The Southern Georgia Regional Commission and Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization have developed a report entitled “Valdosta Transit Implementation” for the community to review as we continue the discussion of an Urban Transit system in the Valdosta-Lowndes area. The Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organizations is a multi-county, federally funded transportation planning agency for the Valdosta Urbanized Area. The VLMPO conducts long range and short range transportation planning in areas including: highways and bridges, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, freight movement among other areas. The report can be found on the SGRC website, at www.sgrc.us, under the Transportation link.

The Report is broken into three main sections, beginning with a summation of the Pilot Shuttle Program in part one, a Benefit-Cost Analysis of transit in part two, and an examination of the proposed implementation costs and funding options outlined in the Tindale Oliver Transit Implementation Study (completed in 2016) in part three. The Report also includes the monthly ridership reports from the Pilot Shuttle Program, comparative profiles of other transit agencies, and an estimated local budget using scenarios from the implementation suggestions.

During its operation, the Pilot Shuttle Program was recognized with several state and national awards in innovation and transportation planning. It served 10,146 riders, provided 14,723 trips, and covered 67,701 miles in its 3,873 hours of operation.

An estimation of cost and potential benefits was calculated for the Valdosta-Lowndes County area for a permanent public transit system, with figures from the Valdosta Transit Implementation Study prepared by Tindale Oliver and the Valdosta Pilot Shuttle Program. Based on these calculations, the Pilot Shuttle Program had a benefit-cost ratio of 1.01, while the Tindale Oliver benefit-cost ratio ranged from 0.81 to 2.01 based on the low and high estimates used. When estimated benefit-cost ratios are greater than 1, the results show that the benefits provided by transit services in small urban areas are greater than the costs of providing those services.

The potential capital and operating implementation costs range depending on the various funding scenarios and the multiple variables that play a part in public transit. These scenarios are examined and summarized in the final section of the report.