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Downtown, Riverfront, and Workforce Transit
Updated Mar 03 2023
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Summary
Professional firm Kimley Horn was hired to complete a transit study for Tuscaloosa. Gathering feedback from the public and other stakeholders is an important part of the study and provides feedback about desired improvements. In addition, Kimley Horn gathered and analyzed data about the existing transit system in order to understand who is using the system, why they are using it, where they are going, how many riders are on each route, the cost of operating each route, and what facilities and equipment Tuscaloosa County Parking and Transit Authority (PATA) owns. The final study recommends improvements to operations and services, routes, and plans for future purchases of equipment, buses, and facilities.
PATA is headquartered in downtown Tuscaloosa and currently operates seven routes in the city, carrying around 350,000 riders each year. Routes are currently operated only on weekdays. In addition, a route carries fans from the downtown terminal to the University of Alabama campus on home-game Saturdays during football season. PATA’s operations are funded in majority part by federal grants, with the balance paid by the City of Tuscaloosa. Our transit system was last studied professionally over 20 years ago.
Goals and Impact
Connect more citizens to their jobs in order to remove barriers to employment
Provide rapid transit among popular downtown and riverfront destinations in order to provide a better, more convenient experience for people spending time in this area
Expand hours and routes, including nights and weekends in order to connect people to the places they need to go throughout the day and week
Project Updates
Timeline
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Key Milestones & Events
Completed:
PATA requested qualifications from firms between October 28, 2019 and November 27, 2019 to conduct a transit study
Finalists were interviewed on December 9, 2019
Kimley-Horn was selected and given notice to begin their work in February 2020
Completed engagement with stakeholder groups from the community
March 2021: completed community survey
July 2021: Presented transit study findings to the Connectivity Subcommittee
September 2021: Final Report delivered by Kimley-Horn
Up Next:
Project Materials
Financial Information
Costs
Cost Summary
Spent:
$220,850
Approved:
$220,850
Budget:
Pending Planning/Design
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Spent: The amount paid on this project to-date.
Approved: The amount that has been approved by the City Council to be spent for a specific contract or purpose on this project. In city accounting terms, this is spent + encumbered.
Budget: The total amount of money that the City expects to be spent to complete this project. This amount is only finalized once sufficient planning on the project has been completed.
Cost Details
Elevate Tuscaloosa Fund: City funds dedicated to Elevate Tuscaloosa which are allocated to this project.
Other City Funds: City funds from non-Elevate Tuscaloosa sources allocated to this project.
External Funding: Amounts from sources outside of the city, such as grants, or donations from citizens or private companies.
Overall Funding
Funding Summary
Elevate Tuscaloosa Fund:
$320,850
Other City Funds:
$0
External Funding:
$78,400
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