Mark Fischenich: Ask Us: Mankato transit buses not packed but still relied upon by many

Oct. 8—Q: I have no need for the Mankato bus system but it has been my observation that the buses are very sparsely populated. What is the average ridership per bus per day and would it be possible to use smaller buses to keep costs down?

A: Shawn Schloesser, who serves as associate director for transportation planning services for the city of Mankato, supplied the numbers along with some context.

Mankato Transit operates three types of service, all using buses that meet Americans with Disability Act accessibility standards.

The most visible buses, and quite possibly the ones the reader has been observing, are those that provide service on fixed routes.

They run on a regular time schedule on a network of routes that provide connections to and from downtown, Minnesota State University, shopping and health care facilities and other popular destinations.

Secondly, there's a specialty service for people who would struggle to use the fixed routes.

The Paratransit Service is "intended to serve as a 'safety net' for individuals who, because of their disabilities, are unable to use the fixed route services," Schloesser said.

People who provide a certification of disability can get door-to-door service within the transit system's service area, which includes North Mankato.

A third "demand response" service is relatively new and is marketed as "KATO Flex" and "North Mankato Flex." The curb-to-curb service started in 2019 and exists to provide rides for people in parts of the cities where there are no nearby fixed-route bus stops.

So what is the average ridership per bus per day?

Schloesser provided three years of data for each service type for 2019, 2022 and the first nine months of 2023 (leaving out the pandemic-impacted years). Here are the average number of riders per bus for those three years:

Fixed route — 151, 102 and 124.

Paratransit — 13, 13 and 14.

Demand Response — 7, 10 and 8.

"The years 2019, 2022, and 2023 are highlighted to indicate changes in ridership before and after the pandemic disruption," Schloesser said. "For 2023, when the year is complete, it is forecasted to exceed 2022 by 5% due to strong enrollment at Minnesota State University, Mankato."

Ask Us Guy will let readers do the math. But considering that the buses are running on a half-dozen fixed routes, many of them operating about 11 hours a day on weekdays, that's not a lot of people per hour and even less at any given moment. At the same time, most of the people on the bus probably aren't riding it for the simple joy of bus-riding. Many of them need public transit to get to jobs, classes, medical appointments and supermarkets because they can't drive or don't own a car.

That still leaves the question about downsizing buses to reduce costs. Could people have access to what might be a vital service without the behemoth buses?

There is some effort to match equipment to need, based on the number of boardings at a stop, the accumulating passenger load between multiple stops, the available standing room, and passenger safety. Other factors include bus availability due to maintenance and whether a bus is too large for certain streets.

"Mankato has several types and sizes of buses to maximize service efficiencies," Schloesser said. "... Currently, each route or service is analyzed to ensure the most efficient bus is used that meets these needs."

There are also durability factors. The city's "Class 700" buses — the big ones with a capacity of 38 to 45 people (seated and standing) — have a life span of 12 years or 500,000 miles. The "Class 400" buses — medium-sized transit buses with a capacity of 14 to 19 people — have a shorter life span of five years or 150,000 miles.

Changing the mix of buses is possible, but only when the old ones wear out and only if the city can show federal officials, who provide most of the funding for the transit program, data trends that justify the changes.

This week's question is well-timed if people want to provide their input on the transit system.

Schloesser encourages residents to weigh in before next Sunday, because comments are being taken until then on the city's updated Transit Development Plan before it is finalized later this fall. The type and manner of transit service in the plan has a major impact on the size of buses that will be purchased in the future.

People can share their comments at everyvoice.mankatomn.gov.

Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.