11-year dream realized with bus service

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Until he found himself living in Los Angeles and without a car for the first time in his life, the only bus Dick Roberts had ever ridden was a school bus in his small hometown in Michigan.

He knows a yellow bus full of rowdy kids is the only experience many people have with public transit.

“I know firsthand that riding a bus, and using it as a primary means of transportation, can be intimidating if you’re not used to it,” said Roberts, who heads the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council’s Transit Committee, which helped bring a shuttle system to the area last week.

The Regional Transportation Authority’s Sun Shuttle, which also operates in Oro Valley and Marana, has three routes in Green Valley and a route to Tucson, where residents can connect to the expansive Sun Tran bus system.

Roberts has talked to Green Valley residents who are unfamiliar with public transit and are worried about misinterpreting bus schedules or getting stranded.

That’s why he and several Transit Committee members have offered to ride to Tucson with any resident uncomfortable making the trip alone for the first time. Call the GVCCC at 648-1936 for more information. He also says RTA has promised to never leave a rider stranded, and that riders need only to call RTA’s main number, 792-9222, if they’ve missed a crucial bus or shuttle.

11-year journey

Roberts has been working with the GVCCC to get a public transit system in Green Valley since 1998. He said it took almost eight years before they were able to get a three-year contract with American Pony Express, whose shuttle ran one route, six hours per day until April, when Sun Shuttle took over. In 2008, the Pony Express counted 4,600 boardings of Green Valley and Sahuarita residents.

While many people were used to the Pony Express shuttle, Roberts says it didn’t offer enough service for a community this size. The old shuttle didn’t run south of Continental Road, he said.

Now, three shuttles run 10 hours per day.

With a call to RTA 24 hours in advance, service is available for those who meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) eligibility requirements, or are 65 years and older. Those riders can be picked up anywhere in Green Valley, Roberts said, which could be useful for those who can’t wait in the heat.

Roberts hopes residents in communities south of Green Valley, such as Tubac, Rio Rico and Arivaca, who commute to Tucson for work will take advantage of the Sun Shuttle’s connector route, which stops at the Ronstadt and Laos Transit Centers. The designated park-and-ride area is in the Green Valley Village parking lot, near the Family Dollar Store. Eventually, Roberts hopes a park-and-ride lot can be built on Continental Road, just west of the interstate.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726

Four routes

Route 420: Sahuarita Loop. Stops at Wal-mart, Town Hall, Safeway on Duval Mine Road, Quail Crossing.

Route 425: Green Valley Town Center. Stops at Walmart, Green Valley Village, Casa de Esperanza.

Route 426: Green Valley South Loop. Stops at Safeway on Continental, Canoa Ranch, Torres Blancas Golf Course.

Route 421: GV/Sahuarita Connector. Stops at the Ronstadt and Laos Transit Centers in Tucson, Casa de Esperanza, Green Valley Village, Sahuarita Town Hall, Hughes Federal Credit Union.

Shuttles operate 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, except Route 421, which operates from 6:30 a.m. to 6:40 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 3 pm. on weekends.

Using the shuttle

Rides are free in May, and $1 each way starting June 1. Home pickup is $2 each way. An automated fair box will be installed on the shuttles by the first of the year, allowing frequent riders to use pre-paid punch cards.

Copies of the shuttle schedules are available at the GVCCC, Friends In Deed, Casa de Esperanza, the Carondolet medical centers, and United Community Health Center. Or go online: www.suntran.com/sunshuttle/shuttle-route.htm.

Contact RTA at 520-792-9222, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, or Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.