River Parishes
Transit Authority

About the RPTA

River Parishes Transit Authority (RPTA) was created by special Louisiana legislation for the specific purpose of providing a regional transit service covering St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist Parish. The RPTA is governed by a seven person board with representation from each parish. Because St. James Parish Government already operates a parish rural transit service, RPTA will provide a general public demand response service in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes with connectivity to St. James. In the future, the new service will also offer connection to other neighboring public transit services in the Kenner area and to the Baton Rouge - New Orleans intercity service, LaSwift.

The River Parishes Transit Authority is celebrating its one year of operation. The RPTA is a regional effort of the three parishes, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. James Parish. The service began February 2, 2009. Three 12 passenger vehicles operate Mondays through Fridays from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The service is a “shared ride” and trips are scheduled in advance. Drivers pick up and drop off riders at the curb. The service is provided throughout St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parish. Connections can be made to the St. James Parish Public Transit service and other public services operating near Louis Armstrong Airport, including Jefferson Transit, Kenner Transit and the New Orleans RTA.

Mr. Brent Petit, the Board Chairman, said that in the first 11 months of operation during 2009 the service provided 13,331 one way trips. “We estimated that we could provide 15,000 one way trips per year with our three buses. When we look at the ridership over the first 12 months, we provided a total of 14, 605 trips. We feel we are going to exceed our estimate as the first two months of operation were much lower than the average number of trips we provide today.” The average number of one-way trips for the first three months of 2010 was 1,322.

The transit service is funded through a cooperative venture between St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes. The effort is also supported by St. James Parish which is also represented on the RPTA Board. “St. James has a public transit system but we had difficulty transporting people beyond our parish borders. With implementation of this service we see an opportunity to build public transit in a way that helps us all move people to jobs, training and personal service centers,” said St. James RPTA Board representative Faye J. Washington.

Mr. Petit acknowledged the many people and entities that helped RPTA beginning with a Federal Highway Administration grant for development of a transit plan. “We’ve had great support from all of our parish presidents and councils, state and federal representatives, and other local and regional organizations,” he said. Funding for the service has come from a variety of sources including local money and grants through the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the Federal Transit Administration and the United Way of St. Charles. Funding from the Federal Transit Administration is coordinated with the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission. The South Central Planning and Development Commission is acting as the RPTA fiscal agent and assisted the RPTA in its efforts to create the service.

In order to accomplish the goal of implementing the transit service, RPTA contracted with Veolia Transportation Service, Inc. Veolia provides drivers, maintenance and scheduling services. The service employs 11 people including Aislinn Costello, Veolia’s Operations Manager, drivers and reservationists. Ms. Costello said riders call the day before to schedule a trip. The telephone number for scheduling a ride is 985-651-1141 or 977-651-1171. St. James residents who need to schedule a transfer between the parish and RPTA are asked to call 48 hours in advance to St. James Public Transit at 225-562-2352 and parish reservationists will assist in scheduling a transfer between the two services.

“There is great potential for us to grow this system and continue to improve opportunities for the region we all live in” said Mr. Petit.

Service

RPTA will initially operate three 10 to 12 passenger vehicles. Each vehicle is equipped with a wheel chair lift and can accommodate two wheelchair passengers. Service is curb to curb, meaning passengers will be picked up and dropped off at that point along the public street nearest to the point they wish to get on or off the bus. Vehicles cannot enter private property including shopping center parking areas. Due to the size of these small buses, drivers may have difficulty turning around or maneuvering on short and narrow public lanes and as a result riders attempting to leave or reach points along such lanes may be requested to meet the bus at the closest corner.

Presentations

Download the 2009 RPTA presentation Here.