Addison County Transit Resources

Trying to put together a good public transportation system in the city is hard enough. Trying to put one together in a county with a population density of only 47 people per square mile is something else entirely. Still, that's the job facing the Addison County Transit Resources and its community relations manager, Nadine Barnicle, whom I spoke with at the 2009 Addison County Green Energy Expo. ACTR's five regularly scheduled routes logged almost 80,000 rides in 2008 , and its ridership continues to increase, though she mentioned that ridership always increases during the summer bubble months. While people are riding the bus more frequently, Barnicle wants to see ACTR grow to become a practical alternative to driving for more people in Addison County.

“It's hard to plan routes. The bus should be normal, but we can't cover rural needs. We to grow to save time and money, and to meet [that] need.” While there are a variety of routes available, it's difficult to get to everyone in rural areas where housing and resources are so spread out. “There needs to be better land use planning for housing. It should be a requirement for housing- but, that's a curve we're climbing.” Barnicle sees public transit as a definite priority, part of a retooling of values for sustainable living. Widely spread out areas make car use more of a necessity, leading to 41% of Addison County's carbon emissions being from transportation, as compared to the national average of 36%. Working with limited funding also limits the number of buses ACTR can send out, and thus their scheduling, which can make it difficult to keep up with busy lives. With work and taking care of children, she sees how it could be hard to meet  transport needs with the bus. “I don't think people are ready to give up the convenience of a car to be green.” Still, ACTR is ready to expand to meet Addison's needs in a changing climate- economic or otherwise.

For more information on Addison County Transit Resources, including bus schedules, visit www.actr-vt.org or call 802-388-1946.

Written by Julia Klas, Vermont Climate Witness Intern