Destination: Moorhead

Clay County willing to study transit options from Fergus Falls area

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Since Jan Jones began a job with Clay County Social Services last June, she’s commuted from her Fergus Falls home to Moorhead every weekday.

“It takes me about an hour and 10 minutes to get from my house to work,” she said. “With gas prices, it costs about $100 a week and that adds up.”

Jones is among the local commuters interested in a potential bus service from Fergus Falls to the Fargo-Moorhead area, a service that could become a reality with input from interested riders.

Georgia Beaudry is the coordinator of Clay County Rural Transit (CCRT) and says a Fargo-bound bus out of Fergus depends on ridership and funding. Since the mid-90s, CCRT has run bus routes out of Barnesville and Detroit Lakes, with patrons arriving at Fargo’s Ground Transportation Center (GTC) by 7 a.m. weekday mornings. Riders board busses in designated park and ride locations in selected communities, with monthly costs ranging from $85 to $120 depending on the starting point. All busses depart the GTC at 5 p.m. and also offer daily passes.

The idea, Beaudry said, is to start a similar bus service originating in Fergus Falls and passing through Rothsay on its way to Fargo-Moorhead. CCRT has been in contact with Productive Alternatives, Inc. about partnering to cover the route, but both parties say they need more information before they make any decisions.

“The two primary issues are the dollars and the ridership,” said Steve Skauge, president of Fergus Falls-based Productive Alternatives. “You’ve got to have the interest. You’ve got to have enough people to make it feasible.”

Beaudry agreed and echoed the challenges both groups face in terms of funding.

“I’ll be honest, we don’t have any state funding and that’s our biggest hold-up,” she said, explaining that CCRT gets about 85 percent of its funding from Minnesota’s cash-strapped Department of Transportation.

“Everyone’s willing to talk and try to put something in place,” she said of discussions with Productive Alternatives, “but we all get our money from the same pot and right now that pot is just about empty.”

Still, CCRT is taking inventory of potential ridership, encouraging interested Fergus and Rothsay patrons to visit www.co.clay.mn.us and show their support. Potential riders are asked to complete on online form with their names, where they’re traveling from, destination and work hours. They’re then added to an e-mail alias that will provide updates on a potential service in the coming months.

A bus route works well for people who do not require a car to pick up children and whose work hours run from about 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Another appeal is the extra 45 minutes or so patrons have to relax on the ride home, Beaudry said.

“It’s convenient, it’s timely,” she said of current CCRT service elsewhere. “In the last couple of years, we’ve maybe missed two days due to weather.”

Anyone interested in joining the rider database for a Fergus Falls/Rothsay route should visit www.co.clay.mn.us and click on the Clay County Rural Transit link at the right side of the screen. An otter icon points the way to a sign-up form.