The city of Lewes is planning a pilot low-cost shuttle service to help alleviate traffic in the summer months.
Other Delaware beach resorts have offered city shuttle services for years; Bethany Beach’s trolley is run by the city, and costs riders just 25 cents a ride.
Now, the Lewes City Council is proposing a program of their own, designed to limit the sometimes overwhelming amount of beach traffic that floods the city in the summer months.
“This is not a money making thing. Definitely the purpose is to alleviate parking and to get rid of some traffic congestion,” said city council-member Carolyn Jones, who spearheaded developing this program.
The city estimates it will cost around $110,000, after an expected $20,000 in revenue.
Jones says DART has agreed to loan a few of it’s smaller buses to the city for virtually no-cost. The city is responsible for gas, maintenance, and reskinning the outside of the bus.
In response to concerns over the program’s cost, city manager Ann Marie Townshend says the goal of a pilot is to collect data on that.
“We are going to do a post season report that will include actual expenses, actual everything in addition to the feedback that we receive regarding the route, the frequency and all that,” she said.
Some council members are concerned places the bus stops could get overwhelmed with tourists looking for free parking, such as the library.
Townshend says the city will work on marketing to ensure passengers only park in approved locations, such as Cape Henlopen high school or at the Cape May-Lewes ferry terminal.
Roman Battaglia is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
