COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

City of Minot

COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS Volume I: Existing Conditions Report

November 2013

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Table of Contents Page Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Planning Context ........................................................................................................................ 2 Comprehensive Plan .................................................................................................................................. 2 Renaissance Zone ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Souris Basin Regional Recovery Strategy ............................................................................................. 6 Existing Transit Services ............................................................................................................. 7 System Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Service Characteristics ............................................................................................................................ 11 Minot City Transit Fares .......................................................................................................................... 16 Route Summaries ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Additional Services .................................................................................................................................. 27 Transit Fleet............................................................................................................................................... 29 City Transit Budget .................................................................................................................................. 29 Demographic and Land Use Characteristics.............................................................................. 31 demographic characteristics .................................................................................................................. 31 Employment Density and Planned Developments.............................................................................. 32 Traffic Conditions and Projections ............................................................................................ 39 Traffic Demand Model Review ............................................................................................................. 39 Short Term versus Longer Term Impacts .............................................................................................. 40 Peer Review ............................................................................................................................. 43 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................ 43 Peer Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 43 Key Findings.............................................................................................................................................. 46 Fixed Route On-Board Survey Results ...................................................................................... 50 On-Board Survey Findings ..................................................................................................................... 50 On-Board Survey Respondent Demographics ................................................................................... 55 Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit Passenger Survey ............................................................ 58 Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit Passenger Survey Findings .............................................................. 58 Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit Passenger Survey Demographics ................................................... 62 Community Survey Results....................................................................................................... 65 Community Survey Findings ................................................................................................................... 65 Community Survey Respondent Demographics .................................................................................. 73 Stakeholder Input...................................................................................................................... 76 Stakeholder Interviews ........................................................................................................................... 76 Planning Game Workshop..................................................................................................................... 78 Key Findings and Needs Assessment....................................................................................... 81 APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C APPENDIX D

Boarding Maps Midday Route Scorecards Stakeholder Interview Guide and Tradeoff Exercise Results Planning Game Guide

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Table of Figures Page Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Figure 21 Figure 22 Figure 23 Figure 24 Figure 25 Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28 Figure 29 Figure 30 Figure 31 Figure 32 Figure 33 Figure 34 Figure 35 Figure 36 Figure 37 Figure 38 Figure 39 Figure 40 Figure 41 Figure 42

City of Minot Existing Land Use Map ................................................................................... 2 City of Minot Future Land Use Map ...................................................................................... 3 City of Minot Development Phases in Growth Areas ........................................................ 4 Minot Renaissance Zones ......................................................................................................... 5 Existing Early Morning Routes ................................................................................................ 8 Existing Midday Routes ........................................................................................................... 9 Minot City Transit Bus Routes ................................................................................................ 10 Performance Characteristics of Midday Routes (2012) ................................................. 11 Boardings per Revenue Hour by Route – Midday ........................................................... 12 On-Time Performance by Route – Midday ....................................................................... 12 Performance Characteristics of Early Morning Routes (2012) ...................................... 12 Boardings per Revenue Hour by Route – Early Morning................................................ 13 Performance Characteristics of Afternoon Routes (2012) .............................................. 13 Annual Fixed Route Ridership (2008-2012) ..................................................................... 15 Monthly Boardings by Year (2009-2012) ........................................................................ 15 Monthly Boardings by User Type (2012) .......................................................................... 15 City Bus Fares and Passes ..................................................................................................... 16 Dial-a-Ride Pickup Locations ................................................................................................ 28 Taxi Service Charges ............................................................................................................. 29 Spent on Operations by Funding Resource ....................................................................... 30 Current Demographic Characteristics ................................................................................. 31 Population Change from 2000 to 2010 ............................................................................ 32 Population Density Map ........................................................................................................ 33 Low Income Households Map ............................................................................................... 34 Automobile Ownership Map................................................................................................. 35 Senior Population Map .......................................................................................................... 36 Youth Population Map ........................................................................................................... 37 Number of Workers in 2010 and Future Developments ................................................ 38 Anticipated 2030 Congestion Levels and Locations ........................................................ 40 Near Term Development Areas and Corridors with Potential Near Term Congestion42 Peer Systems – General Characteristics ............................................................................ 45 Peer Operating Expenses and Revenue Sources, FY 2010-2011 ............................... 46 Performance Data and Indicators (Fixed Route), FY 2010-2011 ................................ 47 What is the purpose of your trip? ....................................................................................... 50 How did you get to the bus stop? ....................................................................................... 51 How will you get to your final destination? ....................................................................... 51 How often do you ride transit? ............................................................................................ 51 How long have you been riding transit? ............................................................................ 52 How would you have made this trip without Minot City Bus? ........................................ 52 How did you pay your fare for this bus ride? .................................................................. 53 Rating of Minot City Bus Performance................................................................................ 54 What improvements would help you to choose to ride Minot City Bus more often?. 55

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 43 Figure 44 Figure 45 Figure 46 Figure 47 Figure 48 Figure 49 Figure 50 Figure 51 Figure 52 Figure 53 Figure 54 Figure 55 Figure 56 Figure 57 Figure 58 Figure 59 Figure 60 Figure 61 Figure 62 Figure 63 Figure 64 Figure 65 Figure 66 Figure 67 Figure 68 Figure 69 Figure 70 Figure 71 Figure 72 Figure 73 Figure 74 Figure 75 Figure 76 Figure 77 Figure 78 Figure 79 Figure 80 Figure 81 Figure 82 Figure 83

Age of Respondents ............................................................................................................... 55 Income Categories of Respondents ..................................................................................... 56 Employment Status of Respondents ..................................................................................... 56 Respondents’ Access to Internet ........................................................................................... 57 Respondents’ Term of Residency in Minot .......................................................................... 57 What is the main purpose for this trip? .............................................................................. 58 How often do you ride Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit? ....................................... 59 How long have you been riding Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit? ....................... 59 If Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit service was not available, how would you have made this trip? ............................................................................................................... 60 How would you rate the following characteristics of Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit? .............................................................................................................................. 61 Disability Status....................................................................................................................... 61 Car Availability....................................................................................................................... 61 Driver’s License ........................................................................................................................ 61 What is your age?.................................................................................................................. 62 What is your household income? ......................................................................................... 62 What is your employment/student status?......................................................................... 63 Do you have access to the internet?.................................................................................... 63 Do you use the internet to get information about transit? .............................................. 63 If you only use Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit, what is the reason?................... 64 Familiarity with Minot City Transit or Souris Basin Transit .............................................. 65 Use of Minot City Transit or Souris Basin Transit .............................................................. 65 Transit Service Used ............................................................................................................... 66 Transit Trip Purpose ................................................................................................................ 66 Reasons for Not Ever Riding Transit .................................................................................... 67 Location of Employment – City ............................................................................................ 67 Location of Employment – Employer ................................................................................... 68 Commute Mode in Winter and Summer ............................................................................. 68 Schools Attended by Household Members ........................................................................ 69 Mode to and from School in Winter – Morning and Afternoon .................................... 69 Public Service Ratings ............................................................................................................ 70 Views on Transit Service....................................................................................................... 70 Rating of Transit Service Benefits in Minot ........................................................................ 71 Changes to Improve Rating of Transit Service Benefits in Minot................................... 71 Preferred Start and End Times ............................................................................................ 72 Summary of Open-Ended Comments .................................................................................. 73 Survey Respondent Age ........................................................................................................ 74 Survey Respondent Income ................................................................................................... 74 Number of Cars Available to Household ........................................................................... 75 Respondents’ Term of Residency in Minot .......................................................................... 75 Stakeholder Trade-Off Exercise ......................................................................................... 77 Coverage versus Productivity Trade-Off........................................................................... 77

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

INTRODUCTION This Existing Conditions report is the first element of the Comprehensive System Analysis (CSA) and a foundational document for the rest of the analysis. This first report describes and assesses demographic and community trends, transit system characteristics and performance, and feedback from key stakeholders, existing riders and the greater community. Through this initial documentation of existing conditions, a series of key findings, needs and priorities were developed. These key findings will form the basis for the development of potential modifications to the transit services developed later in the study.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

PLANNING CONTEXT This section provides a brief overview of several important planning documents that have been completed or updated in recent years as well as current initiatives that have direct relevance to transit and transportation services, land use, and public facilities. These documents help frame the context from which the CSA is being developed.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Updated in 2012, the City of Minot Comprehensive Plan identifies five key elements which are vital to the city’s continued successful growth, including a revitalized downtown, greenway connections, compact development, housing opportunities, and transportation. Current land use in Minot (Figure 1) is characterized by primarily low density residential use throughout the city, some medium density residential in the downtown core, industrial uses in the core of the city and to the east, and a commercial core and north-south spine leading to a commercial district along and south of US Hwy 2. The Minot International Airport, which is currently undergoing a major expansion, is located 2 miles north of downtown on North Broadway.

Figure 1

City of Minot Existing Land Use Map

Source: City of Minot

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 2

City of Minot Future Land Use Map

Source: City of Minot

Future land use in Minot (Figure 2) involves infill development and the expansion of the city in nearly all directions, including a large swath of industrial land in the northeast, mixed use and medium density residential development along travel corridors in all quadrants, and single family residential development within and on the current outskirts of the city. In recent years, Minot has grown rapidly due to a variety of factors, including most importantly the western North Dakota oil boom. While accurate population and employment projections are

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

difficult to quantify due to the unpredictable nature of this growth, population projections range from 47,400 to 54,900 total residents by the year 2030. In order to plan for potential growth, the City created five phased Growth Areas in which compact growth will occur in stages to preserve community quality of life. Using an assumed middle estimate of 49,000 residents, Minot may grow into only the first Growth Area by 2030 (represented in dark brown in Figure 3), with possible continued growth in the distant future. However, if permitted development continues at the current rate for a few more years, the city will reach its 2030 estimate by 2015.

Figure 3

City of Minot Development Phases in Growth Areas

Source: City of Minot

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

The Minot Comprehensive Plan aims to encourage walking, bicycling, and active living in general while also reducing car trips through an emphasis on compact development. While the Minot City Transit currently operates nine fixed transit routes, the Plan acknowledges that transit will be an increasingly important component of reaching this vision as Minot continues to grow.

RENAISSANCE ZONE Since 2001, the City of Minot has had a Renaissance Zone, which is an economic development and revitalization area eligible for tax credits and exemptions in order to encourage investment. Figure 4 displays the 2001, 2006, and 2010 Renaissance Zones, which generally include much of the downtown core south of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the Minot State University campus.

Figure 4

Minot Renaissance Zones

Source: City of Minot

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

SOURIS BASIN REGIONAL RECOVERY STRATEGY After the severe flooding event of June 2011, a four month planning process involving local, state, and federal officials and the general public produced a Recovery Strategy for Minot, Burlington and Ward County. The Recovery Strategy proposes a multi-jurisdictional Transportation Study to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and resiliency of the transportation system in the Souris Valley region. The focus of the study would be on the restoration of urban and rural roadways damaged in the flood, identification and protection of critical regional routes and connections, management of traffic congestion, and improvement of rural farm-to-market roads. A Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan is also proposed by the Recovery Strategy, including the identification of needs and projects to improve sidewalks, bike lanes, bike routes, and connections to transit. The focus of the study would be on Safe Routes to School, the regional trail system, and commuting. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) constructed temporary housing units at Virgil Workman Village after the flood in June 2011. The Recovery Strategy recommends that the temporary housing is transitioned to permanent housing at this site, either through private development with City assistance, private development, or City purchase. Six hundred temporary housing units would be replaced with a smaller portion of permanent, possibly affordable, housing.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

EXISTING TRANSIT SERVICES SYSTEM OVERVIEW Minot City bus operates three types of service: Early Morning, Midday, and Afternoon. Early Morning and Midday service is flag stop service, meaning that riders may flag a driver at any intersection along a route, but there are no designated stops. Afternoon service is take home only service with trips starting at several schools in Minot where riders board and then are taken to their destinations. Afternoon trips do not follow a specified route but rather make drop offs according to the destinations of each of the riders each day. There are six Midday routes that operate between 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM that connect at the Town & Country Shopping Center. The last trips on the midday service start at 4:30 PM but only drop passengers off (i.e., no pickups). All Midday routes are 30 minute loops and operate every 60 minutes with three routes operating on the hour and the other three routes operating on the half hour, requiring three buses in total. Early Morning routes operate between 6:52 AM and 8:40 AM. There are nine routes that primarily connect residential neighborhoods with the elementary, middle, and high schools in Minot. Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the Early Morning and Midday services. Figure 7 lists the routes, destinations, service frequencies, and trip times for each service type.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 5

Existing Early Morning Routes

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 6

Existing Midday Routes

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 7

Minot City Transit Bus Routes Route

Terminations

Major Destinations

Frequency

Service Span

Midday Service West

T&C Center

Post Office, Trinity Hospital, Parker Senior Center, Trinity Nursing Home, Minot State University, Arrowhead Miracle Mart, City Hall/Police Station, Minot Public Library

60 mins

9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

South #1

T&C Center

Henry Towers, Manor Apartments, K-mart, Trinity Hospital, Post Office, Marketplace Foods, Jim Hill School, Parker Senior Center, Milton Young Towers

60 mins

9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

South #2

T&C Center

Wal-Mart Supercenter, Broadway Miracle Mart, Marketplace Foods, Henry Towers, Family Practice, YMCA

60 mins

9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

South #3

T&C Center

Terrace Apartments, K-mart, Guardian Manor, Dakota Terrace Apartments, Brentmoor, Dakota Square Door ‘B’, Miracle Mart Dakota Square

60 mins

9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

North

T&C Center

Parker Center, B&D Market, McKinley Elementary School, North Central Human Services, The Vegas Motel, MSUWest Side, Minot Public Library, Minot Civic Center & Police Station

60 mins

9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

East

T&C Center

Medical Arts Clinic/United, Holiday Inn-Riverside, Jefferson Trailer Park, ND State Fairgrounds, Roosevelt Park, Parker Center, Milton Young Towers

60 mins

9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

West Early Morning

Central Campus

Lincoln Elem., Adult Learning Center, Bel Air Elem., Longfellow Elem., Erik Ramstad

7:03 AM, 7:43 AM

Sunnyside Early Morning

Sunnyside School

Holiday Village Mobile Home Park

8:20 AM

South #1 Early Morning

Magic City Campus

Woodridge, Menard’s, K-mart, Edison School, Washington School, Jim Hill Middle School

6:54 AM, 7:39 AM

South #2 Early Morning

Magic City & Central Campuses

Dakota Square, Dakota Park South, Edison Elem., Jim Hill Middle School

7:00 AM, 7:45 AM

Washington Early Morning

Washington School

Woodridge, Menard’s, K-Mart, Edison School, Washington School

7:59 AM

North Central Early Morning

Central Campus

McKinley Elem., Roosevelt Elem., Ryan High School, Minot State University, Job Corp, Longfellow Elem.

6:52 AM, 7:42 AM

North Early Morning

Central Campus

Minot State University, Lewis & Clark Elem., Job Corp, Erik Ramstad, Minot Public Library

7:00 AM, 7:40 AM

East Early Morning

Central Campus

Holiday Village Mobile Home Park, Jefferson Mobile Home Park, Jefferson Elem., Sunnyside Elem., Jim Middle School, Magic City Campus

7:02 AM, 7:48 AM

Bel Air Elem.

8:18 AM

Early Morning Service

Bel Air – Perkett Afternoon Service Take home service only; trips start at the following locations at the end of the school day

Sunnyside Elementary, Bel Air Elementary, Jim Hill Middle School, Erik Ramstad, Roosevelt Elementary, Magic City High School, Central High School, Perkett, Edison School, Washington Elementary

Note: Times listed for the early morning routes indicate starting times for each available trip.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

SERVICE CHARACTERISTICS Midday Service Performance characteristics of Midday Routes based on 2012 daily boarding counts are shown in Figure 8. The South #2 and North routes have the highest daily boardings. As shown in Figure 9 the system average productivity is 10.4 boardings per revenue hour, ranging from 19.1 boardings per hour on South #2 route to 5.0 boardings per hour on East route. On-time performance based on the February 2013 survey is shown in Figure 10. The East route has the worst on time performance with 82% of trips arriving on time to scheduled time points. Most of the schedule reliability problems are manifested in early arrivals. There are few problems with late arrivals, with the East route having the highest occurrence of late running trips (4%). Early running trips occur on all routes, though the South #3, North and East routes tend to arrive early more regularly than other routes. On average, however, on time performance is good on the system with 90% of all trips arriving on time.

Figure 8

Performance Characteristics of Midday Routes (2012)

Midday Routes

Annual Riders

Daily Riders

Revenue Hours

Boardings per Revenue Hour

West

5,374

21.2

4.0

5.3

South 1

10,767

42.4

4.0

10.6

South 2

19,403

76.4

4.0

19.1

South 3

7,265

28.6

4.0

7.2

North

15,709

61.8

4.0

15.5

East

5,081

20.0

4.0

5.0

System Average

63,599

250.4

24.0

10.4

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 9

Boardings per Revenue Hour by Route – Midday

25 19.1

20

15.5

15

10.6 10

System Average = 10.4 7.2

5 0

South 2

Figure 10

North

South 1

South 3

5.3

5.0

West

East

On-Time Performance by Route – Midday Route

On Time

Early

Late

West

97%

3%

0%

South 1

91%

9%

0%

South 2

94%

6%

0%

South 3

88%

12%

0%

North

86%

11%

2%

East

82%

13%

4%

System Average

90%

9%

1%

Early Morning Service Performance characteristics of early morning routes based on 2012 boarding counts is shown in Figure 11. Between the nine routes there are on average 143.6 boardings per day. As shown in Figure 12, Early Morning routes have on average 16.8 boardings per revenue hour. The Sunnyside route is the least productive with 5.4 boardings per revenue hour and the East route is the most productive with 26.0 boardings per revenue hour.

Figure 11

Performance Characteristics of Early Morning Routes (2012)

Early Morning Routes

Annual Riders

Daily Riders

Revenue Hours

Boardings per Revenue Hour

West

2,076

11.6

1.0

11.8

Sunnyside

241

1.3

0.2

5.4

South #1

4,497

25.1

1.3

19.6

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

South #2

2,574

14.4

1.2

12.0

Washington

1,342

7.5

0.5

14.5

North Central

3,281

18.3

1.5

12.5

North

4,667

26.1

1.1

24.1

East

6,524

36.4

1.4

26.0

Bel-Air Perkett

500

2.8

0.4

7.6

System Average

25,702

143.6

8.5

16.8

Figure 12 30

Boardings per Revenue Hour by Route – Early Morning

26.0

24.1

25

19.6

20

Early Morning Average = 16.8

14.5

15

12.5

12.0

11.8

10

7.6

5.4

5 0

East

North

South #1 Washington

North Central

South #2

West

Bel-Air Perkett

Sunnyside

Afternoon Service Figure 13 lists the annual and daily boardings for each school location served by the afternoon routes. Because routes and service times vary depending on the passengers on board each day, revenue hours cannot be calculated for each route. Total revenue hours are estimated based on the operator shift times. Productivity for all afternoon service was calculated by dividing the total daily boardings by the total afternoon driver shift hours. Afternoon service averages 18.4 boardings per revenue hour.

Figure 13

Performance Characteristics of Afternoon Routes (2012)

Afternoon Trips

Annual Riders

Daily Riders

Sunnyside

347

1.9

Ramstad

5,747

32.1

Magic City

1,984

11.1

Perkett

90

0.5

Revenue Hours

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Boardings per Revenue Hour

COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Afternoon Trips

Annual Riders

Daily Riders

Edison

1,579

8.8

Washington

2,580

14.4

Jim Hill

8,969

50.1

Central Campus

20,936

117.0

Bel-Air

603

3.4

Roosevelt

45

0.3

System Average

42,880

239.6

Revenue Hours

Boardings per Revenue Hour

13.0

18.4

Ridership Trends Ridership has fluctuated over the past five years (2008 to 2012) as shown in Figure 14, with a high of just over 151,000 in 2008 to a low of about 123,000 in 2010. This decline between 2008 and 2010 was typical of transit ridership nationally due to the national recession (even though North Dakota weathered the recession better than the rest of the country). Ridership in the past three years has begun to recover to close to more than 2009 levels but still about 10% below 2008 levels. Ridership varies seasonally as shown in Figure 15. Summer ridership is less than half of most other months. September was consistently the highest ridership month for the past four years with the exception of October 2009 which had the highest ridership of any month over the past four years. The seasonal variation in ridership is largely due to the ridership patterns associated with each user type, shown in Figure 16. Early Morning and Afternoon service only operates on days that school is in session, resulting in much lower summer ridership. In addition, Norsk Hostfest, a Scandinavian cultural festival that attracts senior citizens tourists to Minot occurs every September. Adult ridership is greater in the spring and summer possibly due to patrons with other transportation options being more willing to ride the bus in fair weather.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 14

Annual Fixed Route Ridership (2008-2012)

180,000 151,169

160,000 140,000

123,139

120,000

128,023

136,951

2011

2012

131,062

100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0

2008

Figure 15

2009

2010

Monthly Boardings by Year (2009-2012)

20,000 2009

2010

2011

2012

15,000 10,000 5,000 0

Figure 16 10,000

Monthly Boardings by User Type (2012) Adult

Student

8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0

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Senior

COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

MINOT CITY TRANSIT FARES Figure 17 summarizes the fare structure on City Bus. Students, senior citizens, and disabled riders receive a discounted fare. Transfers between routes are free. Tokens are sold on the bus, requiring drivers to handle large sums of money and make change when needed. Tokens are also sold at the Public Works Office (1025 31st St. SE) and the Water Billing Office (515 2nd Ave. SW). Monthly passes can be purchased at the Public Works Office or the Water Billing Office.

Figure 17

City Bus Fares and Passes Fare Type

Fare Cost

Adult Cash Fare

$1.25

Adult Tokens (10 tokens per envelope)

$10.00

Adult Monthly Pass

$34.00

Student/Senior Citizens/Disabled (10 tokens per envelope) Student/Senior Citizen/Disabled Monthly Pass

$8.00 $26.00

Children under 6

Free

Transfers

Free

ROUTE SUMMARIES The following section provides summaries of the Minot City Bus Midday routes, including each route’s alignment, operating characteristics, market served, and on time performance. All of the Midday routes operate as loops and have the same operating span, frequency, and revenue hours (although three routes operate take-home only trips at 4:30 PM). Stop-level ridership data and on-time performance data was collected in February 2013. Each route was surveyed twice, so the data reflects the average of two days. The measure used for productivity, boardings per revenue hour, ranges from 5.0 – 19.0 according to Minot City Bus data. It should be noted that these numbers are within the expected range for a flag-stop system that operates limited frequency (60 minutes) and a limited service span (8 hours on weekdays only). Bus systems serving a similar population and area that operate with better service and fixed bus stops would be expected to have higher ridership and productivity (see the Peer Review section later in this report). Ridership data were collected on all Afternoon trips on February 12th and all Early Morning trips on February 13th. Midday ridership counts and schedule adherence measurements were conducted on February 13th and 14th along with an onboard rider survey. The two days of boarding and alighting counts on Midday routes were averaged. Boarding and alighting data collected during this period is presented in this document in the form of ridership maps (Appendix A), route score cards (Appendix B), and stop and segment level data presented in the individual route summaries. On time performance data for the scorecards were collected by comparing scheduled arrival times and time points to actual arrival times recorded by surveyors on board each Midday route on February 13th and 14th. Buses that arrived between zero and five minutes after the scheduled time were marked on time. Buses that arrived more than five minutes after the scheduled time

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

were marked late, and buses that arrived before the scheduled time were marked early. The percent of early, on-time, and late arrivals were calculated based on both days of observations for each time point and each route as a whole. Route level performance metrics such as passengers per revenue hour are based on daily boarding counts collected by operators between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. The overall ridership numbers from 2012 are higher than those collected during the February 2013 data collection. This may be due to an influx of temporary workers in the first half of 2012 that elevated adult ridership numbers to roughly double that of 2011. Additionally, on February 13th, 2013 there were several inches of snowfall that may have deterred riders from making trips. A summary of ridership on Early Morning and Afternoon routes follows the individual Midday route summaries. Summaries are based on boarding and alighting data observed during the February 2013 on board rider count. Appendix A includes boarding maps for these routes, but no route score cards were developed for the Early Morning or Afternoon routes due to their lack of multiple trips with scheduled timepoints.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

West Route Description The West route (shown in yellow in the map to the right) runs in a large loop northwest of Town & Country, following the same northeast downtown weave pattern of the East route, traveling north on 3rd St NE, east on 6th Ave NE, and looping around at 12th St NE on 8th Ave NE, University Ave, and 11th Ave NW. This westbound stretch serves the B&D Market, Roosevelt Elementary School, Trinity Nursing Homes, Minot State University, and Job Corps. To return to Town & Country, the route travels southwest on Northwest Ave NW, south by zigzagging towards 2nd Ave SW, returning to downtown through the Civic Center to Town & Country.

Ridership by Stop and Trip This route has the second-lowest performance of the midday routes, with 5.3 boardings per revenue hour. Ridership activity over the course of the route is sparse, but fairly evenly distributed. Several stops near Trinity Nursing Homes and a tennis facility have moderate ridership. Otherwise the only stop with noticeable ridership is the Arrowhead Miracle Mart/Arrowhead Shopping Center, located on 16th St SW and 2nd Ave SW. Ridership appears to fluctuate during the day, with a peak around the 11:30 AM trip and again at the 3:30 and 4:30 trips.

On-Time Performance The West route has very good on-time performance, running on time 97% of the time and early the remaining 3%.

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South #1 Route Description The South #1 route (shown in light green in the map to the right) runs south of Town & Country Shopping Center to K-Mart and Marketplace Foods, primarily via 1st St SE and Main St S with deviations to serve the Henry Towers, Manor Apartments and K-Mart directly, and then back north primarily via 4th St SW, 6th St SW, and Park St towards the Civic Center, and then 1st St SW north to Central Ave E. returning southbound to Town & Country, the route duplicates the a portion of the East route which takes a circuitous path to serves the Parker Senior Center, Milton Young Towers, and Manorcare.

Ridership by Stop and Trip This route performs close to the system-wide average, with 10.6 average boardings per revenue hour. What ridership activity exists is primarily north of Town & Country. On the portion of the route operating south of 11th Ave SE (south of Town & Country and Henry Towers) ridership is very low, with the exception of the intersection closest to Manor Apartments and the stop at Marketplace Foods, which has the highest stop activity on this route with 7 combined boardings and alightings. The northern portion of the route has a more even ridership pattern, with slightly increased activity at Jim Hill Middle School and in the Civic Center portion of downtown. It is also worth noting that the 4:00 PM trip, the last trip of the day, has twice as many boardings as the next-highest trip, which could indicate latent demand for later service. Five of the boardings on this trip were at Jim Hill Middle school, which could also indicate demand for more afternoon school service.

On-Time Performance The South #1 route is on-time 91% of the time and late 0% of the time; the remainder of the time the route runs early. Early running is most common in the southern portion of the route (south of Town & Country).

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South #2 Route Description The South #2 (shown in magenta in the map to the right) runs in a loop south of Town & Country Center and the Henry Towers towards WalMart, via 2nd St SE and S Broadway, with minor deviations to directly serve the entrances to Miracle Mart, Marketplace Foods, and WalMart. From Wal-Mart the route travels west on 37th Ave SW, north on 16th St SW with a small deviation to serve the YMCA, and then east on 11th Ave SW, serving the Family Practice Center before returning to Town & Country. This route has the simplest alignment of any of Minot City Bus’s routes.

Ridership by Stop and Trip The South #2 route has the highest ridership of any of the current midday routes, with 19.1 boardings per revenue hour. However, ridership appears to be concentrated at only a few stops, while most of the route has very low ridership activity. The stops that have a higher level of activity include the Henry Towers at 2nd St SE & 10th Ave SE, the intersection closest to Marketplace Foods and K-Mart on S Broadway, and Wal-Mart on 37th Ave SW & 4th Ave SW. Once past Wal-Mart, the route has only 5 combined boardings and alightings until returning to Town & Country.

On-Time Performance The South #2 route is on-time 94% of the time and late 0% of the time; the remainder of the time the route runs early. Early running is more common towards the beginning of the route.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

South #3 Route Description The alignment for the South #3 route (shown as dark blue in the map to the right) is somewhat complex, forming loops around two different areas, connected by a short segment of bidirectional service on S Broadway. The southbound portion of the upper loop runs from Town & Country east past the Henry Towers along 11th Ave SE, south on Hiawatha St past the softball complex, and southeast via 16th Ave SE, 6th St SE, and 20th Ave SE past Edgewood Vista, Terrace Apartments, and KMart and Marketplace Foods. From 20th Ave SE the route continues to the lower loop, traveling along S Broadway and then west primarily on 32nd Ave SW pas Guardian Manor and Dakota Terrace, with a significant deviation to serve Brentmoor. At 16th St SW the route turns north and then east along 24th Ave SW and US 2 past the Dakota Square Mall, returning to S Broadway to complete the lower loop, and finally continuing north to Town and Country to complete the upper loop.

Ridership by Stop and Trip This route performs below the system-wide average, with 7.3 boardings per revenue hour. As with the South #2 route, ridership appears to be concentrated primarily at a few stops near Town & Country and the main retail anchor, in this case the Dakota Square Mall. There is almost no ridership on the upper loop outside of a few boardings and alightings near the Terrace Apartments and Marketplace Foods/K-Mart. The only portion of the route with a small amount of consistent ridership is the bottom of the lower loop, along 32nd Ave SW. There appears to be very little activity at the deviation to Brentmoor, and between the Dakota Square Mall and Town & Country northbound. Ridership appears to be stronger in the morning than in the afternoon and is the highest on the first trip of the day, which could indicate demand for earlier service on this route.

On-Time Performance The South #3 route is on time 88% of the time, early 12%, and late 0% of the time. The beginning of the route is consistently more likely to run early, while the final segment is on time more than 90% of the time.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

North Route Description The North Route (shown in light blue in the map to the right) operates as a loop, running northbound to 25th Ave NW primarily on 3rd St NE and N Broadway outside of downtown, and southbound primarily on 8th St NW and 6th St NW. Outside of downtown the route mainly serves residential areas and the hotel/business area near the airport, while the downtown portion serves the Minot Civic Center and the northeast portion of downtown. The route begins leaving the Town & Country Shopping Center heading northeast via 1st St SW, 5th Ave SW, Main St, 3rd Ave SE, 1st St SE, Central Ave E, and 3rd St NE, serving Trinity Hospital and Parker Senior Center, churches, and northeast downtown. The route continues outbound via 3rd Street NE, 6th Ave NE, N Broadway, 20th Ave NW, 4th St NW, 21st Ave NW, 5th St NW, 22nd Ave NW, Frontage Road, 24th Ave NW, 4th St NW, and 25th Ave NW, serving McKinley Elementary School, Minot State University (MSU), Bishop Ryan High School, B & D Market, and North Hill Sertoma Sports Complex, passing by the eastern side of the airport and the hotels on Frontage road. Heading south from 25th Ave NW, the route travels on 8th St NW, serving Lewis & Clark Elementary, Optimist Soccer Complex, the west side of Bishop Ryan High School and Minot State University, and Erik Ramstad Middle School. The North route continues south to serve the Minot Civic Center, including the Minot Public Library and Police Station, running along 5th Ave NW, 6th St NW, and the W Burdick Expressway, before returning to the Town & Country Shopping Center via S Broadway.

Ridership by Stop and Trip The North route has 15.5 boardings per revenue hour, the second highest of the midday routes and well above the average. Outside of the transit center, most of the ridership activity occurs on the northbound portion of the route, particularly between 5th Ave SW and 3rd St NE, where the route serves numerous churches and downtown businesses. This portion of the route duplicates a portion of the East route which also has ridership in this same area. There is also ridership activity in the northeastern portion of the route, between 19th Ave NW and 25th Ave NW. The stops with greatest ridership for this route are along Frontage Road, where the route serves several motels and the eastern side of the airport. Ridership is very low as the route returns southbound to the Town & Country Shopping Center, with an average of only 1 boarding and 4 alightings between the top of the route at 25th Ave NW and the end of the route. Several alightings are clustered at 13th Ave NW and 8th St NW, where there are several apartment complexes.

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On-Time Performance The North route is on time 86% of the time and late only 2% of the time. Most segments run early more than 15% of the time, particularly the third segment (from Frontage Rd & 20th Ave NW to 25th Ave NW & 8th St NW) which runs early 29% of the time, and the last segment (from 6th St NW & 4th Ave NW to Town & Country) which runs early 63% of the time. Even though early-running on arrival to Town & Country is unlikely to cause missed transfers, it decreases system reliability.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

East Route Description The East route (shown in orange in the map below) runs east of Town & Country shopping center in a loop that runs primarily along Valley St, 8th Ave SE, and 11th Ave SE towards Holiday Park and Jefferson Trailer Park eastbound, returning westbound primarily on E Burdick Expressway.

From Town & Country, the East route travels through downtown via 9th Ave SE and 4th St SE to the E Burdick, where it turns southeast onto Valley St and 8th Ave SE, returning to E Burdick at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. The route then loops around several blocks of light industrial/low density housing, via E Burdick, 31st St SE, 11th Ave SE, 39th St SE, returning westbound onto E Burdick. Westbound the route deviates from E Burdick to serve several residential blocks between 19th St SE and 16th St SE. Upon re-entering downtown the route loops northwest via from E Burdick and Front St SE, near Trinity Health Center, to 3rd St SE, Central Ave East, 1st St SE, 3rd Ave SE, 2nd St SE, E Burdick, Main St S, 5th Ave SW, and back to Town & Country via 1st St SW. The complex routing on the westbound downtown segment appears to serve specific destinations such as the Parker Senior Center, Central Campus, Milton Young Towers, and Manorcare.

Ridership by Stop and Trip The East route has only 5 boardings per revenue hour, the lowest productivity of the Midday routes. There is almost no ridership activity for the eastbound portion of the route, with an average of only o.5 boardings and 0.5 alightings from Town & Country to 31st St. Ridership picks up slightly on the easternmost portion of the loop, from 35th St SE & 11th Ave SE to Jefferson Dr & E Burdick. This segment, which serves Jefferson Mobile Home Park, Jefferson Early Childhood Education Center, and several residential blocks, has the most ridership activity for the route, though total boardings and alightings still average below 10 per day. Once the route turns back westbound on E Burdick, ridership is very limited aside from a few alightings on the deviation to 1st Ave SE and some activity upon entering downtown via Central Ave E. Ridership is low throughout the day, however it is worth noting that the 4:30 PM take-home trip carries the highest load of the day, up to 6 passengers.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

On-Time Performance The East route runs on-time 82% of the time, and the bulk of trips that are not on time are early. The first segments in the route run early more often, while the last segments in the route are equally likely to be early as late.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Early Morning Service Early morning service is mainly structured around transporting school children from their homes to Minot public schools, though service is available to the general public and schedules are published on the website as with any other fixed route. There are nine different routes, but some routes have two trips. The Early Morning routes average 16.8 boardings per revenue hour, which compares to 10.4 boardings per revenue hour on the Midday routes. All boardings occur in residential areas with the exception of Central Campus and Magic City High School which are used as transfer locations (see Appendix A for boarding locations). Routes are circuitous and designed to serve a large area. Not all alightings occur at schools, which indicate that some riders are not making school-related trips. The mobile home community served by the South #1 route and the neighborhood at the intersection of 2nd Avenue SW and 30th Street SW served by Bel Air and West routes have the highest number of boardings at a single location.

Afternoon Service Afternoon routes serve Minot public schools at the end of the school day and transport passengers primarily from area schools back home. Operators do not follow specific routes, but rather take students to their destinations in the most direct way and then return to the garage. This service is accessible by members of the public if they board at one of the schools where pickups are made. Boardings occur entirely at school locations and alightings occur mostly in the same locations as boardings on early morning service. The mobile home community served by the South#1 route has the highest number of alightings, with 15 observed on the day of data collection. The average productivity for all afternoon trips is 18.4 boardings per revenue hour.

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ADDITIONAL SERVICES ADA Paratransit Service In Minot, Paratransit service that complies with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is provided by Souris Basin Public Transportation (SBT), which is a nonprofit organization operating general public rural transportation in Burke, Renville, Bottineau, Mountrail, Ward, McHenry, and Pierce Counties. SBT provides accessible, curb-to-curb, shared rides in the same areas, days, and times as regular fixed route MCT transit service for passengers who meet the eligibility requirements and are unable to ride the regular fixed route service. ADA Paratransit services provided by SBT operate within the Minot City limits on weekdays (except holidays), and run from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM. A reservation is required at least one day in advance. The Minot City Transit (MCT) Paratransit vehicle fleet includes 3 minivans with ramps, and the SBT Paratransit vehicle fleet consists of 16 handicap accessible buses and 8 vans with wheelchair ramps.

Souris Basin Transportation Dial-a-Ride Intercity Service Souris Basin Transportation (SBT) provides weekday, dial-a-ride, intercity service throughout the Souris Valley. SBT operates 14 routes within this service area. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance, and SBT makes curb-side stops at homes along routes. Figure 18 indicates the locations where SBT picked up passengers in a typical week. These include destinations typically associated with special needs populations, such as medical facilities and the Vocational Workshop, as well as popular employment and personal business destinations for the general public, including the ING facility and Wal-Mart. The map highlights a number of pickups for the general public a locations away from the existing midday service routes and/or at times the fixed route buses do not operate. Intercity routes in Ward County include: 

Sawyer to Minot: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays/Thursdays, fare $5



Kenmare to Minot: Mondays and Thursdays, fare $4-$7



Minot to Minot Air Force Base: Thursdays, fare $5

Each of these routes connects riders to commercial bus lines, Amtrak, and the airport in Minot.

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Figure 18

Dial-a-Ride Pickup Locations

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Taxi Services Minot residents and visitors are currently served by two taxi companies, Central Cab Company and Taxi 9000. The City of Minot determines what rates the cab companies can charge customers. Figure 19 provides information on these charges. For example, a taxi ride from downtown Minot to the airport is 5 miles in distance and costs $13 for the trip.

Figure 19

Taxi Service Charges

Type of Charge

Rate

Flat charge per trip

$4.00

Per mile charge

$1.80

Wait time charge (per minute)

$0.30

Charge per stop

$0.50

Source: Central Cab Company

TRANSIT FLEET The City of Minot owns nine buses that are equipped with wheelchair lifts, two Eldorado low floor buses with ramps, two buses that are not accessible by riders in wheelchairs, and three vans equipped with wheelchair ramps. The three ramp-equipped vans are provided to Souris Basin Transit for delivering ADA Paratransit service. The transit department also makes use of one smaller vehicle for driver shift changes and another vehicle for the parts department.

CITY TRANSIT BUDGET The City currently spends about $700,000 per year on transit operations. In 2012, the major cost categories included operator salaries (26%), other salaries (24%), and fuel (18%). Figure 20 illustrates that federal and local revenues typically fund more than half of operations with state funds and fares/contract revenues contributing the rest.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 20

Spent on Operations by Funding Resource Federal Funds

Local Funds

Fare and Contract Revenue

Total

State Funds

$800,000 $700,000 $600,000 $500,000 $400,000 $300,000 $200,000 $100,000 $-

2008

2009

2010

2011

Source: Rural National Transit Database

Capital funding varies by year based on fleet, and equipment investment levels. These expenses are covered by federal grants and local revenues.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

DEMOGRAPHIC AND LAND USE CHARACTERISTICS DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS This section reviews current demographic information for the city of Minot with a focus on population groups who typically utilize public transit service more than the general population. Low-income residents, households with limited access to automobiles, seniors and the youth tend to be more regular transit users. Figure 21 provides a basic summary of current demographic information for Minot compared to the state as a whole. In addition, Figure 24 through Figure 27 highlights the locations and concentrations of these frequent transit user groups. Minot is the fourth largest city in North Dakota, with a population of 42,485 in 2011 (Figure 21). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 15% of the population was seniors aged 65 years or older and 8.4% were youth aged from 10 through 17 year old in 2010. Also, 12.4% of the population made less than the federal poverty level. These percentages are on par with the statewide figures. The percentage of households without a private vehicle is slightly higher than the statewide share, 7% compared to 5% for the state, which could indicate a slightly higher demand for transit.

Figure 21

Current Demographic Characteristics Characteristics

Minot

North Dakota

Total Population (2011)

42,485

684,740

Median household Income (2007 - 2011)

$46,687

$49,415

12.4%

12.3%

7%

5%

15.0%

14.5%

8.4%

9.7%

NA

12%

Persons below poverty level (2007 - 2011) Households without private automobiles (2007 – 2011) Percentage of seniors 65 or Older (2010) Youth aged 10 through 17 (2010) People with disabilities (2008 – 2011) Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Minot has been growing rapidly in the past decade. As Figure 22 displays, Minot’s population has been increasing at a faster rate than the statewide figure since 2004. The city’s population increased from 11.4% from 2000 and 2010, compared to 4.8% for the state.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 22

Population Change from 2000 to 2010

% Change in Population since 2000

12% Population in 2010 - Minot: 41,167 - State: 672,591

Statewide

10%

Minot

8% 6% 4% 2% 0%

Population inin2000 2000 Population Minot: 36,970 36,970 -- Minot: - State: 642,023 642,023

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

-2% Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Division

Population density is an indicator of how easy various land uses are to serve with transit. Geographic zones with higher numbers of residents and/or employees can be expected to generate higher transit ridership, especially if these areas are well connected with other highdensity areas or major attractions. Figure 24 through Figure 27 identifies the existing population densities throughout Minot.

EMPLOYMENT DENSITY AND PLANNED DEVELOPMENTS Based on U.S. Census Bureau LEHD (Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics) data, 23,457 employees worked in the city of Minot in 2010. Figure 28 shows the work locations of the people who were employed in Minot in 2010, in relation to midday bus service. These work locations are generally correspond to where existing midday bus service runs, with the exceptions of major employments in the northwest area (where ING is located) and the southeast area (where Choice Hotels International is located). Future major developments are also planned on the outskirt of the city, where bus service is not currently available.

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Figure 23

Population Density Map

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Figure 24

Low Income Households Map

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Figure 25

Automobile Ownership Map

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Figure 26

Senior Population Map

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 27

Youth Population Map

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 28

Number of Workers in 2010 and Future Developments

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND PROJECTIONS This section presents an evaluation of traffic conditions because of their potential to significantly impact transit operations. For example significant traffic congestion can delay a transit bus and prevent it from being on schedule. This can have cascading effects on the following trips on a transit route or prevent passenger transfers between routes from occurring. The two primary analyses used to complete this evaluation were reviewing available travel demand model data and estimating whether potential impacts from congestion were likely to be near term or longer term impacts.

TRAFFIC DEMAND MODEL REVIEW The project team obtained a travel demand model for Minot which had been updated during the 2011-2012 comprehensive planning process. A travel demand model uses information on roadway and transit networks, and household and employment to calculate expected demand for transportation facilities. This is done by using mathematical equations to project the number of trips likely to be made during a typical day, and distributing those trips to the roadways and transit routes based on their capacity and the density of jobs and households in various parts of the city.) The updated travel demand model 1 showed that the heart of the Broadway corridor and a few additional small corridor segments were likely already experiencing some congestion. This analysis was confirmed by anecdotal information from community residents and city staff. The model also showed that over 20 corridors were likely to be experiencing congestion on at least some of their segments by 2030 if the growth expected by 2030 were to occur. (see Figure 29)

This model had originally been developed for a previous transportation study. The Stantec update revised the model base year data to reflect 2010 Census data. It assumed full development of the first phase of the Phasing Plan as inputs for the 2030 model year.

1

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Figure 29

Anticipated 2030 Congestion Levels and Locations

SHORT TERM VERSUS LONGER TERM IMPACTS The key question which this travel demand model information suggests is “how much of the traffic anticipated by 2030 is already occurring or will be occurring in the near future?” Not all the future development will happen at the same rate throughout the City. Some areas like the recent commercial development in the southwest are already occurring. Potential congestion in these areas may be anticipated in the next year or two. In other locations, it is likely no congestion will occur much later in the planning horizon.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

The Phasing Plan from the recently completed Minot Comprehensive Plan illustrates anticipated timing of development (see Figure 30). The darkest colored areas are anticipated to develop first. According to city staff, the darkest areas just north of the airport and in the central district have already seen over 2000 new housing units since 2010. Additionally, most of the darkest area in the northwest and the southwest have been or will be platted within the next year. These four areas are all short term high growth areas which may lead to congestion in the short term. This is especially the case since there are only a few transportation corridor improvements currently scheduled to link these growth areas to the heart of the City. Corridors which are likely to be impacted by this short term growth and which are projected to experience congestion according to the travel demand model include: 

16th Street SW



31st Avenue SW



37th Avenue SW



35th Avenue SW at the 16th Street intersection



8th Street NW



16th Street NW



30th Avenue NW



13th Street SE

In addition to these corridors, it is important to keep in mind that the railroad and the river are significant barriers with few crossing points. This results in limited north-south corridors which are able to function as major collectors or arterials. Congestion on Broadway (the primary interior north-south corridor) is expected to increase as additional growth happens in Minot. It is also important to note that a major Transportation Plan is currently being completed for the City of Minot, and may result in a number of recommendations for transportation improvements which may alleviate some of the short term and long term potential traffic impacts. Typically these recommendations for improvements are prioritized and actual improvements are spread out over a number of years to match available funding.

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Figure 30

Near Term Development Areas and Corridors with Potential Near Term Congestion

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COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

PEER REVIEW This section provides a comparative analysis of transit operations between Minot City Transit and the following six transit systems: 

Great Falls Transit District – Great Falls, MT



Valley Transit – Walla Walla, WA



Casper Area Transit Coalition – Casper, WY



Bis-Man Transit – Bismarck, ND



Basin Transit Service – Klamath Falls, OR



Cheyenne Transit Program – Cheyenne, WY

Peers were selected because they are similar to Minot in several ways. Several evaluation criteria were used in selecting peers, including population size and density, service area size, land use environment, and communities that do not have a major university. There are two main objectives of this comparison: 

Providing a snapshot of current transit operations in similar communities while informing how Minot City Transit may provide service in the future; and



Create a benchmark for estimating operating cost, cost efficiency and effectiveness, and system productivity.

The following sections provide an overview of the peers and summarize some of the key themes and findings.

METHODOLOGY Data collected to compare the six peer transit systems are based on performance characteristics and operational costing data from the most recent fiscal year of collection, which in most cases was the 2011 fiscal year (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011). Walla Walla, WA is the exception with financial information and performance data from FY 2010. Data for the peer review analysis was obtained from a number of sources, including the National Transit Database (NTD), state Department of Transportation agencies, and respective agency representatives. Population data and service area population was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and from the National Transit Database.

PEER OVERVIEW Six peer transit systems were chosen for the peer analysis. Some of the key population characteristics of the peer community, and service characteristics of the transit services that serve that community, are highlighted below and are summarized in Figure 31. 

Population and Density. Minot’s service area population and density most closely resembles Walla Walla, WA. The size of the Minot City Bus service area is nearly the same as Cheyenne, WY, at 17.5 and 18.0 sq. mi., respectively.



Service Type. Most of the peer transit agencies operate a regular fixed route service. Valley Transit in Walla Walla, WA operates a deviated fixed route at certain times and on certain days and Casper Area Transportation Coalition in Casper, WY only operates

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deviated fixed route service. Service operated by Great Falls Transit District also allows flag stops. 

Service Days and Hours. Most peers operate service during similar hours on weekdays; however Basin Transit Service in Klamath Falls, OR runs service later into the evening. No transit agency operates service on Sundays.



Number of Routes. Most transit agencies operate between 6 and 9 routes. Bis-Man Transit in Bismarck, ND runs 12 routes and Valley Transit in Walla Walla, WA operates 13 routes, including two downtown loops.



Fare Structure. Most general fares for fixed route service fall between $1.00 and $1.50. Fares on Valley Transit in Walla Walla, WA are lower ($0.50), likely due to the local sales tax that covers a large share of operating expenses.

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Figure 31

Peer Systems – General Characteristics

Service Area Characteristics and Service Overview

Great Falls, MT

Minot, ND

Walla Walla, WA

Casper, WY

Klamath Falls, OR

Bismarck, ND

Cheyenne, WY

Transit Agency

Minot City Bus

Great Falls Transit District

Valley Transit

Casper Area Transportation Coalition (CATC)

Bis-Man Transit

Basin Transit Service (BTS)

Cheyenne Transit Program (CTP)

Service Area Description

Minot city

Great Falls city

Walla Walla city

Casper city and Mills city

Bismarck city and Mandan city

Klamath Falls city and urban unincorporated Klamath County

Cheyenne city

Service Area Population

40,888

63,000

31,731

65,000

94,719

20,840

57,400

Service Area (Sq. Miles)

17.5

20.0

12.8

29.4

137.0

20.7

18.0

Population Density (Persons/Sq. Mi)

2,336

3,150

2,479

1,998

691

1,009

3,189

Regular Fixed Route or Deviated Fixed Route

Regular Fixed Route (Flag Stops)

Regular Fixed Route (Flag Stops)

Regular Fixed Route and Deviated Fixed Route

Deviated Fixed Route

Regular Fixed Route

Regular Fixed Route

Regular Fixed Route

Service Hours and Days

Early Morning: 6:55AM-8:30AM Midday:9:00AM4:30PM Afternoon: 2:55PM-4:30PM

M-F: 6:30AM6:30PM Sa: 9:30AM5:30PM

Regular – M-F: 6:15AM-5:45PM Deviated – M-F: 5:45PM-8:40PM Sa: 10:45AM6:10PM

M-F: 6:30AM6:30PM Sa: 7:30AM3:00PM

M-F: 6:30AM6:30PM Sa: 8:00AM6:30PM

M-F: 6:30AM8:00PM Sa: 10:00AM5:00PM

M-F: 6:00AM7:00PM Sa: 10:00AM5:00PM

Number of Fixed Routes

6 – Midday 9 – Early Morning/Afternoon

7

Regular – 11 Deviated – 2

6

12

6

6

One-Way Fare (General Public)

$1.25

$1.00

$0.50

$1.00

$1.25

$1.50

$1.00

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KEY FINDINGS Revenue and Funding Almost all of the peer agencies receive dedicated local revenue (with the exception of Casper Area Transportation Coalition) in addition to state and federal sources. As a result of the dedicated revenues, peer agencies are able to maintain a relatively low one-way fare for fixed route services, ranging from $0.50 to $1.50. Fares on Minot City Bus are comparable to the other peer agencies. The 10% fare recovery rate for Minot City Bus is similar to the set of peers, which range from 5%13%. Notably, local dedicated revenue for Minot City Bus is much lower than peer agencies. Local dedicated revenue in Minot from property taxes is estimated at $235,555 for FY 2010-2011, compared to a range of $383,801-$1,981,819. Local revenue sources in peer cities include property taxes, sales, taxes, and funding from non-profit partners. Valley Transit in Walla Walla, WA and Basin Transit Service in Klamath Falls, OR cover the largest share of operating expenses with dedicated local revenue, at 85% and 63%, respectively. Walla Walla relies on a sales tax, while Klamath Falls utilizes a property tax.

Figure 32

Peer Operating Expenses and Revenue Sources, FY 2010-2011

Funding Characteristics

Walla Walla, WA1

Minot, ND

Great Falls, MT

Transit Agency

Minot City Bus

Great Falls Transit District

Valley Transit

Fixed Route Operating Expenses

$710,620

$2,430,797

$2,325,102

$792,963

$1,319,550

$2,241,460

$748,719

Fixed Route Farebox Revenues

$73,638

$281,972

$249,006

$57,603

$70,205

$243,639

$97,215

10%

12%

11%

7%

5%

11%

13%

Total Dedicated Local Revenues (All Services)

$235,555

$847,703

$1,981,819

$0

$695,627

$1,403,042

$383,801

Dedicated Local Revenue as % of Total Operating Expenses

33%

35%

85%

0%

22%

63%

28%

Fixed Route Farebox Recovery (Fares/Operating Cost)

Casper, WY2 Casper Area Transportation Coalition (CATC)

Bismarck, ND Bis-Man Transit

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Klamath Falls, OR3

Cheyenne, WY

Basin Transit Service (BTS)

Cheyenne Transit Program (CTP)

COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

Dedicated Local Revenue Source

Property tax

Property tax

Sales and use tax

None

Non-profit partnerships

Property tax

Source: 2011 National Transit Database; 1: Washington State Department of Transportation Summary of Public Transportation 2010, 2: Casper Area Transportation Coalition, 3: 2011 Rural National Transit Database

System Performance Measures The following performance measures are used in the industry to assess service effectiveness (productivity), cost efficiency, and cost effectiveness. Included in this list are brief definitions of each performance measure and how Minot City Bus compares to peer systems. All system performance data is provided in Figure 33.

Figure 33

Performance Data and Indicators (Fixed Route), FY 2010-2011

Performance Characteristics Transit Agency

Population

Minot, ND Minot City Bus

Great Falls, MT Great Falls Transit District

Walla Walla, WA Valley Transit

Casper, WY Casper Area Transportation Coalition (CATC)

Bismarck, ND

Klamath Falls, OR

Cheyenne, WY

Bis-Man Transit

Basin Transit Service (BTS)

Cheyenne Transit Program (CTP)

40,888

63,000

31,731

58,777

94,719

20,840

57,400

# of Routes

9

7

13

6

12

6

6

Passenger Trips

128,023

408,142

664,707

157,711

124,653

390,473

242,016

16,628

40,348

28,202

23,484

19,787

19,093

21,385

Ridership (Trips/Capita)

3.1

6.5

20.9

2.4

1.3

18.7

4.2

Productivity (Trips/Revenue Hour)

7.7

10.1

23.6

6.7

6.3

20.5

11.3

Cost Efficiency (Operating Cost/Revenue Hour)

$42.74

$60.25

$82.44

$33.77

$66.69

$117.40

$35.01

Cost Effectiveness (Operating Cost/Trip)

$5.55

$5.96

$3.50

$5.03

$10.59

$5.74

$3.09

Revenue Hours per Capita

0.41

0.64

0.89

0.36

0.21

0.92

0.37

Operating Cost per Capita

$17.38

$38.58

$73.28

$12.20

$13.93

$107.56

$13.04

Revenue Hours

Source: 2011 National Transit Database; 1: Washington State Department of Transportation Summary of Public Transportation 2010, 2: Casper Area Transportation Coalition, 3: 2011 Rural National Transit Database

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Cost efficiency These indicators are the ratios of service inputs to service outputs, and measure the efficiency of resource allocation within the agency. Operating Cost per Revenue Hour: Defined as annual operating costs divided by annual vehicle service hours (revenue hours). This measure highlights an agency’s cost efficiency, normalizing operating costs (primarily labor and fuel) to the number of hours the service is provided, which is useful when comparing operating between agencies and when analyzing the impact of service expansion or contraction. Minot’s cost per hour ($42.74) is on the lower end of the peer system group. Basin Transit Service has the highest cost per hour ($117.40), while Cheyenne Transit Program has the lowest cost per hour figure amongst all peers ($35.01).

Cost effectiveness These indicators are the ratio of service inputs to service consumption and measure how well the service is utilized by the community. Operating Cost per Trip: Defined as annual operating costs divided by annual ridership. This measures cost effectiveness by allocating operating costs on a per passenger basis which is often useful when analyzing growth trends or when comparing modes. Minot City Bus performs in the mid-range amongst the peers. Bis-Man is an outlier in this group, with by far the highest operating cost per trip ($10.59), likely due to the large service area and low population density of the Bismarck, ND area. Operating cost per trip for the rest of the peers ranges from a low of $3.09 (Cheyenne Transit Program) to a high of $5.96 (Great Falls Transit District). Farebox Recovery Ratio: This indicator is the ratio of fare revenue to total operating costs. A general rule of thumb for a small city transit system is to maintain a 10%-15% farebox recovery ratio for fixed route operation. Minot is in the middle of the range on this indicator, with a farebox recovery ratio of 10%. Cheyenne Transit Program performs the best regarding this performance indicator, with a farebox recovery ratio of 13%, while Bismarck-Mandan is the lowest with a 5% farebox recovery.

Service effectiveness These indicators are the ratio of service consumption to service outputs and measure how well the capacity of service is being utilized by the consumer in relation to the amount of service available. Ridership: For the purposes of this analysis, ridership performance is defined by passenger trips per capita. This measures the number of boardings (unlinked passenger trips) relative to the service area population, providing an easy metric to evaluate how services compare among different communities. Valley Transit and Basin Transit Service have the highest ridership (20.9 and 18.7, respectively), while Bis-Man Transit exhibits the lowest (1.3). Minot City Bus is on the low end of this spectrum with 3.1 trips per capita. Trips per Revenue Hour: Defined as annual boardings divided by annual vehicle revenue hours. This measure is one of the most reliable measures of system productivity. Overall, Minot City Bus has relatively low productivity compared to the other peers, at 7.7 trips per revenue hour compared to a range of 10.1 (Great Falls Transit District) to 23.6 (Valley Transit). Bis-Man Transit and Casper Area Transportation Coalition have lower productivity, at 6.3 and 6.7 trips per revenue hour, respectively.

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Operating Cost per Capita: Defined as the annual operating cost divided by the total service area population, this measures productivity by evaluating the cost of service on a per capita basis. With regard to this measure, Minot City Bus performs relatively well, with an operating cost per capita of $17.38. Casper Area Transportation Coalition, Cheyenne Transit Program, and Bis-Man Transit are also on the low end of the range, at $12.20, $13.04 and $13.93, respectively. Basin Transit Service and Valley Transit have comparatively high costs per capita, at $107.56 and $73.28, respectively. Revenue Hours per Capita: This measure, defined as the annual revenue hours divided by the service area population, is a good indicator of how much service is available to the community. Minot has 0.41 revenue hours per capita, which is in the lower tier compared to the peers, but not the lowest. Basin Transit and Valley Transit both offer the greatest amount of service to the community, with 0.92 and 0.89 annual revenue hours per capita.

Other Considerations It should be noted that there are a number of other potential ways to provide transit service in Minot. The following services have been implemented in other places as a way of meeting that community’s unique needs. 

Flexible fixed route: Many communities across the country have implemented a fixed route service that is allowed to deviate from the fixed route to better serve a community. These services are essentially a hybrid between a fixed route and demand response. This type of transit has been implemented in many places around the country and is currently in operation in Casper, WY.



Fixed route during the day and deviated fixed route during evenings and on weekends. Some communities operate a fixed route service during the day and a deviated fixed route service only during evenings and on weekends. Valley Transit in Walla Walla, WA operates two deviated fixed route loops through the downtown to key destinations like Walla Walla University, Whitman College, K-Mart, and medical facilities during evenings and on weekends.

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FIXED ROUTE ON-BOARD SURVEY RESULTS On February 13, 2013 and February 14, 2013, passengers riding Minot City Bus Midday routes were given an on-board survey to fill out about the one-way trip they were currently making. Forty-six passengers completed the survey. The survey asked questions regarding their trip origins and destination, mode of travel to/from the bus, how often they ride transit, how long they have been riding transit, and how they rate different aspects of Minot City Bus, among other questions. Demographic questions were also asked in order to characterize the survey sample.

ON-BOARD SURVEY FINDINGS Nearly half (48%) of the transit passengers surveyed were making a transit trip for the purpose of shopping, and one-third (33%) were traveling to or from work (Figure 34). Recreation or a social visit was the reason for 10% of surveyed passengers making a trip. Only 5% of bus riders were traveling for the purpose of attending school and another 5% were going to or from a doctor appointment. Almost all (95%) of the trips surveyed passengers were making were home-based, meaning that the trip started or ended at home. Just over three quarters of respondents (76%) were making a round trip on the bus that day.

Figure 34

What is the purpose of your trip?

Most survey respondents (83%) traveled to the bus stop by walking (Figure 35). Fourteen percent (14%) had transferred from another bus route. Fewer respondents reported they would walk on the other end of the bus link of their trip, at 56% of survey respondents (Figure 36). About onethird (34%) of survey respondents planned to transfer to another bus to reach their final destination.

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Figure 35

How did you get to the bus stop?

Figure 36

How will you get to your final destination?

Of those who walked to reach the bus stop, 80% walked for 3 minutes or less to reach the bus stop. Eight percent (8%) walked 10 minutes. Of survey respondents who reported they would walk to reach their final destination, 69% estimated their walking time would be 3 minutes or less, while 15% estimated a walk time of 10 minutes.

Figure 37

How often do you ride transit?

Over half (54%) of respondents have been riding transit for more than 2 years, while nearly onethird (31%) have been riding for less than 6 months (Figure 38). These findings are consistent with the rapid population growth the city has recently experienced.

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Figure 38

How long have you been riding transit?

Just over a quarter of respondents (26%) said they would have walked or taken a taxi to make the trip if Minot City Bus was not available (Figure 39). Nearly one quarter (24%) would not have made the trip at all reflecting that transit is their only option. Only 3% of respondents would have the option of driving to their destination if they couldn’t take the bus. Eighty-four percent (84%) of respondents did not have a car available for this trip, and 11% could have accessed a car but only with inconvenience to others. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of those surveyed do not have a driver’s license.

Figure 39

How would you have made this trip without Minot City Bus?

Note: Respondents chose more than one answer, so percentages do not add up to 100%.

Adult tokens were the most commonly used form of payment for the bus, with 43% of riders using this payment method (Figure 40). Twenty-three percent (23%) of riders paid an adult fare with cash, while only 5% used an adult monthly pass. Equal portions of riders (15%) used either a monthly pass or tokens for seniors, students, and disabled riders.

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Figure 40

How did you pay your fare for this bus ride?

Driver skill and safety, seating availability on the bus, and driver courtesy were the elements of Minot City Bus performance that received the highest ratings by survey respondents (Figure 41). Ninety five percent (95%) of respondents rated driver skill and safety as a 4or 5 out of 5. Ninety two percent (92%) and 90% of respondents gave seating availability and driver courtesy a 4 or 5 out of 5. The elements of Minot City Bus performance that by far received the lowest ratings are how early and late service runs; 29% and 44%, respectively, of respondents rated these aspects as a 1 or 2 out of 5. The most commonly cited additional locations survey respondents would like to access via transit include the St. Alexius Medical Center, Hobby Lobby, Kohl’s, and Denny’s.

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Figure 41

Rating of Minot City Bus Performance

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of respondents replied that later evening service would help them choose to ride Minot City Bus more often (Figure 42). Of the survey respondents who would like service to run later in the evening, equal portions (23%) would like service to run until 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 8:00 PM. Thirty-five percent (35%) of respondents would like Saturday service and 26% would like both Saturday and Sunday service. Earlier morning service was noted by 26% of respondents as a helpful improvement. Of those who would like bus service to start earlier, most requested an 8:00 AM start time.

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Figure 42

What improvements would help you to choose to ride Minot City Bus more often?

Note: Respondents chose more than one answer, so percentages do not add up to 100%.

ON-BOARD SURVEY RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS The largest proportion of survey respondents (40%) are age 25 to 54 (Figure 43). Twenty percent (20%) are age 20 to 24, and 23% are age 65 or older. Fourteen percent (14%) of respondents are age 55 to 64. No survey respondents are under age 15. Sixty percent (60%) of survey respondents are female.

Figure 43

Age of Respondents

The largest share of survey respondents (44%) earns under $10,000 per year (Figure 44). Three out of ten (30%) respondents have an annual income of between $10,000 and $19,999 per year, while 19% earn $20,000 to $29,999. Only 4% of survey respondents have an annual income of greater than $60,000.

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Figure 44

Income Categories of Respondents

Thirty seven percent (37%) of survey respondents are employed part time, 20% are employed full time, and 17% are not currently employed (Figure 45). Nearly one-third (31%) of respondents are retired. Nine percent (9%) are students. Six percent (6%) of survey respondents are students at Minot State University and 7% are employed by this institution.

Figure 45

Employment Status of Respondents

Nearly three out of ten (29%) survey respondents do not have access to the internet (Figure 46). Forty two percent (42%) have access to the internet at home, 11% can use the internet at work, 9% benefit from internet access provided by the public library, and 4% make use of internet access at school.

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Figure 46

Respondents’ Access to Internet

The majority of survey respondents (68%) have lived in Minot for five or more years (Figure 47). The rest of the survey sample have lived in Minot for less than six months (15%), six months to one year (6%), one to two years (6%) and three to five years (6%).

Figure 47

Respondents’ Term of Residency in Minot

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MINOT DIAL-A-RIDE/ADA PARATRANSIT PASSENGER SURVEY During April, 2013, passengers riding Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit were given an onboard survey to fill out about the one-way trip they were currently making. One hundred and forty-one (141) passengers completed the survey. The survey asked questions regarding their trip destination, how often they ride transit, how long they have been riding transit, how they would make the trip without this service, and how they rate different aspects of Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit, among other questions. Demographic questions were also asked to better understand who uses Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit, including disability status, availability of a car, age, household income, and access to the internet.

DIAL-A-RIDE/ADA PARATRANSIT PASSENGER SURVEY FINDINGS Over half (56%) of survey respondents were traveling for the purpose of getting to or from work (Figure 48). About one-quarter (26%) were traveling for a medical appointment and another 19% were using transit to access a recreational destination or social visit. Seventeen percent (17%) of those surveyed were riding transit to or from a shopping destination.

Figure 48

What is the main purpose for this trip?

Note: Percentages do not add up to 100% because respondents could choose more than one option.

Most survey respondents (62%) travel at least once per week on Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit (Figure 49). A large share (36%) travel five or more days per week. Just under onequarter (23%) uses this service 1 to 4 days per month. A relatively high percentage of respondents (8%) were using Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit service for the first time.

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Figure 49

How often do you ride Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit?

Over half (58%) of survey respondents have been riding Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit for more than two years (Figure 50). Two in ten respondents have been using this service for less than one year.

Figure 50

How long have you been riding Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit?

If Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit service was not available, 60% of survey respondents would have someone drive them to their destination, and another 40% would pay for a taxi service (Figure 51). Twenty-three percent (23%) of those surveyed would not make the trip if they were not able to use Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit. Only 13% would use fixed route service to get to their destination. Seven percent (7%) would use travel services offered by a social service provider, such as Kalix.

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Figure 51

If Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit service was not available, how would you have made this trip?

Note: Percentages do not add up to 100% because respondents could choose more than one option.

Generally, most survey respondents gave ratings of good or very good when asked about the characteristics of Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit presented in Figure 52. The cost of riding Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit was given the highest rating by the most survey respondents, with 57% of respondents rating this aspect as Very Good. Cleanliness of vehicles and seating on the bus each received the next highest ratings, with 51% and 47% of respondents, respectively, rating these aspects as Very Good. The aspects of Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit that received the most ratings of 1 or 2 out of 5 by survey respondents include marketing information (20%), dispatch courtesy/skill (15%), convenience of service (14%), service updates/changes (14%), system easy to understand (13%), and bus arrives on time (13%).

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Figure 52

How would you rate the following characteristics of Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit?

Only one-third of those who answered the survey do not have a permanent disability that prevents them from using Minot City Bus (Figure 53). About two-thirds (65%) did not have access to a car for the trip they were making that day (Figure 54). Twenty-one percent (21%) did have access to a car, but using the car would inconvenience others. Seven out of ten survey respondents do not have a driver’s license (Figure 55).

Figure 53

Disability Status

Figure 54

Car Availability

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Figure 55

Driver’s License

COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS | Volume I: Existing Conditions Report City of Minot

DIAL-A-RIDE/ADA PARATRANSIT PASSENGER SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS Just over half (52%) of survey respondents are between the ages of 25 and 54 (Figure 56). Nineteen percent (19%) are age 55 to 64 and another 18% are age 65 or older.

Figure 56

What is your age?

Most residents who ride Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit have low household incomes. The largest share of respondents (34%) has a household income of under $10,000 per year, and another 27% has an income of between $10,000 and $19,999 (Figure 57).

Figure 57

What is your household income?

A major portion of survey respondents (45%) are employed part-time and 28% are employed fulltime (Figure 58). Sixteen percent (16%) are retired. Only 1% of respondents are students.

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Figure 58

What is your employment/student status?

Note: Percentages do not add up to 100% because respondents could choose more than one option.

Just over half (54%) of respondents have access to the internet, yet only a little fewer than onequarter (24%) use the internet to access information about transit (Figure 59 and Figure 60).

Figure 59

Do you have access to the internet?

Figure 60

Do you use the internet to get information about transit?

Of those who use only Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit public transit services, the two most often cited reasons for using the service are that they enjoy using door-to-door transit service (44%) and the City Bus route is too far from their home (40%) (Figure 61). Just over one quarter (25%) only use Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit because they have a disability that makes using the City Bus difficult. Seventeen percent (17%) only ride Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit because they are not aware of other public transit services. The most commonly cited “Other” reason for not using the City Bus is that this service does not run long enough hours.

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Figure 61

If you only use Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit, what is the reason?

Note: Percentages do not add up to 100% because respondents could choose more than one option.

When asked to provide comments or suggestions for improving Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit service, the two most common comments by a large amount are that this service needs expanded hours and more buses and that Minot City Bus needs expanded hours, including weekends, and improved routes. Some characteristic comments include the following: 

City Bus system should expand their weekend and daily services. City is growing.



City Fixed Route does not run early enough or late enough or weekends.



Dial a Ride over used. Fills up too fast. Need more buses. Or better City Bus system to run longer hours.



More Paratransit buses/vans would be nice. City Transit routes and hours should be extended to better serve the public.

Other typical comments from survey respondents include concerns about the reliability of Minot Dial-A-Ride/ADA Paratransit service, the amount of time in advance required to reserve a ride is too long, and that riders need to be able to bring groceries on board. 

I would like the bus to arrive at a consistent time - one day they come @ 7:30AM (or before) then sometimes it's after 8:00AM. It's difficult to be ready when not certain when to be ready.



It isn't always convenient to have to call a day ahead of time for a ride.



Wish I could take my groceries back on the bus so I could ride bus back home.

Some respondents commented that the service meets their needs and they are thankful for the transit service and the customer service received from drivers. 

The service is good, the people are helpful and nice - Thank you!!

One helpful suggestion for improving customer service for riders with disabilities includes: 

When the weather is bad, it would be helpful to have a temporary message noting that the bus was canceled for the day (for those of us with visual impairments who can't see a runner across the TV screen).

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COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS In addition to soliciting inputs from existing riders, the general public was encouraged to take a web-based online survey. The City alerted residents to the survey via news media and social networking sites and project stakeholders encouraged their clients and customers to participate as well. Over 300 community members took part and the following sections highlight their inputs. Only survey responses from residents of Minot are included in this analysis.

COMMUNITY SURVEY FINDINGS Nearly half of survey respondents (47%) are somewhat familiar with Minot City Transit or Souris Basin Transit (Figure 62). One-fifth of respondents report that they are very familiar with these transit services, while one-third are not familiar at all with either of these transit agencies.

Figure 62

Familiarity with Minot City Transit or Souris Basin Transit

While most (67%) respondents are at least somewhat familiar with the services, just over half of survey respondents (55%) report that no one in their household has ever used Minot City Transit or Souris Basin Transit (Figure 63). One-quarter of respondents have used these transit services before, but more than one year ago. Eleven percent (1%) used one of these services within the last six months and 4% within the last year.

Figure 63

Use of Minot City Transit or Souris Basin Transit

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Of those survey respondents who report that they have ever used transit in Minot, equal numbers used the Midday fixed route and Early Morning fixed route services operated by Minot City Transit, at 51% each. Twenty-three percent (23%) used the door-to-door, reserved bus service offered by Souris Basin Transit.

Figure 64

Transit Service Used

Out of those respondents who have ever taken transit in Minot, 46% used transit to access elementary, middle, or high school, and 28% commuted to work (Figure 65). Other trip purposes include a medical appointment (18%), shopping (22%), and social or recreational purposes (17%). Only 5% of survey respondents used transit to reach college or technical school.

Figure 65

Transit Trip Purpose

Of those respondents who state they have not ever used transit in Minot, 63% report a lack of awareness of services as the reason (Figure 66). Additionally, most of those who cite an “other” reason (10% of respondents) explain that they don’t know where the bus stops are, where the routes go, what the schedules are, or generally how to use the service. Thirty seven percent (37%) of respondents indicate they have never used transit because these services don’t go when they need to go and another 32% say the services don’t go where they need to go. Thirty four percent (34%) of respondents simply prefer to drive.

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Figure 66

Reasons for Not Ever Riding Transit

Just over three-quarters (76%) of survey respondents report that there is a member of their household who commutes to work. The majority of commuting household members (88%) work in Minot (Figure 67). Six percent (6%) work at the Minot Air Force Base.

Figure 67

Location of Employment – City

Fourteen percent (14%) of commuters work at Minot State University (Figure 68). Minot Air Force Base (5%), Dakota Square Mall (5%), and Trinity Hospital (4%) are other employers reported by survey respondents. Small percentages of respondents have household members who work for Cognizant (formerly ING) (1%), Arrowhead Shopping Center (1%), and Magic City Campus (1%).

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Figure 68

Location of Employment – Employer

During all times of the year, most commuters drive alone to work, with 84% of commuters driving alone in winter and 81% in summer (Figure 69). In summer months, walk and bike mode shares increase from 1% and 0% during winter, respectively, to 3% each. In winter months, transit mode share is 5%, compared to 4% in summer months.

Figure 69

Commute Mode in Winter and Summer

Thirty nine percent (39%) of survey respondents report a student present in their household who travels to school. The most commonly cited schools that these students attend include: 

Minot State University (15%)



Erik Ramstad Middle School (15%)



Central Campus High School (13%)

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Figure 70

Schools Attended by Household Members

Most students traveling to and from school in winter get a ride; 56% get a ride to school and 53% get a ride home from school (Figure 71). Twenty nine percent (31%) of students drive to school in the morning and 26% drive home from school in the afternoon. Nine percent (9%) ride the bus to school and 10% also get a ride home on the bus. About two times as many students walk home from school in the afternoon than walk to school in the morning, at 11% compared to 5%, respectively. No students bicycle to or from school during winter months.

Figure 71

Mode to and from School in Winter – Morning and Afternoon

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More so than other public services provided by local government, survey respondents were likely to give public transit a poor rating or say they don’t know how to rate the performance (Figure 72).

Figure 72

Public Service Ratings

Almost all survey respondents (98%) agree or strongly agree that public transit service is needed for those without other transportation options (Figure 73). Between 81%-84% of respondents agree or strongly agree that public transit supports the economy and helps reduce pollution. Eighty six percent (86%) of survey respondents agree or strongly agree that public transit helps relieve traffic congestion and helps relieve parking limitations and constraints.

Figure 73

Views on Transit Service

When asked to rate the benefits public transit provides in Minot to friends, family, and the community in general, more survey respondents gave higher ratings of 8-10 (36%) than lower ratings of 1-3 (25%) (Figure 74).

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Figure 74

Rating of Transit Service Benefits in Minot

The most commonly supported changes to improve the rating of transit service benefits include more frequent bus service (69%), better access to transit service information (65%), service later in the evening (63%), Saturday service (60%), and better vehicles and passenger amenities (52%) (Figure 75). Better regional service outside of Minot was noted as an important improvement by the smallest percent of respondents, at 28%.

Figure 75

Changes to Improve Rating of Transit Service Benefits in Minot

Of those survey respondents who replied that they would like an earlier start time or later end time, most would like service to start at 5:00AM, 6:00AM, 6:30AM, or 7:00AM and end at 10:00PM or 12:00AM (Figure 76). No respondents wanted service to start later than 8:00AM or end earlier than 6:00PM.

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Figure 76

Preferred Start and End Times

Nearly half of survey respondents provided open-ended comments regarding how Minot City Transit can be improved. A summary of the comments is provided in Figure 77. The most two common issues commented on were the need for expanded hours and days of service and the need for better advertizing and promotion of the service in general, specifically the schedule, routes, and stop locations. Many survey respondents commented that they do not know where bus stops are and find the system challenging to navigate. Many comments also addressed the importance of bus service for children to get to school. There is some concern that the new Ramstad Elementary School will not be served by transit, but is too far from residential areas for many children to walk to. Many respondents feel school bus service should be separate from City bus service, and that the general public service needs to meet the needs of commuters by expanding the daily hours of service to start earlier and end later. In order to better service the general public, many respondents remarked that routes should be more direct to key destinations and should be expanded to serve more areas of the city. Some characteristic comments from surveyed residents include the following: 

Publicly announce routes and times. Publicly announce transit points. If I knew where it went, I would use it.



I know that I would be more inclined to use the public transit system if there were clearly marked stops, schedules, monthly passes, routes, etc.



Although I have a basic knowledge of Minot's bus service, I have never noticed an actual bus stop and the information of the website isn't overly helpful.

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I have never heard anything about public transit in Minot. I was under the impression it was only for people with special needs?



The current bus hours, routes and days of operation are hardly useful to me or anyone with a varied schedule that includes early/late hours or weekends.



We would both love to take the bus to work but right now it seems to only serve schools and senior community. Would love to have it available for work commutes and general travel.



A bus route that includes the new Ramstad School in NW Minot needs to be in place when that school is completed. Many parents rely on the city bus service to get their kids to and from school.



I would like to see the bus come and pick up in the FEMA park and along the east bypass and go to the mall where I work.



Minot needs a bus service that provides accessibility to people that cannot afford their own transportation. Buses just don't go to where the services are for low income people.



Be rid of the "wave" system -- it is intimidating for a first time bus rider to have to wave down a bus on any corner.



Be sure that all vehicles, with expanded hours, are accessible to those with disabilities.



Your Paratransit (Souris Basin Transportation) should do away with 24 hour notice requirement for scheduling rides. As a wheelchair bound professional in Minot, I use SBT daily. However, things can come up at work without 24 hour notice.

Figure 77

Summary of Open-Ended Comments Comment Category

Percent of Respondents

Expanded hours and days of service

26

Better advertizing and promotion of service, schedule, and routes

25

Bus service for school children is important; should be separate from regular City bus service

16

Direct, expanded routing

14

Identifiable, fixed stops with shelters, instead of the flag stop system

12

Bus pass system needed for students and others

5

Better accessibility for disabled riders

4

Shorter advanced notice for Souris Basin Transit

3

Total

128

COMMUNITY SURVEY RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS Most survey respondents (73%) are between the ages of 25 and 54 (Figure 78). Twelve percent (12%) are within the ages of 55 to 64, and 8% are between 20 and 24 years of age. Five percent (5%) are age 65 or older.

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Figure 78

Survey Respondent Age

Just over half (52%) of survey respondents have an annual household income of $60,000 or more (Figure 79). Fifteen percent (15%) of respondents earn less than $30,000 per year.

Figure 79

Survey Respondent Income

Nearly half (47%) of respondents have two vehicles available to their household (Figure 80). Twenty percent (20%) have one vehicle, and 18% have access to three vehicles. Five percent (5%) do not have access to a vehicle.

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Figure 80

Number of Cars Available to Household

The majority (79%) of survey respondents has lived in Minot for 5 or more years, and 8% have lived in Minot for three to five years (Figure 81). Almost all (96%) survey respondents are permanent residents of Minot with no immediate plans to leave. Three quarters of survey respondents own their own home.

Figure 81

Respondents’ Term of Residency in Minot

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STAKEHOLDER INPUT STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS To better understand community perceptions of public transit, a series of “stakeholder” interviews were conducted with individuals that have a direct stake in the transit services provided in Minot. Stakeholders were selected based on a list of individuals provided by City staff. A total of 16 individuals representing a wide variety of organizations participated in the stakeholder meetings. Most of the stakeholders were interviewed as part of a standing meeting with the Easter Seals Coalition on January 15th, 2013 but four separate one-on-one interviews were also conducted. Several different segments of the community were encouraged to participate in the interviews, including: organizations that serve seniors and people with disabilities, the educational community, the business community and other community organizations such as the Minot Housing Authority and Minot Area Homeless Coalition. The following organizations were represented in the stakeholder interviews: 

Minot Area Chamber of Commerce



Minot Public Schools



Souris Basin Transit



Minot Convention & Visitors Bureau



Minot Housing Authority



Minot Area Homeless Coalition



Central Cab Company



Kalix



REM North Dakota



Minot State University



North Central Human Service Center



City of Minot Planning, Finance, Transit and Engineering Departments

All individuals who were interviewed were first sent a questionnaire that provided them with a brief background on the study and a list of questions that would guide the discussion. At the start of each focus group meeting or stakeholder interview, participants were asked to describe the services offered by their business, organization, etc. and to discuss what they viewed as the top transportation issues or challenges in Minot. They were then asked to discuss their views on local transit services in Minot as well as perceived or real gaps in service. Finally, stakeholders were asked to share potential solutions to meeting unmet transit needs in the community, and to then prioritize those needs. The questionnaire that was used to guide the meetings is provided in Appendix C. In addition to the interview questions, all stakeholders were asked to participate in a trade-off exercise that asked them to identify their preference for one of two opposing elements related to transit service. The trade-off questions are shown in Figure 82 below.

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Figure 82

Stakeholder Trade-Off Exercise

I prefer service to as many areas as possible (focus on coverage)

Vs

I prefer service only where demand is greatest (focus on ridership)

I prefer less frequent daytime service in order to start service earlier and/or end service later

Vs

I would prefer if service started later and/or ended earlier so that daytime service operated more frequently

I prefer more frequent stops so that the walk time to the bus is shorter

Vs

I prefer faster, more direct service, even if I have to walk a few extra blocks

I prefer less frequent weekday service in order to provide Saturday or Sunday service

Vs

I prefer service be concentrated on weekdays only

I prefer more service during peak periods with less service during the midday and evening

Vs

I prefer consistent service headways throughout the weekday (e.g., every 30 or 60 minutes)

I prefer service focused on employment and schoolrelated trips

Vs

I prefer service for all types of trips, even though workers and students may receive less service

I prefer service in new and developing areas that currently do not have service

Vs

I prefer the service focus on areas already developed and have service

I prefer fixed bus stops with fewer stops and faster service, even if I have to walk a few extra blocks

Vs

I prefer “flag stops” that could mean more stops and slower service but minimal walk time to the bus

While not a statistically valid assessment of priorities, this exercise is helpful for understanding the inherent trade-offs associated with operating a transit system. The first trade-off question is perhaps the most important in that it asked stakeholders to indicate their preference for a transit system that is focused on coverage, versus one that is focused on productivity. Typically, a system focused on coverage provides service in a large geographic area to ensure as many areas of a community are served as possible. A system focused on productivity provides more concentrated service where there is highest demand, typically along certain highly traveled corridors or between key destinations. Likewise, a system oriented towards coverage would provide less service during the week in order to provide some service, even if limited, on weekends, while a system oriented towards productivity concentrates service hours during more traditional commute hours. While neither approach to allocating resources was promoted over the other, stakeholders were asked to indicate their preference for one model or another by selecting one variable for eight separate categories. Figure 83 illustrates the preference expressed by stakeholders for a service that is more focused towards the productivity model.

Figure 83

Coverage versus Productivity Trade-Off

I prefer service only where demand is greatest (focus on ridership) 33%

I prefer service to as many areas as possible (focus on coverage) 67%

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While a complete list of the tradeoffs and how stakeholders responded is provided in Appendix C, several other key themes related to this exercise include: 

The majority of stakeholders (67%) prefer less frequent weekday service so that some service could be provided on Saturday.



The large majority of stakeholders (89%) said that they prefer service to new and developing areas rather than concentrate service in the areas of Minot that are already developed and/or currently served.



The majority of stakeholders (67%) prefer fixed bus stops over flag stops.



About 3 out of 4 (72%) of stakeholders said that they prefer service be provided for all trip types, not just school- or employment-related trips.

It is important to note that the feedback received from stakeholders reflects the views, opinions, and perceptions of those interviewed and that the resulting information was not verified or validated for accuracy of content. It is also understood that the feedback received from these stakeholders is not intended to represent all needs and priorities in the community, but rather provide a general sense of the needs and issues and supplement other information gathered in this study. In addition to the meetings with stakeholders, a separate meeting was held with all drivers of Minot City Bus to discuss what elements of the system are working well and where they think improvements are needed. Because drivers have the best perspective on who is using the system and operational issues, meetings with them is invaluable to understanding needs and priorities. While some specific operational suggestions were made, key themes associated with the driver meeting include: 

On-time performance is not a significant issue, though the West route is the worst due to the travel time. The railroad tracks also impact travel times on some of the routes (North and East)



The Town and Country Center is generally working alright for the transit center, though buses do have to share parking with delivery trucks, which can be an issue at certain times of the day.



Drivers preferred the current “flag” stop system over fixed bus stops.



The bus should not operate on Broadway due to traffic.



The South routes are the busiest in the system.



The north and south part of town have the greatest number of requests for new service.

PLANNING GAME WORKSHOP On April 12, 2013, a workshop was conducted called the “Transit Planning Game.” The Game is a tool that Nelson\Nygaard uses to help groups of key stakeholders get their ideas for transit on paper and to quickly understand the costs and tradeoffs associated with those ideas. The Game’s primary objective was to build consensus on how transit in Minot should strike a balance between the competing transit service design goals of “productivity” and “coverage” (as discussed above).

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About 14 people participated in the Planning Game. Participants were assigned to one of three tables with 4 or 5 people per table. Each table was given a specially-designed map of Minot, markers and other materials necessary for planning out their service. The Planning Game map identified all potential streets where transit might operate, and then estimated transit travel times between intersections. A sample of the map is provided at right. A facilitator was also assigned to each table. Two facilitators were from the consulting team and one facilitator was from the City of Minot. A guide was also prepared for the Planning Game to explain the process to participants. This guide is provided in Appendix D. Planning Game Financial Limitations Because funding for a potential transit service in Minot is not unlimited, it was important that planning for a new service be developed assuming some financial constraint. To do so, transit planners generally estimate cost for transit service based on how many annual revenue hours or annual revenue miles are required to operate that service. For the Planning Game, revenue hours were used – or “bus hours” – which is simply an hour of service that the bus is in revenue service (i.e., available to pick up and drop off passengers). Based on the existing bus service provided in Minot, and discussions with City staff, two financial scenarios were assumed for the Planning Game. 

10,000 annual bus hours



15,000 annual bus hours

Two of the tables were given only 10,000 annual bus hours to plan out their service, while the other table was given 15,000 annual bus hours. The 10,000 annual bus hours figure represents the existing level of service, while the 15,000 annual bus hours figure represents a more robust level of service. To get a sense of how much service this represents, 10,000 annual bus hours roughly represents three buses operating for 13 hours during the weekday, with no service on weekends. Or, 10,000 annual bus hours could also represent four bus operating for about 8 hours during weekdays and 8 hours on Saturday. It is important to note that these figures were theoretical, and developed for the Planning Game only. Key Themes of the Planning Game All members of the Stakeholder Group who attended the Planning Game appeared to be highly engaged and actively participated in playing the Game. The following is a summary of the key themes that arose out of the Planning Game. 

Participants said that their primary objectives for transit in Minot are to provide longer service hours and service on Saturday (which is similar to existing riders and members of the public who completed an online survey).

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

Many participants desired 30 minute along Broadway radiating out of downtown. Participants also desired faster travel times between key destinations.



Many participants felt that existing resources for transit is not enough – even to provide a basic level of service.



Participants said that service should serve the general public (not focused on a single market)



Service to the airport not a priority



Service designs were not specifically focused on serving schools, but the two high school campuses and Jim Hill Middle School was served within the route designs



For the short-term, all participants maintained the central transfer location at Town & Country Center since it is not likely they will have a new transit facility any time soon



All groups focused on north-south service first, then on providing service in the east-west direction – indicating that the priority for service was along Broadway.



Some participants suggested using general public dial-a-ride in some areas of town (airport, east – Jefferson ES)



Saturday service is important, but participants had a hard time figuring out how to do so with existing resources

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KEY FINDINGS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT The focus of this Existing Conditions report is to summarize primary demographic and transportation characteristics in Minot, present the findings from the on-board passenger survey and community survey, and present findings from the peer review of comparable transit operations to those provided in Minot. This section also includes a preliminary assessment of transportation needs as identified through the stakeholder interviews, feedback received from the Project Advisory Team, and the driver meeting. Based on the review conducted in previous sections, key findings and unmet transit needs in Minot generally fall into one of the following four categories:

Minot is a Changing Community It is clear that Minot is growing and changing quickly. While this growth has brought new opportunities, new challenges are also apparent, such as traffic congestion, urbanization on the fringe of the city (that is unserved by transit), and changing demographics. Key findings include: 

Minot has been growing rapidly over the past decade. The population grew by 11.4% between 2000 and 2010, compared to just 4.8% for the state as a whole.



Expansion is occurring in all quadrants of the city, including a major industrial expansion in the northeast quadrant, commercial and residential expansion in the north and south quadrants, and infill projects in and around downtown.



The Minot Comprehensive Plan (updated in 2012) identifies growth areas and aims at reducing and diversifying trips via compact development, walking, biking and transit. Several Renaissance Zones have been established in recent years to encourage growth in downtown and central part of the city.



Employment locations in Minot are heavily concentrated in downtown, along North and South Broadway, and around the Dakota Square Mall. Other major employment locations are around ING on 21st Avenue NW, and the Vocational Workshop on 20th Street NE.

There is a Desire for Improved Transit Services in Minot Transit service in Minot largely consists of two systems – one focused on the community as a whole (Midday routes) and another system that largely serves the school market (Early Morning and Afternoon routes). Key findings related to existing transit services include: 

Ridership per capita in Minot (3.1) is on the lower end compared to its peers. Valley Transit and Basin Transit Service have the highest ridership (20.9 and 18.7, respectively), while Bis-Man Transit exhibits the lowest (1.3). Some stakeholders and respondents to the community survey noted that the amount of service that focuses on schools is out of balance and hurts the ability to provide a “big city” transit system.



Transit productivity (passengers per revenue hour) in Minot is relatively low (7.7) compared to the peer cities. Productivities ranged from a low of 6.3 (Bis-Man Transit) to 23.6 (Valley Transit). Of the Midday routes, the South #2, North and South #1 routes perform at or better than the system average (10.4), while the South #3, West and East

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routes have between 5.0 and 7.2 passengers per revenue hour. Of the Early Morning routes, the North, East and South 1 routes are the most productive (with between 19.6 and 26.0 passengers per revenue hour). 

There are 0.41 transit revenue hours per capita in Minot, which is in the lower tier compared to the peers, but not the lowest. Basin Transit and Valley Transit both offer the greatest amount of service to the community, with 0.92 and 0.89 annual revenue hours per capita.



Total annual ridership on the Midday routes make up less than half of the annual ridership in the system (63,600 annual boardings compared to 68,500 on the Early Morning and Afternoon routes). The early morning trips are also more productive in terms of passengers per revenue hour. The average productivity of the Midday routes is 10.4 compared to 16.8 on the Early Morning and 18.4 on the Afternoon routes.



On-time performance is good on the Midday routes – over 90% of all trips are on time, 9% are early and just 1% of trips are late (more than 5 minutes behind schedule).



Ridership on the entire system varies seasonally, with summer ridership about half of other months. This is due to the high ridership on the Early Morning and Afternoon trips that do not operate in the summer. September and October are the highest ridership months.



Dial-a-Ride ridership is well distributed throughout Minot but with high ridership destinations typically associated with special needs populations, such as medical facilities, the Vocational Workshop, as well as ING and Wal-Mart.



Over half of the Dial-a-Ride survey respondents indicate that they use the service for work trips.



There is a good mix of regular and less regular riders on the system. Only 25% of the fixed-route riders use the system every day, while over half (55%) said they use the system 2-4 times per week, and the remaining passengers ride even less frequently. Similarly, over half (58%) of the Dial-a-Rider passengers use the system multiple times a week.



About 3% of transit riders (and 9% of Dial-a-Rider users) were using the system for the first time and about 40% of riders who have been using the bus less than one year. A larger share (71%) of Dial-a-Rider passengers has been using the service for more than a year. When asked how long riders have lived in Minot, about 21% said they had lived in the city less than 1 year.



A significant number of existing transit riders rely on the service for their mobility. Just under a quarter (24% of Fixed Route and 23% of Dial-a-Ride users) said they would not have been able to make this trip if the bus was not available, and 84% of fixed-route riders and 65% of Dial-a-Ride users said they did not have a car available for their trip. Interestingly, an equal number of people said they would either take a taxi (26%) or walk (26%) if fixed-route transit were not available.



Both existing passengers and stakeholders strongly support the need to expand service hours on the fixed route bus. Existing passengers are generally appreciative of the service, but later service was by far the greatest desired improvement among fixed-route transit users. Similarly, Dial-a-Ride users expressed an interest in longer hours and service closer to their homes and destinations. About 59% of transit riders said that later evening service would encourage them to ride transit more often. Existing riders and respondents to the community survey both felt that service to 10:00 PM would greatly

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improve the attractiveness of transit. Some survey respondents also suggested earlier service hours (perhaps as early as 6:00 AM). 

Two thirds of the Dial-a-Rider users claimed that they do not have a disability that prevents them from using the fixed route system, and only 18% are 65 year old or older suggesting that improved fixed-route service could move them to the scheduled service.



Similar to the desire to expanded service hours, another top service improvement on the fixed route bus, as suggested by existing passengers and stakeholders, was weekend service. While it was recognized that any service expansion should start with Saturday service, some stakeholders and existing passengers felt that transit service seven days a week would allow people to use transit for the full range of trips. It is important to note that every peer community offers Saturday service, even if this service is limited compared to weekdays.



Some stakeholders noted that existing passenger facilities are lacking in Minot (such as bus stops because it is a flag stop system) and that benches, shelters and schedule information at bus stops encourage more people to use the service.

Awareness and Support of Transit Services Many members of the community said that they simply did not know much about the transit system, and many existing transit riders are relatively infrequent users of the system. Key findings related to the awareness and support of transit include: 

The majority of stakeholders (and many existing passengers) expressed the need for improved marketing of the local transit services. While buses are clearly branded, and marketing information is available at several locations throughout the city, many of the stakeholders said that they just didn’t know about the transit services that are available. The primary reason why respondents to the community survey have not used transit in Minot is they are just not aware of the services available (63%). More striking is the fact that 17% of the Dial-a-Rider passengers claimed that they are not aware of the other transit services in town.



Compared to other public services (Parks, Libraries, Police and Fire), public transit received the lowest rating overall with less than 20% giving a rank of 6 or better (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best). This compares to the other services, which ranked significantly higher.



Almost all survey respondents (98%) agree or strongly agree that public transit service is needed for those without other transportation options. Between 81%-86% of respondents agree or strongly agree that public transit supports the economy, helps reduce pollution, helps relieve traffic congestion, and helps relieve parking limitations and constraints.

Multimodal Connections to Transit and Transportation Options While not as significant of a need as improvements to the transit system itself, several stakeholders and other community members noted the need to better integrate transit with other modes – particularly pedestrian connections. 

When stakeholders were asked about general transportation needs in the community, some mentioned the need for improved sidewalks and connectivity across major roadways. In particular, crossing Broadway was noted as particularly difficult. When asked how existing transit passengers would have made their trip if transit were not

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available, 26% said they would walk, indicating that safe and accessible sidewalks are critical for making public transit attractive. The Comprehensive Plan encourages multimodal transportation connections and more walking trips, which in turn promote healthy lifestyles and build a greater sense of community. 

Some stakeholders noted that biking connections in Minot could improve the attractiveness of using transit – especially since all buses are equipped with bike racks.



While taxis are usually more adept at meeting specific transportation needs, costs for these premium services are more than for public transportation and they are usually not viable for regular trips. Still, when existing transit passengers were asked how they would have made their trip if transit were not available, 25% said that they would take a taxi. It will be important, however, to ensure that taxis and public transportation complement each other rather than compete since both fulfill an important mobility role in Minot.

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