Dial-ride Funds Okd

Ann Arbor today was given the goM. íead by the State Bureau of Transportation to institute a "dial-a-ride" bus experiment. The state approved a $56,000 grant toward costs of operating the system during its initial phase. Ann Arbor's City Council had earlier allocated $10,000 toward the project. The remainder of the estimated $97,000 project is expected to be obtained from revenues. It is estimated that the service will be under way before Sept. 15. In essence, the "dial-a-ride" proposal I calis for door-step service to citizens living in an area of town not receiving regular Transportation Authority bus service. The city will use 12-passenger vehicles which will be sent on demand to homes. Persons in the designated area will be provided bus service from their doors to a number of high activity centers, such as shopping areas and places of work. The first phase of the proposal will last for about six months and will then enter a second phase wherein service is broadened. Ann Arbor's system will be the first of its type in the state. The proposal was worked out jointly with the Ford Motor Co. which will be providing some of the equipment for the experiment. It is estimated the "dial-a-ride" system will provide service to customers within 15 minutes from the time the telephone request is made. Average ride times are estimated to be 11 to 12 minutes. It is anticipated the system will eventually be placed on a computer basis to provide more efficiency. The first phase of the experiment will cover an area of about 1,300 homes on the city's southwest side, while phase two would add another 1,000 households to the system. Phase two is also expected to last six months. If successful, the program would then be further expanded. Each of the six-month phases will be evaluated to determine if it is feasible to continue the operation. It has not yet been decided whether AATA will opérate the system or whether it will contract for the service with a private operator. In the works for more than a year, the "dial-a-ride" proposal has received oppósition from local cab companies which fear the system will bite into cab revenues. Cab company spokesmen have threatened a lawsuit should the state give approval for the experiment.