In the wake of the May Bay Area Transportation Authority millage passage, officials at the area’s largest public transportation utility are in the planning stages for new routes, new buses and improved technology.

BATA operates on a $7.4 million annual budget, 35 percent of which is provided by the local millage levy. The May .5 mill increase that both Grand Traverse and Leelanau voters approved will be in effect from 2018 to 2022, providing an additional $1.1 million per year. With the funds not available until next year, that gives BATA the rest of 2017 to map out how it intends to spend the money.

Eric Lingaur, BATA communications manager, says a primary goal is to develop additional routes. “One thing we heard from the community was (for) a downtown loop, more frequently connecting east and west. We have 30-minute loops now. We want to connect end to end every 15 minutes.”

BATA is meeting with the county and DDA to determine how to make the new Bay Line work for all concerned, including possible additional locations; the public will also be asked to weigh in.

Lingaur says BATA is looking to increase park-and-ride options for those who drive into town from outside Traverse City for work or recreation. “We want to work with employers and come up with ways to make it viable,” he says. Lingaur says it can be difficult to entice people to take the bus when they can make the drive in half the time the bus takes. “From Interlochen or Acme/Williamsburg, it can take an hour to downtown as it (the bus) makes stops. If I can get from Interlochen to downtown in 20 minutes (by car), why take a bus that can take an hour?”

So BATA is proposing an expansion of its express routes. “We have some already. It only makes one (other) stop, at the mall.” The public’s awareness of the routes is increasing, as is adoption, which he says is typical.

BATA ridership has grown steadily the past two decades, from 287,089 riders in 1997, to 502,761 in 2016. “We’re trending toward a slight increase compared to 2016,” says Linguar. We’re currently experiencing about a four percent increase in ridership on our City Loop fixed routes and five percent increase on our Link demand-response services.”

Additional funds will also pay for new buses, not only to replace older ones but to service the additional routes and provide more efficiency via different sizes and fueling options. “We want to diversify our fleet,” says Lingaur. “We have a propane fueling station on property. We bought five propane buses last year and five this year. There’s less wear and tear on the drivetrain. We want to control the costs for both fuel and maintenance.”

That also plays into a method for dealing with criticism by those who see large buses around the area with only a few riders. Lingaur responds that grants for vehicles from the likes of MDOT come with mandates to purchase certain size buses, even if it is more efficient to use smaller buses on routes or at times when fewer riders typically use the bus.

And when buses are used for the Link system, going point-to-point (so-called Dial-A-Ride), a vehicle may be riderless before picking up or after dropping off a fare.

Other planned investments are improved bus stops and upgraded technology, including the potential for online scheduling and real-time bus tracking, as well as the ability to purchase fares online.

BATA is also hopeful it can provide more options for those traveling to town from more rural areas for such things as shopping or medical appointments. “We want to increase the rural connections. Grand Traverse County is getting older, and Leelanau is the oldest county in Michigan. Ninety-five percent of our vehicles are equipped with handicap lifts. Taxis don’t have that.”

He says discussions are also ongoing with other regional public bus systems. “We’re looking at regional connections, such as with Benzie Bus. We’re always looking to add value.”