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City Bus Service Gets New Look, Name

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - The familiar blue stripe on city buses is likely to disappear soon, replaced by a more elaborate logo featuring the new name of the bus service.

The Board of Public Works and Safety Monday approved a name change for Michigan City Municipal Coach to M.C. Transit. The name will be supplemented by the slogan, "Ride the Wave."

The move is in response to a recent study that showed one of the bus service's biggest needs is a new marketing effort.

"We spoke to a lot of stakeholders and found that Municipal Coach has somewhat of a negative connotation," Municipal Coach Director Walter Gipson said. "Municipal has a public service connotation. It indicates low-income. Coach has an upscale connotation but with municipal it still conveys public service. It should better convey the ease with which the service works."

The city commissioned a study several years ago looking at what the bus service needed to flourish. In response, the city has looked at changing routes, changing Dial-A-Ride service and adding routes.

Routes will be added in October and new buses will be placed into service. The board also approved a union request to hire additional part-time drivers.

Gipson said Municipal Coach set aside $15,000 to pay for redecorating of the service's buses with the new logo and paint schemes.

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Municipal Coach Extended Service Starts Monday

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Municipal Coach passengers will enjoy extended service hours beginning Monday, thanks to a nearly $800,000 expansion and renovation project that will cost the city less than $160,000.

"It took a little while and a little patience, but we accomplished it," Michigan City Municipal Coach Director Walter Gipson said. "Everything went smoothly ... and by Jan. 1, we'll have a new fleet of buses."

Busing hours will expand Monday to begin at 5:30 a.m. and end at 9:30 p.m., Gipson said. Currently, buses run from 6:30 a.m. to 6:10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 6:10 p.m. Saturday.

The extension is the last service improvement made as a result of a study that outlined needed improvements. The service earlier this year changed and expanded routes and raised fees, and on Jan. 1 will introduce several new buses, a new name and logo.

The new name of the service will be M.C. Transit and the new slogan "Ride the Wave."

Gipson said 80 percent of the bill is being paid through federal grants, leaving just 20 percent to be paid by the city. Gipson also said the service recently received an additional $245,000 in grants, which will allow it to purchase another new bus in 2008 instead of the planned purchase date of 2010.

"We'll have an entirely new fleet two years before we'd initially planned," he said.

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Contact Jason Miller at jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com.

[JHeath]

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6/25/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Bus Officials Want More Riders

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Since it re-branded itself with a new name, a new schedule and new pick-up mandates, Michigan City Transit has seen its ridership pick up a tick, but not with great strides.

Transit officials think those numbers could jump even more if local residents knew more about the city's bus system.

"We're doing fine. We're not losing ridership at all," Assistant Director of Michigan City Transit Cranston Harris said Tuesday. "We just don't think enough people know what we offer and we think we can really help out by getting the word out."

With gas prices topping $4.05 a gallon, Harris said making the system's schedule more known in the community can only help ease the burden on pocketbooks.

Since its re-branding earlier this year - the system changed its logo and created a new motto, "Ride the Wave" - Michigan City Transit has changed some routes and pickup times.

But the most important thing, Harris said, is M.C. Transit's Dial-A-Ride service. The service is a demand response that operates by appointment only from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.

Rides cost $2 and are granted to riders who, along with their doctor, fill out an application. The program is geared toward seniors and residents with health issues who can't wait for a regularly scheduled bus at a local stop.

"The price is worth it and it's a good service," Harris said. "We just want to help people know more about the service."

Harris touted public transportation as a whole in Michigan City as a cheap alternative for getting around.

"People are looking for rides since there's such a gas crunch going on," he said. "A lot of people aren't aware. We just want to make them aware."