CAP van adds Lexington stop
Monday, September 1, 2008 10:29 AM PDT
By Cheryll Borgaard
Printable version
E-mail this articleLower Columbia Community Action Program is testing the waters for ridership in Lexington.
Beginning Tuesday, the CAP I-5 van will offer limited service six days a week to Lexington. The van will stop at the Chevron station four times a day: twice going north to Castle Rock and twice going south to the Longview transit center.
"We are now able to offer this service because of the new Lexington Bridge," said Kelly Wagoner, CAP Transportation program manager. "In the past, we would have needed to use West Side Highway between Castle Rock and Lexington, which can be slow and dangerous, especially in winter."
The I-5 van will stop in Lexington on its north route to Tumwater at 8:16 a.m. and 2:16 p.m. and on its south route to the Longview transit center at 11:28 a.m. and 5:28 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Wagoner admits the limited schedule is not ideal, "but it's a start. We're hoping this will pique a little interest. It's kind of like we can get you there one way, and hopefully you can get the other way."
The CAP I-5 vans run daily Monday through Saturday between Vancouver and the Olympia/Tumwater area. Each route costs riders just $1.
The I-5 service is funded with a two-year $493,600 grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The current grant ends June 30, 2009, and CAP will re-apply for a new grant for July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011.
"We are now considering how we may adjust our services to best serve our riders," Wagoner said.
One scenario under consideration for next year is to have a quicker turn-around time going north by traveling only as far as Chehalis. "We're looking into another carrier to cover the Chehalis-to-Tumwater section so we can concentrate more of our service here in Cowlitz County," Wagoner said.
That would allow CAP vans to complete the north run in two hours and increase the trips north to four or five each day instead of the current two, he said. He also would like to increase the number of trips to Vancouver from four to five daily and to start both routes an hour earlier and end an hour later to accommodate more people's work schedules.
Ridership is up on both routes, Wagoner said. "We're average 100 people per day," he said. "I think we'll break 2,700 this month, a new record."
While the current 15-passenger CAP vans are adequate now for the Longview to Tumwater run, the south run between Longview and Vancouver is exceeding its capacity.
"We will be requesting at least one new van in our next grant that seats up to 20 passengers," Wagoner said.
Find out more
For more information on CAP's I-5 van service, call CAP Transportation at (360) 425-3430, ext. 235 or (800) 383-2101. For complete van schedules, go the CAP Web site at www.lowercolumbiacap.org, then "Programs & Services" then "Transportation."
Share your thoughts
In planning for the next WSDOT grant, CAP is seeking public comment on community transportation needs outside the CUBS service area. People can contact Kelly Wagoner, CAP transportation manager, at (360) 425-3430, ext. 235 or e-mailing him at kellyw@lowercolumbiacap.org.
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