Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Asheville Redefines Transit

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Slogan
  
RIDE.RELAX.CONNECT

Fleet
  
21

Routes
  
17

Asheville Redefines Transit httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons00

Headquarters
  
360 West Haywood Street, Asheville, North Carolina

Locale
  
Asheville, North Carolina

Service area
  
Buncombe County, North Carolina

Service type
  
Bus service, paratransit

Asheville Redefines Transit (art) is the municipally-owned operator of public transportation in Asheville, North Carolina. The agency provides service from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Monday through Saturday; and from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sundays and Holidays. The standard fare is $1. The main and only station is located at 49 Coxe Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801.

Contents

The management company for Asheville Redefines Transit is First Transit.

Buncombe life special edition asheville redefines transit art


Route list

Schedule and route changes were made in January 2015.

Holidays

ART has no service on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Service is suspended after 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 2014. Limited service is provided on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

Transit Master Plan

In 2009, the City of Asheville commissioned a plan for an overhaul of the transit system. The consulting team, HDR Engineering of the Carolinas (HDR), conducted rider surveys and held several public input events. The final report recommended many changes, including adding Sunday service on the most popular routes, removing Saturday service on some routes, and ending the practice of renumbering evening routes.

Route changes began to occur in conjunction with the annual "Strive Not to Drive" week, in late May 2012.

The plan also recommended purchasing a few new buses at a time so as to stagger the retirement dates of older buses. In early 2011, several new hybrid buses entered the fleet as the first implementation of this recommendation.

Funding

For FY 2012-2013, ART's operating budget was $5 million. The entire Transit Fund revenue is derived from three primary sources: federal and state grant funding ($2.8 million), local tax support ($1.2 million), and passenger charges.

Paratransit Service

Asheville contracts with Mountain Mobility to provide paratransit service. This service is provided within 34 mile (1.2 km) of fixed ART routes and within the City of Asheville. This service is mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Strive Not To Drive

Strive Not To Drive is a week-long long program in the City of Asheville that promotes multimodal transit and the environment. This year, it is planned from May 16–23, 2014, includes such events as a Ride of Silence, a Leadership Ride and a reduced fare promotion.

References

Asheville Redefines Transit Wikipedia