, it's the general
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  Speaker 2: public data. And if there's other efforts related to not
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  Speaker 2: only transit, but also food deserts, housing needs and so forth.
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  Speaker 2: Daycare is another desert that has been recently identified. They
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  Speaker 2: all intertwine and we're all looking to improve obviously, the
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  Speaker 2: quality of life for people here in this deck of
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  Speaker 2: the woods.
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  Speaker 1: Easiest way to get the survey is online. Right, go
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  Speaker 1: to the online section of Reagan Mass Transit right, yes, okay,
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  Speaker 1: So how do you get to that again?
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  Speaker 2: The easiest thing is Reagan Transit dot org Reagan mass
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  Speaker 2: Transit dot org. And then if they have any questions,
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  Speaker 2: I don't want to talk further, they can also give
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  Speaker 2: us a call. It eight one five two eight eight
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  Speaker 2: two one seven. It has been pushed out via our
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  Speaker 2: Facebook page, okay, multiple times, and I believe even the
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  Speaker 2: City of Dixon might have pushed it out within the
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  Speaker 2: past week. And I believe August eighth, for at least
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  Speaker 2: the Lee County portion is the deadline for giving some
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  Speaker 2: feedback for transit desert here on Leeke.
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  Speaker 1: Please help Reagan Mass Transit in there again look ahead,
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  Speaker 1: because they will use your input to plan ahead for
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  Speaker 1: their plans here in our Lee County area. So go
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  Speaker 1: online and fill out that survey. They'd appreciate your effort
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  Speaker 1: in joining them with this survey information had to do
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  Speaker 1: it for our talk line today, sir, Thanks so very
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  Speaker 1: much for joining us. Always appreciate a visit and we'll
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  Speaker 1: see you next month. Thanks. Greg Gates is our executive
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  Speaker 1: director of the Reagan Mass Transit District. Our guest today
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  Speaker 1: on the eight fifteen talk line here at wixent. Time
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  Speaker 1: to go to press with Tim Lee.