City nixes bus route

City bus Route 31 from Brownsville to La Paloma and points between will be eliminated on Sept. 30, but a regional organization plans to establish a new route that would cover most of the area, officials said.

Rodney Gomez, planning program administrator with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, told The Brownsville Herald Wednesday that the planned route would be called Rio Transit Route 3-Military Highway and that it would go to Los Indios, San Benito, La Paloma, Olmito and Brownsville.

“We are in the planning stages but hope to have worked out the map and service hours in the next several weeks,” Gomez said. LRGVDC is an organization that works with local governments to improve the region.

This should come as a relief to concerned residents, including Maria Becerra, one of 11 people who appeared at a public hearing Aug. 30 to protest the elimination of Route 31.

“The people in Olmito need this service very much,” she said at the hearing, hosted in Olmito by the Brownsville Urban System (BUS).

Juan Buenrostro agreed.

“Hay mucha gente de tercera edad que lo necesita,” he said. (There are many senior citizens that need it.)

The Brownsville City Commission Tuesday eliminated the route because it had far fewer passengers than comparable routes.

Route 31 was established in September 2008 as a pilot program, using grant money and local matching funds, with passengers riding for free.

Route 31 starts on Alton Gloor Boulevard at the Super Walmart, then goes to Olmito at Beddoes Avenue and on to Farm Market Road 1732 and Farm Market Road 1421; San Pedro; Ranchito, also known as El Ranchito at Korner Market; and La Paloma at Johnny’s Corner Store.

Since October 2009, about 4,000 passengers have used the bus service. According to BUS Transit Planner Tom Logan, there would have to have been 11,036 passengers to achieve the average passengers per hour of a comparable route, and 21,518 to achieve the average passengers per mile of a comparable route.

The Brownsville City Commission had also called for a public hearing Tuesday on the issue. No one spoke, but a compilation of the statements made by the 11 persons at the August hearing was attached to the agenda item.

All 11 opposed the elimination of the route.

“We use the service to go to work,” Digna Gamez said. Other affected residents said they would be willing to pay a fare.