MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION held Monday, August 7, 2000, for the purpose of meeting with representatives of "THE BUS".

The meeting began at 8:56 p.m. It was held in the Council Room of the Municipal Building.

PRESENT WERE: Council members Rodney M. Roberts, Alan Turnbull, Edward V.J. Putens, Thomas X. White and Mayor Judith F. Davis. Mr. Putens had to leave early.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Terri Hruby, Community Planner and David E. Moran, Assistant to the City Manager

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Sheldon Goldberg, Konrad Herling, Amy Boyes, The Gazette; Betsy Likowski, News Review; Jim Raszewski and Frank Bell, Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation

The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Council about the operations of The Bus. It was noted that service had not been as successful as hoped.

Mr. Bell explained the proposal for an express route to NASA. Mr. Raszewski indicated that NASA also strongly favored this route and was pushing for it. Mr. Raszewski reported the creation of this express route using busses currently serving Route 15, would cause Route 15 riders to have to wait about 5 or 10 minutes longer. Council expressed support for the express bus to NASA.

Mayor Davis suggested that signage on busses be improved. Mr. Raszewski reported that there had been problems with the contractor re: signage and believed this situation had improved. There were suggestions for color coded signage for specific routes. Mr. Raszewski noted that funding was an issue. He indicated that funding goes to buses drivers and maintenance and there is not funding left over for signage.

There was considerable discussion about the need for signage & timetables at stops, signage on the buses, etc. Council expressed a strong desire for these needs to be met and believed this would help increase ridership. Mr. Raszewski again reiterated this was a funding and staffing issue.

Next, ridership was discussed. Mr. Bell reported that ridership on Route 15 was 38% of projection. One reason given was duplication with Metro routes. Council stressed that issues such as bus identification, signage at the Metro station and individual stops could help increase ridership.

Council noted problems with the masthead on the bus. They also expressed concern about busses running early. Mr. Raszewski reported that some drivers were bad employees and this was not tolerated and drivers were disciplined and some dismissed for doing this.

Mr. Turnbull suggested a transit zone with Springhill Lake and Capitol Office Park with free bus service. He believed Springhill Lake and Capitol Office Park management might be interested in contributing towards this as well as city funding. Mayor Davis raised an equity issue with other sections of the City.

The meeting ended at 10:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

David E. Moran

Assistant to the City Manager

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248