Fighting the increasing costs of gasoline

Fremonter Joe Kurtz said that the city’s transit system is the best way to get around town.

As a senior citizen, he can get anywhere in the city he needs to go for 75 cents.

Kathy Hein rode the bus Tuesday to attend the funeral of former Fremont High School basketball coach Al Bahe.

"That was a large, large funeral," Hein said. "There were over 400 people there. There were people in the narthex, and some in the choir loft. This was the best way to get there today. It didn’t cause any traffic problems."

Hein, a senior citizen who lives in Gifford Towers, said she rides the bus about three times per week.

"I love to ride the bus," she said. "I wish more people would ride the bus. It’s pretty nice."

The city’s street department, which oversees the transit system, reported ridership of the bus system is up from last year. The first four months of 2008 each registered more riders than the first four months of 2007.

Information also showed more calls are being generated about the bus schedule as the price of gasoline increases.

Bus driver Tom Brungardt said he’s noticed a few new riders lately, including some younger Fremonters.

"We’re getting a few new faces," he said, adding he has been driving the bus for about seven years but only about two as a regular driver. "A few of them told me that they’d lived here for 20 years and didn’t know there was a bus service. The city doesn’t advertise it very well. It’s still a cheap ride."

While the cost to senior citizens and disabled residents is 75 cents, the cost to everyone else older than 6 is $1.50 to get anywhere in the city. Children younger than 6 ride free.

"We’re getting some new older riders, too," Brungardt said. "Some live in the towers. That’s where we get most of our passengers."

More people ride the bus service during the winter than at other times of year, he said.

"Some people who have cars don’t want to drive," he said.

The peak time during the day for ridership is about 9 a.m. until noon, he said. The stops with the most people getting on and off are at Gifford and Stanton towers and at Wal-Mart.

The city’s bus system is divided into two routes: An east route and a west route. Both routes start on North Main Street just south of Military Avenue.

Fremont’s bus schedule information stated the east route runs four times each day Monday through Saturday with start times at 8:50 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 3:10 p.m., while the west route starts at 10:15 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. each day Monday through Saturday.

The east route goes through the Fremont Area Medical Center district and down the East 23rd Street corridor before circling back to Midland Lutheran College and back to downtown. The west route goes through the Nye Avenue and Somers Avenue district before going south to cross the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and circling around to South Broad Street before returning to downtown.

Anyone wanting more information about the bus service can call the street department office at 727-2690.