Taking a MITS bus from Ball State University's campus to Wal-Mart could take a little bit longer once the semester ends.
MITS plans to cut down its pick-up frequencies for the Wal-Mart route from once every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes as a way to cut costs during slow summer months, Mary Gaston, assistant general manager for MITS, said Thursday.
The Wal-Mart route would also shorten its weekday route, which stretches from the MITS station to Woods Edge apartments. It would become its usual Saturday route, which stops at Wal-Mart and returns to the station without passing by Woods Edge.
To compensate for the cut, MITS would use its Saturday Riverside Avenue to Rural King route, which stops near Woods Edge, during weekdays to cover the area the Wal-Mart route would.
The cut from the Wal-Mart route is because ridership drops by about half once most Ball State students leave campus for the summer, Gaston said. The route and schedule changes would save an estimated $76,000, she said.
MITS would also eliminate four evening trips to Muncie Mall.
"We are in the same position that most of the government units in the area are in," Gaston said. "We have to find ways to trim costs from our budgets because expectations are lower for tax revenue. We identified these routes as one step that could give us some saving without impacting a huge number of riders."
MITS has changed routes during previous summers, Gaston said. It has cut a few altogether that were designed specifically for Ball State, she said.
"When Ball State wasn't in session, it didn't make much sense," she said. "It's not like nobody's there, but when school's not in session, there's just not the ridership to justify it."
Ball State already reduces its own shuttle services during the summer because of low ridership, Gary Moses, supervisor for Ball State Bus Operations, said.
The MITS board of directors will have public hearings at 5:30 p.m. April 8 and 8:30 a.m. April 9 at the MITS headquarters on Seymour Street.
Click here to see a larger version of the MITS route.
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