By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypostRowan Express, a morning and evening “bus” service between Salisbury and Kannapolis is still on track, but won’t start before January.
The service is aimed at getting people to work, to appointments with doctors, to county offices and other key locations.
Rowan Transit System had planned to start vans rolling in October or November, but a holdup in getting final approval from the Federal Highway Administration delayed the start.
“We will be pulling out all the stops to get Rowan Express started,” Clyde Fahnestock said. He is director of the county’s Senior Services Department, which operates the county transit system.
Rowan Express will link the Salisbury system with the Kannapolis Rider system. Through the Kannapolis-Concord connections with Charlotte’s CATS, Rowan residents can ride to Charlotte.
While not free, rates are expected to be minimal to encourage usage.
Fahnestock received the notice to proceed on Oct. 29 from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The service will use vans initially, expanding to vans when the demand requires more seats.
Current plans call for Rowan Express to start with two round trips originating in Salisbury and two from Kannapolis, starting at 6 a.m. The schedule will be repeated in the evening, ending around 6 p.m.
Rowan Transit will use existing 12-passenger vans. If the demand increases, mini-buses and full-size buses will be added.
“The whole purpose is to get people out of their individual cars, get people to use mass transit. It has to happen ó that’s the future, Fahnestock said.
A federal air mitigation grant is paying for the majority of the service as a three-year demonstration project to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
The federal share for fiscal year 2008 is $120,000 with Salisbury, Landis, China Grove and Kannapolis sharing the remaining $30,000 cost at $7,500 each.
In February, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners agreed to allow Rowan Transit to operate the system.
Fahnestock said recently that while the buses are ready to go, it will take time to get the message out out to potential uses.
Earlier this year, officials indicated the service will be kicked off with a major publicity campaign. A total of $28,000 is budgeted for advertising.