Public transportation is an often overlooked service in the Bismarck-Mandan communities. Because of accessibility to personal vehicles and non-existent traffic congestion, many people are not inclined to use the bus system and may not pay much attention to it. If it didn’t exist, however, there would be a noticeable void for the people that rely on it every day.
Several new additions to Bis-Man Transit are working to make the public aware of the public transportation services that are offered in the Bismarck-Mandan communities and how these services impact our area.
Three new people have joined the office staff within this past year. The first to get on board was Debbie Bride. She became the Bis-Man Transit administrative assistant in September 2008 and brings experience in accounting to the team. In her role, she provides the first impression for existing and new customers for Bis-Man Transit and The CAT and assists with preparation of reports and finances.
Misty Staiger joined the staff in March 2009 as marketing director. She has previous experience in marketing both in a corporate environment, as well as, the non-profit sector. The marketing director position was just recently created, so Misty has established a marketing plan and is continually tweaking it while she carries out projects to promote Bis-Man Transit and Capital Area Transit services to existing and potential customers.
In addition to the permanent staff, Bis-Man Transit is excited about the arrival of a summer transportation solutions intern. Samantha Saunders joined the team the beginning of June 2009 and will be assisting with the establishment of a mobility management program. Through her efforts, the goal is to alleviate the fear and uncertainty that people may experience when first starting to use The CAT. Samantha will help with presentations and will be available to provide one-on-one tutoring to new riders.
Along with the addition of new staff members, there are also new projects that have been completed or are in the works. One of the most recent is the launch of the new website. It can be found at both www.bismantransit.com and at www.thecatbus.com. Misty Staiger worked with Agency MABU on development of the site which was designed to have an appealing design that still allowed for users to be able find information easily. The route maps and schedules, an explanation of how to ride the buses, and benefits of riding public transportation are key components for The CAT element of the site. The paratransit section of the website has information about signing up for door-to-door bus services, fare costs, and a downloadable application form.
The website also has features that allow Bis-Man Transit to stay connected to community members and businesses. The CAT Club gives people the opportunity to sign up to receive notification of promotions, events, and the latest news sent to their email addresses. “Kitty CAT Around Town” is a photo album designed to showcase area businesses and “sights to see” along our CAT routes. Another way that people can receive the latest news and offer feedback and suggestions is through adding Capital Area Transit to their Facebook friends.
“We want to get people thinking that Bis-Man Transit is a valuable resource for our community, even if they don’t need to use it,” said Marketing Director Misty Staiger. “The website is a great tool for us to use to inform the public about our services and hopefully spark enough curiosity where people will pay $1.25 each way just to see what our buses are like. They are clean and comfortable and even if a ride takes you a half hour to get somewhere, it’s a great time to catch up on reading or just relax, because we do the driving for you.”
The website is a great stride forward, but Bis-Man Transit has just touched the surface on catering to community members in Bismarck-Mandan. Summer promotions are underway for a special student pass that allows kids to ride The CAT for $20 all summer and the Bike and Bus program is also in place with its own page on the website.
Along with the projects listed above, conversations will continue between city officials, community members, business owners, and other key stakeholders to continue to improve upon public transportation in our area.
“There are so many exciting changes that have already taken place and there are more to come,” said Transit Director Robin Werre. “We’re realizing that there are many tools and avenues that we haven’t explored before that can help us improve public transportation in Bismarck and Mandan and with the addition of staff, we are generating more ideas than we have before.”