Eps. 28 | More Than a Ride: How Dickinson Public Transit Keeps Our Community Moving

In this episode, we're joined by Jenn from Dickinson Public Transit to talk about the important role public transportation plays in our community. We discuss the services available, who can benefit from public transit, how riders can get started, and the impact reliable transportation has on work, healthcare, education, and everyday life.

Whether you're a longtime rider, new to the area, or simply curious about how public transit operates in Dickinson, this conversation offers valuable insights into the people and programs helping keep our community connected.

In this episode, we cover:

How Dickinson Public Transit serves the community
Available transportation services and eligibility
Common misconceptions about public transit
Tips for first-time riders
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share to help us bring more conversations with local leaders and organizations to the community.

Dickinson Public Transit
Phone: 701-483-6564
Facebook: publictransitdickinson
Website: public-transit.org

Lern more about Women Empowering Women at wewnetwork.org

The EmpowerND Podcast is hosted by Women Empowering Women, a membership based non-profit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women. Through community, events, and resources, Women Empowering Women helps women grow, build confidence, and explore their potential, supporting them every step of the way as they become the best version of themselves. To learn more about Women Empowering Women’s projects or how to become a member, visit wewnetwork.org.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to Empower Indie Podcast. This podcast creates space for honest conversations about health, well-being, and community resources to help people in southwestern North Dakota live healthy, full lives. The Empower Indie Podcast is produced by Women Empowering Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women to help them become the best versions of themselves. To become a member or learn more, visit wewnetwork.org. Today we're talking about something most of us don't think about until we need it: transportation. Whether it's getting to a doctor's appointment, work, the grocery store, or just staying connected to the community, having a reliable ride can make a huge difference. Joining me today is Jen from Dickinson Public Transit. We're going to talk about who the service is for, how it works, what to expect if you've ever never used it before, and clear up some common misconceptions along the way. So let's get started. Okay, so can you just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your role with Dickinson Public Transit?

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Sure. Um my name is Jen Quigley. Um I have been a part of Dickinson Public Transit on the board for over 10 years and then uh became the director uh of operations there in uh April actually of this year. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

So for someone who's never used Dickinson Public Transit before, how would you describe the service?

SPEAKER_00 1:32

So public transit is open to the public. Um years ago it was it was seniors and disabled um more. Uh it became open to the public uh quite a few years ago. And it uh so we do seniors, disabled, anybody that wants to go to work, um, medical appointments, uh really any rides uh we do. We're open 365 days a year. We do have some shortened hours at uh during the holidays, major holidays, uh we do have some shortened hours, but otherwise we are open all the time. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

What do you think people commonly misunderstand about public transportation?

SPEAKER_00 2:13

That it's not open to the public.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

That is the biggest uh misconception out there is that uh is that well I can't ride it because it's not open to the public. Um it's just like any other transportation, right? We are open, we have all of our vehicles are ADA um accessible, uh, but we have vans and buses that are always on the street.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

So if someone listening has never used a consent public transit before, what does the process look like from the first phone call to arriving at their destination?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

So the first phone call would be calling into dispatch, um, scheduling a ride. Dispatch will ask them questions, you know, get their name, um, address, where we need to take them, uh, the time that they would need to be at an appointment. And then it's it the software that we use creates the window of time uh to when a driver would show up. Um there's a 20-minute window. Uh we ask that the riders be ready in that 20-minute window. The drivers will be be there within that 20 minutes. They only wait for five minutes and then they move on, but uh they come, they pick you up, take you to your destination. Uh, if it is um like a say a shopping trip or a medical uh medical appointment, we can schedule um a pickup time, or we can take and do it as a will call. And so then once your appointment is over with, you can just give us a call, we get you scheduled and get you get you to um onto the next available vehicle.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

So when they call, uh, what information do they need to provide? Name, address, uh, there's a few other questions, but then also uh, you know, how are they paying for the fare? Okay. Uh we do do uh cash, um, credit card. You can also put uh money onto a balance. So a lot of our riders that are frequent, say riding to work or something like that, they have they have a balance. So they put it on monthly, weekly, however they want to do, and then it just deducts off of that.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

So how do you determine where riders can be taken? So public transit goes within city limits, and that's four dollars a trip. So that's a one-way trip. Um, anything outside of city limits um is dependent on rider and and vehicle or driver and and vehicle um availability, but it's four dollars plus a dollar per mile. So even coming from out of town, if you need us to come and get you, bring you in, take you back out, you know, it's something that that can be worked with. The other thing that we do is we do trips to um Bismarck on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And those are scheduled. We ask that that they get scheduled the day before, minimum the day before, so that we can kind of get anybody that is going to Bismarck. That way our drivers have a schedule.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

So that kind of goes into one of our other questions of how much advanced notice do they need to give?

SPEAKER_00 5:00

We do on demand and we do pre-scheduled. Okay. So if you have work trips that you need to schedule, it's great to get them in there. Um, get them out as far as what you can. Um, if it's on demand, say, you know, you have car troubles that morning, um, a lot of times we can get you in pretty quickly.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Awesome. And then if someone was going to work every day or had recurring trips um that they need routinely, then can they schedule those?

SPEAKER_00 5:26

All of those can get can get pre-scheduled. We can schedule them out for a long ways. Okay. And we do have quite a few that uh riders that do pre-schedule their trips. But like I said, we do have the on-demand also. So you can call up that day and uh so like if their appointment went long, they could still call and get a ride. Oh yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Our hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. So we take our last rider at about 5 30 um in the in the evenings, which you know, your medical appointments, a lot of your your uh work trips are done by then. So okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

So for someone taking their first ride, what are some things they should know before their trip?

SPEAKER_00 6:08

The be ready um in that 20-minute window that the dispatcher tells you. Um, because then that way they can get on, they can um get to their destination. Yeah, I think all of our drivers are are very friendly and they're they're compassionate about what they do. Right. Um, our dispatchers the same way. They do everything that they can to get you to where you need to be at the time you need to be there.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Are they able to bring like groceries and and bags and things like that with them too?

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Most definitely. Most definitely. We do a lot of shopping trips. Uh, you know, a lot of people that that take their bags off and on. You know, how about kids?

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Can kids ride with?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yes. There are some um some age stipulations. So just call the dri the dispatchers and and talk to them about it.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

So it's a matter of of if they need to be in a booster seat, if they can ride by themselves or if they're too young. Uh, you know, there are some stipulations.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

They have to ride with someone if they're too young. Right. Okay. Right. So, what accommodations are available for riders who have mobility challenges or need additional assistance?

SPEAKER_00 7:09

All of our vehicles have the uh wheelchair lifts. Um, you know, our drivers will help with getting the uh walker, you know, on and off the vehicle and and that type of a thing. But yeah, all of all of them have the the lift on them. Okay. The buses and the fans.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Okay. And then uh what are some things riders can do to help make their experience and the driver's experience go smoothly?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Be on time. Yeah. You know, that that is the the thing. Our our drivers, because of the way our schedule works and our the software that we use for dispatching, it's constantly updating in the background. Uh, you know, with new ride rides being scheduled, maybe being canceled, uh, you know, a medical trip that needs to get fit in. Uh, so it's constantly moving. So the other thing would be is if somebody would be not needing that ride, give us a call so that we can cancel it ahead of time.

unknown 8:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

So can you share a story or example of how transportation has made a difference for someone?

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Um, I've talked to a couple of people with work trips. Um, they just don't have the vehicle or a reliable vehicle to get to and from work. And uh and the public transit being there and being reliable, being safe, um, you know, that makes a big difference for them.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Right. And I have, you know, as a family member of people that have used public transit and need it, um, it's a huge burden lifted from family that usually would give those people rides or can't get off work for appointments and things like that, that they can still go to those things and be a little bit more independent and not have to rely on family members to give them rides. Um, so you know, being able to have that independence is pretty important too.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Right. And that's a big thing is is keeping people as independent as you possibly can, no matter what your age, you know, disability, anything like that. But being able to keep them independent. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

So what is something about Dickinson Public Transit that you wish more people in the community knew?

SPEAKER_00 9:12

I guess I go back to the the we are open to the public. That is the biggest thing that that we go over. Um, our drivers, they're safe. They're, you know, our vehicles are constantly monitored. Our drivers are monitored. We are, you know, partially funded through DOT. Uh, you know, so there's so there's certain circumstances that we have to follow and uh certain guidelines that that we follow that maybe others may maybe don't. Um our drivers are there, are there and they have a good time driving our our uh passengers around.

unknown 9:49

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

And our dispatchers, they're they're pretty funny. They um they have a good time, I think, when they're talking to to people trying to get everything scheduled. Right. Uh, you know, fit them in as as quickly as what we can.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

If someone listening thinks they're ready to start using Dickinson Public Transit, what is the next step?

SPEAKER_00 10:06

The next step would be call our dispatch office. Our dispatch office, uh obviously area code 701-483-6564.

unknown 10:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

And they can talk to a dispatcher, give them all the information, and then our dispatchers can give them uh any and answer any questions that they have.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Okay. And then where can they find information about public transit?

SPEAKER_00 10:26

So we do have a website. It is uh uh going to be worked over a little bit, uh some updates being done to it. Uh, but we are also on Facebook, so they can they can find the information on Facebook too.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Awesome. So as we wrap up today's conversation, I hope you learned that Dickinson Public Transit is more than just a ride. It's a resource that helps people stay connected to healthcare, work, school, shopping, and everything in between. If you'd like to learn more, schedule a ride, or see if Dickinson Public Transit is a good fit for you, be sure to reach out to their team or visit their website for more information. This episode was made possible by a grant through the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. Until next time, stay informed, stay empowered, and we'll see you on the next Empowering Team podcast.