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The Review September 1, 2015
On the road to success BY BRENDEN WEST
DIXON – Local transportation officials are making a lot of connections with their new bus route. The new Interstate 88 Greyhound Bus route is nearing its third full month of usage, and already they’re surprised and excited at how many people are catching a ride. Launched in June, service features four daily routes from Davenport to Chicago, with Dixon being one of five stops along the way. The Dixon-based LeeOgle Transportation System obtained federal funding to launch the program, which was years in the making, LOTS executive director Jaime Blatti said. So far, the number of passengers using the Greyhound route is promising, she said. “We were all pleasantly surprised and excited with the preliminary ridership reports,” Blatti said. “It shows there is a great
need for this service.” In June, the route had an estimated 380 total passengers. In Dixon, 18 boarded buses and 22 people got off in the city. The numbers rose to 468 in July, with 42 boarding and 33 disembarking in Dixon. Those numbers should rise again for August, Blatti said. The intent of the program, she said, is to connect people in rural Dixon to the rest of the country. Most of the passengers use the bus to reach major cities, like Atlanta, Milwaukee and Omaha, Nebraska. Blatti said she sold a ticket for a trip to Mississippi on Monday. “It’s not so much getting you to Chicago,” she said. “It’s after you get to Chicago, what other meaningful connections are there to get you to Dallas or Tucson or Myrtle Beach? When we set up these routes, it’s not as simple as how long it takes to get from Rochelle to DeKalb. When we get to Chicago or
Davenport, it’s about how many different buses can we take and to where. “We’re offering people in the rural community like Dixon the opportunity to get national.” After a “soft launch,” during which passengers could buy tickets online only, Blatti said tickets now also are being sold at the Ronald Reagan Transit Center at 210 E. Progress Drive in Dixon. Most passengers travel to and from Chicago, which Blatti called a “major Midwest transportation hub.” Data estimates show that 92 percent of the 850 passengers in June and July went to or left from the Windy City. The program offers four bus routes now (two in each direction) that hit Dixon at 8 a.m., 9:55 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 7 p.m., with other stops in Naperville, DeKalb, Rochelle and Moline. The heaviest concentration of passengers is on the middle two routes – 301 of July’s
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Photo by Michael Krabbenhoeft
Jaime Blatti, executive director of the Lee-Ogle Transportation System, stands inside a Greyhound Connect bus Tuesday that was parked in front of the Reagan Transit Center in Dixon. “pilot” label and make this a permanent program. “We’re dealing with government money,” she said. “The government wants to know that they’re getting the best bang for their buck. With this proj-
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riders were on Dixon’s 9:55 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. routes. Early usage has program affiliates thinking about the route’s full potential. And as football season approaches, LOTS is looking at DeKalb’s Northern Illinois University Huskies as being a major draw for sports fans. Some discussion involves adding a fifth bus route to accommodate an expected usage spike. Or Greyhound might start to use larger buses to carry the expected surge in passengers. Because this is a federally funded pilot program, Blatti said, the numbers are important to show that buses are a useful mechanism to Dixon and other communities. It has 2 years to show the Federal Transportation Administration that it’s a worthwhile endeavor to continue to fund. That’s another reason popularity at the onset is a promising sign. Blatti hopes to remove the
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