Within the last 10 days, the spirit of Bismarck and Mandan shone through as Flood Fight 2011 challenged the communities. Businesses were running on small staffs to allow people to volunteer to help, vehicles were being detoured while dikes were being built, and people were seen helping neighbors and friends whenever they could.
Bis-Man Transit and The CAT Bus asked drivers to pick up extra shifts to help shuttle people to sandbagging sites and 397.25 extra hours were used. The sandbagging sites had limited parking, so the shuttle that ran every 20-30 minutes from Kirkwood Mall to the three sites was well utilized by volunteers.
From May 26 to June 5, sandbag shuttles took 4,023 volunteers to the sandbag sites and brought 3,692 volunteers back to Kirkwood Mall. The Sunday Sandbag Throw Down held on June 5 recorded the highest daily totals with 640 people riding the shuttle to the sandbagging site and 652 people riding it back to Kirkwood Mall.
During the Flood Fight efforts, Bis-Man Transit was asked to provide a shuttle service for Southport area residents, so they could check on sump pumps and perform other tasks at their homes. Once again, our drivers stepped up and gave 1,728 rides to the Southport area and gave 1,663 rides to people returning from the Southport area from May 30 to June 5. The Southport shuttle is still running as long as it is needed.
Bis-Man Transit and Capital Area Transit are proud to be part of the dynamic Bismarck and Mandan communities and we are here to meet the transportation needs of our amazing citizens.