StarTran

StarTran
Headquarters 710 'J' Street
Locale Lincoln, NE
Service type bus service, paratransit
Routes 14[1]
Fleet 60 Gillig transit bus[1]
9 Ford Glaval Handi-Van[1]
Web site StarTran

StarTran is the public transit bus system in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. They operate 14 regular bus routes and a downtown circulator service on weekdays from 5:15 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. and Saturdays from 5:55 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. There is no service on Sundays.[1] There is a special Handi-Van transportation service for those who have a disability that prevents them from riding a regular city bus.

Contents

Environmental

StarTran is one of few transit systems utilizing ethanol-powered buses. All but two buses in the StarTran fleet operate on an environmentally-friendly mixture of 92% blended diesel and 8% ethanol, a program which began in February 2005. The two remaining buses in the fleet operate on biodiesel fuel (75% diesel/25% soybean oil), and have since January 1994.[2]

Statistics

StarTran's 2005-2006 annual operating budget was $8,585,826, 65.75% of which was funded through the city, 16.64% from user fees, 16.06% federally, and 1.55% through the state of Nebraska. The total ridership for StarTran in the 2005-2006 year was 1,826,289 riders. StarTran's nearly 70 full-size coaches and handi-vans traveled 1,740,148 miles in the 2005-2006 year.

Ridership in 2004-2005 was 1,648,744, 97% of which were riders on fixed routes. 1,715,530 collective revenue miles were traveled by the fleet in the same year, 82.02% of which were on fixed routes.[1]

Route list

Service cuts

As of September 30, 2010, Routes 56 and 57 were taken out of service.*****

Criticism

StarTran does not operate on Sundays, and weekday service ends early in the evening. All routes operate on a "spoke" arrangement from the downtown, adding to travel time for cross-town trips, and creating unnecessary detours for some routes, such as the former "27th Street Shuttle", which bypassed a densely populated neighborhood.

Operation

Mid America Coach, Inc. is a supplier of StarTran public transportation vehicles.

References

External links