By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – A system of shuttle buses, arranged by the River Parishes Transit Authority to connect citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish to businesses in St. Charles Parish, is still awaiting initial grant approval from the state and federal government, said a spokesperson for the South Central Planning and Zoning Commission.

Martha Cazaubon, a senior planner for the zoning commission said her office is still waiting on word from the Louisiana State Department of Transportation and Development, and the Federal Transit Administration, on the status of grants applied for this past spring. She said the plan already has the support of both parish councils, as well as the St. Charles United Way.

&#8220Once those grants come in, we can move forward on this project,” said Cazaubon.

Cazaubon said the program recently took a step forward with the acquisition of two buses the transit authority was able to purchase through grants from the state department of transportation and the St. Charles United Way.

&#8220The order for the buses went out last week,” said Cazaubon. &#8220We are hoping to have them by March or April of next year. Hopefully we will have our grant approval by then.”

Cazaubon said the planning and zoning commission plans to buy five more buses, and also said her office is looking into using used vehicles from St. Charles Parish through the United Way.

Cazaubon explained the bus system will be a curb-to-curb service, which means the buses cannot leave the public right of way, but they can still go into residential areas. She said the buses are narrow, and small enough to maneuver residential streets easily.

&#8220The shuttle system will have time transfer points in each parish to change buses when needed,” said Cazaubon. &#8220During peak hours, there will be six buses running on four zones.”

The buses will be in operation all day long, and there will be zones on both the East and West Banks of St. Charles Parish. Cazaubon said she expects the system to have a ridership of about 200 people.

&#8220It won’t happen all at once,” said Cazaubon. &#8220We expect the interest and use to increase over time. We are budgeting about $1.2 million in revenues in the first year.”

Cazaubon said the operating budget would be about $1.25 million. She said both St. Charles and St. John Parishes have committed $125,000, and the St. Charles United Way has committed $150,000, in addition to the $450,000 grants the transit authority has applied for.

Cazaubon said service to St. James Parish is also part of the plan, but will be provided through a transfer point link at the welcome center to the parish. From the transfer point, riders will use the St. James Transit system that is already in place.

&#8220The St. James system has already proven successful, and there will be no need to upgrade or improve upon it,” said Cazaubon. &#8220It will become integrated with the new system.”