From Council member Gordon Smith’s campaign:
Asheville City Councilman Gordon Smith announced today that he has initiated a process to improve Asheville Transit by prioritizing the creation of Sunday service. Public input has indicated that Sunday transit service is the most desired improvement to the municipal transit system. Smith said, “Sunday transit service is imperative to meet the growing needs of Asheville’s families.”
Smith has been a champion of other recent transit system improvements such as new buses, increased frequency and on-time performance. Councilman Smith explained, “People struggling to make ends meet need to be able to get to work on Sunday. People working to support the health of their families need to be able to get to the grocery store. Providing Sunday transit service is vital to our community’s health, well being, and economic development.”
At September’s Transit Committee meeting, Councilman Smith collaborated with Committee members and staff to chart a way forward. Smith stated, “We’ll start by getting the numbers out there. How much will it cost for various levels of service? What other priorities also need funding, and how will we plan to meet the needs of the people going forward?” Councilman Smith described a process that will include several Boards to determine how to fund transit improvements. Smith said “My number one transit focus is to bring Sunday Service to the City of Asheville. We know the need and the demand is there, now it’s up to us to bring the necessary funding.”
Asheville’s transit system is operated with support from state, federal, and municipal funds. Funding for Sunday service could be included in future budgets.
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