Would you use this service?

Today I just listened to one of our grad students give his thesis defense on the viability of a TARTA (toledo area regional transit authority) shuttle bus to the airport. Unsurprisingly, his findings, based on modeling, statistics, and ridership of the pilot program showed it to be a failure. His findings concluded that the Toledo Express Airport does not provide enough passenger flights to make the route viable.

Everyone here in Toledo flies out of Detroit Metro (DTW). It's an hour away and offers direct flights all over the world. The airport is also one of the world's biggest. Little Toledo Express can't match it in service, and most flights taken out of Toledo Express just put you on a small plane heading to Detroit for a transfer that takes a few hours (a wasteful option since you can drive yourself there in one hour).

So what's the down side to flying out of Detroit for the average Toledoan? Parking.

Unless you can have a friend drop you off at the terminal, you're going to have to park your car there for the duration of the trip, which can get rather expensive. Plus, there's the 100 mile round trip to consider. For a car with 20mpg highway and $2.75/gallon, that's $13.75 in the fuel alone.

More Toledoans fly out of Detroit than Toledo because it makes more sense. The fares zre cheaper and it takes less time out of our day. So, as our department chair asked the grad student, why doesn't TARTA offer a service to Detriot?

The answer, of course, is politics. the Toledo Port Authority would balk at one of their entities servicing a rival airport in lieu of their precious Toledo Express. So, TARTA will, for political reasons, never provide the service.

So, the next question he presented to the grad student was, instead of the Airport shuttle bus going to Toledo Express Airport winding around through the Central Business District to the commercial districts and eventually to the airport, why not have a huge free parking lot where Toledoans could park their car, get on the bus, and have non-stop service to Toledo Express?

The answer why TARTA doesn't consider this is, once aagain, politics. TARTA has promised the business and commercial community that it would not provide free long-term parking for its riders, especially since this would hurt the CBD parking businesses. Thus, the idea of cutting down transit time with a direct line rather than curbside stops is also out of the question.

So, if we can't depend on TARTA, a publically-funded transit entity to provide services where demand lies, what about the private sector?

Yep, that's right. A lefty-liberal progressive like me said private sector.

Think about it:

A private business senses a need for a direct transit shuttle to the Detroit Metro Airport. The potential riders would be locals heading out on a trip. Odds are, if they can afford to take the trip, then they can afford personal transportation. Now, how can we make using our shuttle service a more enticing option for these people compared to them driving there themselves? Answer: money and time.
If the fuel cost alone is $13.75 per vehicle and the time is one hour of driving, and at least $7 to park the car and have a friend drive it home, then a $10 ticket one-way to the airport taking about 1 hour 15 minutes doesn't seem that bad...

...especially when the service offers free, long term parking.

Toledo is right in the center of the rust belt. We used to be a much bigger city. Now where there were once buildings and houses there are vacant lots and parking lots. If there is one thing Toledo doesn't lack, it is available unused land.

Imagine if you would:

On the edge of the city lies a derelict shopping center (Toledo has four locations to choose from here). Let's go with Southwyck Shopping Center in this example. A private entity could easily buy up one of them and utilize the parking spaces for long term parking. They would run a shuttle service, let's call it the blue-line, from Southwyck to Detriot Metro Airport for $10. The shuttle leaves every 2 hours. The parking lot is monitored by security, fenced in, and safe. Also, the Southwyck Shopping Center is reconfigured to not only offer shopping, but also car rentals, food, and a shortbus to the nearby hotels on Reynolds.

Would you use this service? Could it make money?