CATS bus system hits dead end

City commissioners decided Monday night to end the last life of the City of Alachua Transit System (CATS). Commissioners voted 4-1 to end the service, beginning Oct. 1.

CATS, which runs throughout the city five days per week, was expected to cost $100,000 next year, of which $50,000 would be requested from the County.

Commissioner Ben Boukari, Jr. made the motion to withhold funds from the program, and all but Commissioner Orien Hill supported the motion.

The program has struggled since its beginning to gain riders, averaging 3.5 rides per day during its first 76 days of operation this year. If a person gets off the bus and gets back on, that counts as two rides.

CATS started as a two-year pilot program on Sept. 12, 2006. The system was created to match job seekers with prospective employers in the city of Alachua and to help elderly citizens get to medical appointments in Gainesville. The transit system was also designed to take traffic off of U.S. Hwy 441.

Officials decided to end the program in November 2008, but the program was given a second life this year, focusing on a different trek.

The reincarnated City of Alachua Transit System (CATS) is a north/south circular route of Alachua. The city received a $76,684 federal stimulus grant from the Federal Transit Authority to pay for the new bus. The city purchased the bus in December and contracted M/V Transportation Services Inc. as the service provider.  The city also budgeted $40,000 for the operation of CATS.

The bus fee is $1 for a one-way trip, which is down from the original proposal of $2.

“The idea of having a transit is wonderful. . . . But looking at the ridership numbers, I think citizens have spoken,” Boukari said.