St. Charles looks at creating 'Call and Ride' program

With dreams of a bustling downtown via the First Street development, a thriving Towne Centre project and a rejuvenated Charlestowne Mall, St. Charles also imagined a transit circulator along the lines of Schaumburg's trolley system.

First Street is progressing, but slowly. Towne Centre is back to the drawing board. And the Charlestowne Mall's new ownership just materialized a few weeks ago. Perhaps, then, it wasn't a surprise when the results of recent community survey showed residents liked the idea of some level of a local bus or transit system, but only for occasional use.

"You can't afford to have a transit system that's not going to be utilized," said Public Works Director Mark Koenen. "The community is interested in it, but we're not certain that we can have a full-fledged transit system."

But the city isn't giving up on the idea just yet. Still on the table is the creation of a new "Call and Ride" system. The system would allow residents to call for a transit shuttle whenever they need to get from one local place to another. Koenen said creating such a system could lay the groundwork for something more like the trolley system once the economy rebounds.

"With this, when things come back, we are ready," Koenen said. "You don't just wake up some day, discover you need a program and turn it on."

There are a couple hitches, though. Even a "Call and Ride" system isn't free. Early estimates put the cost at $250,000 a year, plus another $50,000 for shuttles during special events. St. Charles also already has a "Dial-a-Ride" program in place that's been folded into Kane County's "Ride-in-Kane" program. However, that ridership program is only available to senior citizens and people with disabilities.

The city council's Government Services Committee is set to discuss the "Call and Ride" program at its next meeting on July 26.