By Steve Morris

Want to take a nap while on your morning commute? Work done by the Rush Line Task Force may some day allow you to do just that.

The Rush Line Task Force is making progress toward commuter rail, one consultant and one study, at a time. The task force has two studies in its hopper: an alternative analysis study and a commuter bus study. At its April 25 meeting at White Bear Lake City Hall the task force heard about the latter.

The task force commissioned SRF Consulting Group, Inc., of Minneapolis, to do a commuter bus study. Two representatives from SFR spoke at the meeting and fielded questions about the study's scope and objective.

The idea behind it is to transport large numbers of workers into and out of transit hubs, such as downtowns. School and city buses are typically not used in commuter bus lines. Rather, coach buses are the transportation method of choice. Once downtown, riders would walk to work, or transfer to city buses to be brought to their work locations. The commuter bus study will cost $50,000 which will be paid for by the five counties along the corridor.

SRF said the study's goal is "to explore the feasibility of and establish the necessary ground work for a long-distance express commuter bus service operation in the Rush Line Corridor." The study will also evaluate bus routes along the corridor to both downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis.

Joseph Kern, of SRF, said preliminary work on the project suggests Rush Line Corridor has strong potential for commuter bus because of robust employment in both downtowns and because of the growth in the communities along the corridor. Data from the Minnesota State Demographers suggests North Branch will increase in population to 17,404 by the year 2030. The population of the 18 cities along the Rush Line Corridor is expected to increase by around 60 percent by 2030.

Commuter bus is not a novel idea to Minnesota. Kern points to the success of the NorthStar Corridor Commuter Bus Service. The route goes from Elk River, to Riverdale and ends in the Minneapolis Fifth Street Garage, taking 55 minutes. The route uses six MCI 45-foot, 55-seat commuter coaches. In terms of ridership, it has been a been a success. At the end of 2006, 280 of the 330 seats were used on average, or 85 percent.

"This is what we are aiming for," Kern said.

The Ramsey Star Express Bus was initiated in January and travels from Ramsey to Minneapolis Fifth Street Garage. Since it started, ridership has been around 25 percent of capacity, or 27 seats used out of 110.

SFR will update the task force at monthly meetings on the progress of the study. SRF is aiming to have the study completed by the end of the summer and then present the findings and recommendations to the task force. At that point, the task force will determine if it's something they want to pursue further. Kern said the earliest they could see commuter bus would be in the fall of 2007.

Around four or five people from SRF are assigned to work on the study and each person has his or her own area of expertise, Kern said.

In an effort to incorporate the needs and ideas of the communities along the Rush Line Corridor, the task force is planning two listening sessions in the summer at two locations along corridor. Kathryn O'Brien, of SRF, said each listening session will take between two to two and half hours and will include information for review, along with a short presentation and questions and answers. The listening sessions are planned for June 19 and 21 but the locations and exact time are yet to be determined.

"It's a study where we need some input from the public," Kern said.

Chris Eng, executive director of the Chisago County Housing and Redevelopment Authority Economic Development Authority has input on commuter bus from a different perspective. Eng is not directly opposed to commuter bus in Chisago County but he would rather see workers stay in the communities in which they live. Two out of three workers in Chisago County travel outside the county for work, which Eng says has a negative impact on the overall sense of community.

"I don't want to focus on making it easier for people to commute to the Twin Cities," he said.

Chisago County is currently in the process of putting together a detailed work-force study. Eng said it should be out later this year or early next year and will give detailed information of the working habits of the people in the county. Eng said the study will cost around $20,000.

Speaking of the commuter bus line, Eng said he is not sure how successful it would be. Eng pointed out that people like their independence that comes with driving their car to work everyday. He sees gas prices as the tipping point for people riding the bus.

"I don't think it's going to be an overwhelming success unless we see gas prices get higher," Eng said.