Between 1,500 and 1,800 riders use the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) transit system every day. For some users, taking the bus is a convenience or an environmental choice; for others, it’s a necessity.

To better understand the experiences and needs of users – and to evaluate Traverse City’s transportation network first-hand, including its sidewalks, bike trails and bus routes – BATA Transportation Planner Tyler Bevier went “car-free” for the month of January, relying solely on BATA, walking or biking to get around town. Bevier spoke with The Ticker about his experience and ways the city's infrastructure systems might be improved to make them more accessible to all users.

The Ticker: What was the impetus behind Car-Free January? And what rules or parameters did you set for the experiment?
Tyler Bevier: As a transportation planner, I wanted to further understand our networks and both the strengths and areas for improvement in our existing service levels. I also wanted to meet riders and hear their narratives. The goal was to go the whole month accomplishing any tasks I’d normally use a car for by walking, biking or busing, including commuting to work, running errands and doing activities on the weekend. I thought January would be one of the more difficult months to do it, so if I could accomplish that, it might be easier to do it again in the spring or summer or fall.

The Ticker: What stood out to you early on as you first began going car-free?
Tyler Bevier: Mornings were interesting. There were set times to get to the bus, so I had to wake up earlier to make sure I could catch it for work. With a car, it’s obviously more flexible. Your timing is more structured (using the bus). If you’re going to get groceries or run errands, you have to plan everything out. It really hit me when I was doing my laundry on Eighth Street, when I realized I was going to have to take my laundry on the bus or walk home with it (Ed note: Bevier lives in Traverse Heights). I got a lot of funny looks from people walking with my laundry in the middle of winter...but people do this every day.

The Ticker: What worked well – and what didn’t work well – about relying on the bus to get around town?
Tyler Bevier: Commuting and going to work or going downtown, I think our system works really well. Interestingly, just like with a car, if I was traveling north-south it was easy, but if I wanted to go east-west, it was more challenging. To go from the east side of town to Meijer or the mall, I had to transfer; there were no direct routes. It was also more challenging on the weekends, when the bus is only running every hour instead of every half hour. I started to shift getting groceries and errands to after work instead of the weekends. It’s also challenging to stack errands. If I wanted to go to Meijer and get groceries, and then go to Target and get a pair of pants, there’s nowhere to store the groceries when you go to Target. Instead of just storing your groceries in the car, you have to bring them into the store with you, which is a bit awkward.

The Ticker: What did you learn from talking to other riders?
Tyler Bevier: It was interesting, because there was a nice mix in terms of why people take the bus. There were students who took it to get to high school, while others had a one-car family where the husband or wife took the car and the other person took the bus. There were also people who took it because they didn’t want to drive on the winter roads. I thought that was interesting. In the summer, people take it so they don’t have to deal with traffic, but I hadn’t thought about winter. And some people need it to get from point A to point B every day. So it’s a good mix that are using (the system).

The Ticker: Did you ever cheat and use your car?
Tyler Bevier: I didn’t. I did start the car every few days, because I didn’t want a dead battery in February. (laughs) It was strange shifting back to the car in February, because I suddenly had to pay attention to the road and stop signs again. It was nice to be on the bus and not have to worry about driving. I could catch up on texts and emails and put my headphones on and relax. It’s nice having that time to yourself, whereas in a car you’re usually rushing and focused on getting from point A to B.

The Ticker: Aside from BATA, what did you observe about the city’s sidewalk and bike networks?
Tyler Bevier: The city proper is doing a great job. Even though there are gaps in the network, there’s a plan to fill those gaps and we’re getting closer every year. In the townships and the villages, there’s some room for improvement. I couldn't walk from the Cherryland Center to my home from Barlow (without being in the road). I think we could make some improvements for bus stop access and making things more accessible overall, especially for folks I saw using wheelchairs.

The Ticker: After going car-free for a month, what are some things you think BATA can do to improve its system?
Tyler Bevier: I think we could try exploring running the city loops later or having more on the weekend, particularly in the summer when there are more people downtown. We are also starting to pilot Express loops starting Monday from downtown to Interlochen and Williamsburg, where instead of 55 minutes it’s limited-stop service so someone can get to their destination in 25 minutes. In our growing and aging region, that’s a question we’ll have to continually address: How do we keep up our service delivery? I think there’s a knowledge gap of the services we provide…and anxiety among first-time riders of how it all works. That's something I think our integration with Google Transit will really help with. But we need to continue having community conversations about our bus network.