The Wheels Keep Humming 

Arwen McDaniel 
TEXARKANA’S TRANSIT SYSTEM HAS DEVELOPED INTO A MODERN DAY BUS SYSTEM
Four States Living Magazine — October 2011

The bump of the wheel for the Texarkana transit system has changed through the years, beginning with trains, trolleys, Model T???s, and has progressed into our modern day bus system. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the federal and state government recognized that Texarkana was a growing city with many needs that had to be met; therefore, T-Line, our city-wide bus transportation service, was born.

T-Line was created in 2000, according to L.D. Williamson, director of the Ark-Tex Council of Governments, ???to lighten the number of vehicles on Texarkana infrastructure. The need was recognized, came to fruition, and has proven a worthwhile venture. T-Line was also created to accommodate Texarkana citizens who could no longer drive, did not wish to buy a car, or for economic value reasons.???

According to L.D., Ark-Tex Council of Governments was involved in the original creation of Tline through grant funding. On April 4 of this year, the route system was purchased. Each route has a number and color distinction for easy identification and is made up of 30-60 stops.

Identification and key stops include:

Route #1 (the green line)??? serves Arkansas Boulevard, Hazel & 6th, and Jefferson Avenue;

Route #2 (the pink line)??? serves E. 9th Street, Downtown Transfer Plaza, Broad Street and Jefferson Avenue;

Route #3 (the orange line)??? serves Highway 71 South, Euclid and Ferry Line Road, and Dudley;

Route #4 (the yellow line)??? serves South Lake Drive, Norris Cooley and Winfield Estates;

Route #5 (the blue line)??? serves Nash/Wake Village, Martin Luther King and Main, and Kings Highway and New Boston;

Route #6 (the red line)??? serves North Robison Road, Spruce and 12th, Tucker and Robison, and Richmond and Belt Roads ;

Route #7 (the purple line)??? serves St. Michael Drive, Summerhill Road and 40th, and Central Mall.

???Some of these routes are changing due to oneway streets. A route study was completed recently, and we have October 1 as our deadline. All of the routes are changing to some degree; expansion, a street addition or two,??? L.D. says. ???In the future, we may need to establish routes to the Texas A&M;???Texarkana campus as well as the University of Arkansas Texarkana.???

October 1 held another large deadline for Tline.The renovated building was completed and fully operational. L.D. says, ???We have been able to take an eyesore and make it special. The offices have moved, and the staff is in place.??? This hub is located at 1402 Texas Boulevard. Construction has taken a little over a year, and L.D. and his team are excited about having this location, as their offices have not been located at the current main hub that is at Zapatas.

The bus riders of T-Line are many; they total 226,649 in one year. The changes in the economy have increased the number of T-Line riders. In July, 22,351 people rode a T-Line bus. If this number stays solid, this could show a 20,000 increase by the end of the year. ???The everyday bus rider works a minimum wage job and sees the value in the fact that we are less expensive than having their own vehicle,??? he says.

Mary Brown is a bus rider that rides every day to work at Edgewood Manor. She rides T-Line because it is a ???good method of transportation to get from one place to another.??? She has ridden Tline for a number of years and has chosen not to purchase a vehicle due to the high cost. T-Line is her preferred method of transportation. Mary says, ???It takes you where you want to go and is an easy system to use; pay a fare and ride a bus that has easy transfers to get you where you are going.???

Drivers are the other daily Texarkanians on Tline. There are 22 T-Line staff members, and each have their commercial driver???s license, undergo drug testing before hire, and participate in passenger training. Passenger training involves addressing passengers, T-Line passenger safety rules, handling any situation that may occur, and paratransit service.

Paratransit service is a curb-to-curb transit pick up for individuals who have disabilities that are unable to use the regular fixed-route system.The drivers are specifically trained on how to assist passengers in boarding and alighting the vehicles.Paratransit buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts/ramps. L.D. said, ???There is a process to determine eligibility, and it will be determined on a trip-by-trip basis. Also, a key thing to know is that a required personal care attendant may ride without a charge.??? The paratransit service meets the vast needs of Texarkana community members by allowing caregivers to be guests of the paratransit user.

An item of business that drivers do not handle is the bus fare for T-Line or paratransit. The fare is inserted directly into the fare box by the bus rider. This creates a simple, fast system for all passengers to enter the bus, while maintaining the focus of the driver on the safety standards of T-Line and driving.

Just like the drivers of the buses, passengers have parameters to follow. L.D. states, ???There are some rules that must be followed by all passengers That choose to ride T-Line.??? Some of these rules include: no eating, drinking or smoking on T-Line vehicles, a seat is for one person, animals are prohibited except for service animals, no violent or disruptive behavior is allowed, and all passengers must be seated when the bus is in motion.Ark-Tex wants passengers to follow the rules for safety and travel enjoyment.

Ark-Tex also runs TRAX. TRAX is the Ark-Tex Council of Governments Rural Transit District and provides transportation for residents of Bowie, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Morris, Red River, and Titus Counties. TRAX is funded through the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration; therefore, they are able to provide low-cost transportation.

To be a bus rider of TRAX, you must make a reservation 24 hours in advance to ensure that the bus can allow time for your needs. A bus rider May be picked up at their home or other designated pick up point to meet rural transportation needs.Trips that qualify for the use of TRAX include the beauty shop, grocery store, doctor???s appointments, banking, and trips to and from work.

Ark-Tex works with another transportation group, Tex-21, that looks to the future of transportation in Texarkana. L.D. said, ???We are beginning to look at a few new things for Texarkana; first, three lanes for I-30 that would go all the way to Dallas. The second item being discussed between the two groups is a high speed rail through all of Texarkana, down I-30 and into Dallas.???

These two groups are looking 20-30 years into the future of Texarkana and see it as a large metro city that will need to serve many people with many different needs. ???If we do not work on it, we will be left behind. We need to work really hard to get the high speed rail through Texarkana,??? L.D. said.Small towns without adequate transportation systems will not survive for long.

Through the years of transportation history in Texarkana, many types and sizes of wheels have bumped on our roads. Ark-Tex is proud that T-Line, TRAX, and their partnership with Tex-21 will keep the bump, bump, bump of the wheels humming.