StarTran

StarTran
Slogan "Get On Board"
Headquarters 710 'J' Street
Locale Lincoln, NE
Service area Lincoln, Nebraska
Service type bus service, paratransit
Routes 19[1]
Hubs Gold's Building
Fleet 56 Gillig transit bus[1]
9 CNG New Flyer
1 Ford 2013 Handi-Van
1 2012 Star Craft Handi-Van
11 2010 Glaval Handi-Van[1]
Fuel type CNG, Biodiesel
Operator City Of Lincoln, Nebraska
Website StarTran

StarTran is the public transit bus system in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. They operate 14 regular bus routes and a downtown circulator service on weekdays from 5:15 a.m. to 7:20 p.m. and Saturdays from 5:55 a.m. to 6:55 p.m. In January 2013 StarTran entered into an agreement with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to take over bus service completely, extending the current 24 Holdrege route to operate during university Holiday periods and until 9 PM during the Fall and Spring Semesters. In the agreement, it also added a new route, 25 Vine, to run opposite direction of 24 Holdrege on a similar schedule. There is no service on Sundays.[1] There is a special Handi-Van transportation service for those who have a disability that prevents them from riding a regular city bus.

Environmental

During the summer of 2014, StarTran received 5 New Flyer CNG buses that currently operate on routes 24 Holdrege and 25 Vine.[2] StarTran is due to receive several more during 2015 and convert a third of the fleet to CNG by 2016. The other vehicles in the fleet continue to run off Soy Biodiesel.

Statistics

StarTran's 2005-2006 annual operating budget was $8,585,826, 65.75% of which was funded through the city, 16.64% from user fees, 16.06% federally, and 1.55% through the state of Nebraska. The total ridership for StarTran in the 2005-2006 year was 1,826,289 riders. StarTran's nearly 70 full-size coaches and handi-vans traveled 1,740,148 miles in the 2005-2006 year.

Ridership in 2004-2005 was 1,648,744, 97% of which were riders on fixed routes. 1,715,530 collective revenue miles were traveled by the fleet in the same year, 82.02% of which were on fixed routes.[1]

In August 2012, StarTran announced it had 2 million rides for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, for the first time in 20 years.

StarTran traveled 1,857,689 revenue miles in the 2013-14 fiscal year and provided 2,495,206 rides. The annual operating budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year is $12,252,632.

Route list

Incidents

2013 passenger assault

A 43-year-old StarTran bus driver was fired after physically assaulting a 40-year-old passenger[3] on 23 March 2013 for "asking too many questions." The white driver beat a black passenger, hitting him at least 18 times before dragging him off the bus and throwing him into 84th Street in Lincoln.[4][5] The incident garnered national media mention, and a video of the incident went viral online.[6]

Troy Fischer was found guilty of 3rd degree assault in July 2013. His sentence in January 2014 called for 12 months' probation and 100 hours of community service.[7]

2014 accident

On 4 August 2014, a StarTran bus was involved in a three-car accident. The bus driver had to be extricated, and six people were injured.[8]

Criticism

StarTran does not operate on Sundays, and weekday service ends early in the evening. During the summer of 2014, the 55 Star Shuttle was piloted to run until midnight on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, but after low ridership on nights without events at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the service was not renewed after the 3-month trial ended.

All routes operate on a "spoke" arrangement from the downtown, adding to travel time for cross-town trips, and creating unnecessary detours for some routes, such as the former "27th Street Shuttle", which bypassed a densely populated neighborhood.

Operation

Mid America Coach, Inc. is a supplier of StarTran public transportation vehicles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 City of Lincoln, StarTran - Fact Sheet
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Jonathan Edwards (12 April 2013). "Bus driver fired, accused of assaulting rider". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bus driver fired after shocking video reveals passenger being punched 18 times in the head for 'asking too many questions'". Daily Mail. 14 April 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Carol Kuruvilla (13 April 2013). "Nebraska bus driver assaults a passenger for asking too many questions: authorities". New York Daily News. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Jonathan Edwards (25 April 2013). "Former coworker of bus driver: Attack video 'not representative of who he is'". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Update: Bus Driver Who Attacked Passenger Sentenced to Probation". 10/11 News. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "LFR: 6 Injured in StarTran Bus Accident". 10/11 News. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
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